Russia on Friday condemned an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a new missile defence shield, accusing the United States of trying to upset the global nuclear balance and pave the wave for military confrontation in space.

A ministry statement said 11 of the 17 drones were downed between 7:50 p.m. and 10 p.m. Moscow time (1650 GMT and 1900 GMT) over the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold a chunk of territory since staging a cross-border incursion last August.

The statement came days after Trump signed an order that ”mandated a process to develop an ‘American Iron Dome,’” a next-generation U.S. missile defence shield against ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missile and other forms of aerial attack.

Russia has stepped up its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles and containers from its key Tartous port on the country's Mediterranean coast, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.

An oil refinery in Russia's southern Volgograd region caught fire after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack, but the blaze has now been put out, the regional governor said on Friday.

Moscow's forces have captured Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region and about to gain Toretsk, according to reports.

Russia slams Donald Trump's 'Iron Dome' missile defence shield in nuclear weapons space war row - Moscow said the move aimed to weaken Russian and Chinese nuclear deterrence

The flight, which lasted for more than eight hours, saw the Russian aircraft being escorted by planes from other countries

Oleksandr Syrskyi credited Ukraine's attacks on "industrial enterprises" that manufacture ammo, missile parts, and other weapons deep inside Russia.

Russia on Sunday said its forces had captured the east Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka in the embattled Donetsk region, almost three years into their offensive.

A British man captured fighting on the Ukrainian side in Russia's Kursk region will face terrorism and mercenary charges that could see him jailed for years, Russian state investigators said yesterday.

Ukraine hits second major Russian oil refinery in a week after Zelensky hails Kyiv’s growing long-range drone capabilities as ‘bringing the war back to Russia’