Ukraine war escalates as US aid remains pending and drone strikes hit St Petersburg

The war in Ukraine has entered another tense phase after Ukraine carried out drone attacks on St Petersburg in Russia, following a wave of Russian air strikes that killed 22 people and injured 138 in Ukraine. The developments came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there should be news "very soon" on promised American aid for Kyiv, while warning of a "real" risk of escalation. The sequence of events links battlefield pressure, diplomatic uncertainty and renewed cross-border strikes in a conflict that continues to widen in scope.