Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: drone attacks smash Odesa power network

CONFLICT * Ukraine attacked occupied Melitopol, a strategically located city in the country's southeast, on Saturday evening. DIPLOMACY, PRISONER SWAP * Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Putin about starting work on exporting other food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor, Erdogan's office said.

The Ukrainian port of Odesa was not operating on Sunday after the latest Russian attack on the region's energy system, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said, but added that grains traders were not expected to suspend exports. ODESA POWER OUT

* All non-critical infrastructure in Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday. CONFLICT

* Ukraine attacked occupied Melitopol, a strategically located city in the country's southeast, on Saturday evening. The Russian-installed authorities said a missile attack killed two people and injured 10, while the exiled mayor of the city said scores of "invaders" were killed. * Reuters could not independently verify the reports of the attacks or deaths.

RUSSIAN VIEWS OF THE WAR * Some Russian officers fighting in Ukraine are unhappy with the military top brass and President Vladimir Putin because of the poor execution of the war, an influential nationalist Russian blogger said after visiting the conflict zone.

* Russia launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine because its concerns around peace accords between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists were ignored, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying. DIPLOMACY, PRISONER SWAP

* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Putin about starting work on exporting other food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor, Erdogan's office said. * Putin is determined to conquer parts of Ukraine and shows no restraint in his brutality, but it is still important to keep contacts open in case a moment arrives to end the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

* Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, freed in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished her good luck on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi where they were exchanged on Thursday. ECONOMY

* A dozen countries including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have made a push to "significantly" lower a planned European Union cap on gas prices, as the bloc struggles to strike a deal on the measure.