President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he sympathized with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before his inauguration.

Russia's advances in Ukraine over the past week plummeted to levels last seen in July, according to an analysis by an independent investigative Russian news outlet. Newsweek has contacted the Russian government for comment via email.

His statement echoes controversy caused by Trump's suggestion that Russia’s invasion was provoked by Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO. US President-elect has recently stated that he "understands" Russia’s concerns over Ukraine’s NATO bid and blamed the Biden administration for escalating the conflict.

Ukraine struck overnight a Russian oil depot that serves a military airfield in the Russian city of Engels, Ukraine's military said on Wednesday.

Ukraine attacked a oil depot that supplies a military airfield in the Russian city of Engels. Both countries continue to trade drone strikes as the war approaches its fourth year.

Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia in an overnight attack targeting an oil facility serving a military airfield in the city of Engels, nearly 400 miles from the border, Ukraine’s military said Wednesday.