Ukraine’s capital has came under a large-scale combined drone and missile attack with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city

Ukraine said its drones hit production facilities of a company that makes batteries used to power Russian missiles.

Ukraine’s capital came under a large-scale combined drone and missile attack late Friday with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city. Many Kyiv residents were taking shelter in underground subway stations.

Russian armed forces are creating a “security buffer zone” along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

Russian forces in Ukraine have made only small territorial gains this year amid steady resistance from Kyiv’s military, undercutting President Vladimir Putin’s assertions that his army has gained the upper hand in the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to boost Russian arms exports to other countries. "It is necessary to actively increase the volume of export deliveries," he said in a speech broadcast on state television on Friday.

By Dmitry Antonov MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cast doubt on Friday over the Vatican as a potential location for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the Holy See itself would find it uncomfortable to host two mainly Orthodox Christian nations.