Russia says no “Christmas ceasefire” is on the cards after almost 10 months of devastating war in Ukraine as the release of dozens more prisoners including an American showed some contacts between the two sides remain.

Russia and Ukraine are not currently engaged in talks to end the fighting which is raging in the east and south and reached Kyiv again on Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions more displaced and cities reduced to rubble since Russia invaded its neighbour on February 24.

“There is no calm on the front line,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a regular evening video address, describing Russia’s destruction of towns in the east with artillery – “so that only bare ruins and craters” remain.

President Zelensky said this week Russia should start withdrawing by Christmas as a step to end the conflict, Europe’s biggest since World War II.

Moscow rejected the proposal outright, saying Ukraine must accept the loss of territory to Russia before any progress can be made.

Despite the lack of peace talks, hundreds of detainees have been freed in swaps in recent weeks.

The releases – along with progress on talks to resume Russian exports of an ingredient in fertiliser and the extension of a grains deal – have shown the two sides maintain at least limited contact on several levels.

The latest exchange of dozens of detainees included a United States citizen, Kyiv and Washington said on Wednesday.

The head of Ukraine’s presidential administration Andriy Yermak identified the American as Suedi Murekezi, who he said had been “helping our people” before ending up in Russian custody.

The Washington Post said Mr Murekezi was a US Air Force veteran born in Uganda.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby did not name the freed American, citing privacy concerns.

“We certainly welcome that news,” Mr Kirby told reporters.

Mr Kirby said the scale of the ongoing violence tempered hopes for an imminent end to hostilities.

“Just given what we’re seeing in the air and on the ground in Ukraine, it’s difficult to conclude that this war will be over by year’s end,” Mr Kirby said in response to a question about the prospects for a negotiated peace with Russia President Vladimir Putin.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday an all-for-all prisoner-of-war swap deal was an option in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The ICRC emphasised it was up to the two countries to reach an agreement on the issue.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said a major swap could build confidence and that such exchanges had in the past constituted “the first step to a broader agreement”.

Neither the Red Cross nor the two sides have made public precise numbers for each country’s war detainees but there are believed to be thousands of such prisoners.

Ukraine has pushed for more captives to be returned as part of talks with Russian representatives seeking the reopening of an ammonia gas pipeline through Ukraine, Reuters has reported.

The pipeline is widely seen as important to lowering world prices for fertiliser made with gas.

Violence returned to Kyiv, with the first major drone attack on Ukraine’s capital in weeks. Two administrative buildings were hit but air defences largely repelled the attack.

President Zelensky said 13 drones had been shot down.

Russia, which calls the war a “special military operation”, has fired barrages of missiles on energy infrastructure since October.

Ukraine’s grid operator said energy facilities had not sustained damage in Wednesday’s attack.

Ukraine wants to beef up its air defences to fend off more attacks.

US officials told Reuters this week that an announcement on a decision on providing the Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine could come as soon as Thursday.

President Zelensky said Ukraine was doing everything it could to obtain more modern and powerful anti-aircraft and anti-drone systems.

After a series of lightning Ukrainian counter-offensives which have seen Kyiv regain control over about half of the territory Moscow captured in the first weeks of the war, neither side has made significant territorial gains in the past month.

– AAP