The hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile hit Ukraine's western Lviv region late Thursday night, although officials there did not mention any casualties.

Chinese, Russian, and Iranian warships have launched a week of naval drills off South Africa’s Cape Town coast, amid high geopolitical tensions over the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and its move to seize tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said on Saturday that 600,000 residents were without electricity, heating and water after a Ukrainian missile strike. In a statement posted on Telegram,

Moscow used its hypersonic 'Oreshnik 'missile to target critical infrastructure near Lviv in western Ukraine. Its use of the missile is being seen as more about political messaging, than battlefield strategy.

First came Russia’s “turtle tank”, a metal shed rumbling across the battlefield. Then Ukraine laughed at the so-called “hairy tank”, coated in long, wavy metal wires.

With a reported range of up to 5,500 kilometres, the Oreshnik ballistic missile theoretically puts much of Europe within reach.

Russia's FSB said Laurent Vinatier was freed in exchange for Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian who was wanted in the United States for alleged involvement in ransomware attacks.

Russia is "watching this rather dramatic development of the situation very closely," President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson said.