By Dmitry Antonov, Pavel Polityuk and Simon Johnson MOSCOW/KYIV/LINKOPING, Sweden (Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday it had carried out a major training exercise involving nuclear weapons, a day after the United States announced a delay in plans for a second summit between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the war in Ukraine.

President Trump on Wednesday rejected a report from The Wall Street Journal that the U.S. had given approval for Ukraine to launch missiles deep into Russian territory, distancing itself from strikes carried out by Kyiv using British long-range rockets targeting Russian military facilities.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended President Donald Trump’s leadership on Ukraine, saying only Trump has the power to “get this done” and bring lasting peace. REPORTER: Secretary General, can I just ask you,

Ukrainian Air Defense Forces shot down or neutralized 349 out of 433 missiles and drones launched by Russia since the evening of1. — Ukrinform.

Ukrainian drones have sown chaos and panic across Russia after a series of lethal strikes caused massive damage to energy infrastructure and military-industrial sites. The devastating attacks occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Dagestan and Mordovia.

"In Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, restoration work is underway across all affected areas following Russian strikes on our energy infrastructure. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, (Russian forces) even used FPV drones to target transformers,

At least six people were killed overnight, shortly after the American president announced that he did not "want to have a waste of time" holding a summit with the Russian leader.

Statement by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and nine national leaders comes after volatile White House meeting and ahead of Putin summit