LIVE UPDATES: Wednesday Prisoner Exchange Between Russia & Ukraine Ordered by President Putin

The US Department of Defense is reviewing 1,300 proposals from 800 companies to develop new weapons and commercial capabilities that they may be able to produce in order to help Ukraine amid Russia's special military operation, CNN reported citing a US defense official.

The proposals include air defense, anti-armor, anti-tank, anti-personnel, coastal defense, drones, secure communications, and counter battery, which are all key needs Ukraine has identified, the report said on Thursday.

The Pentagon is expected to decide on which proposals to pursue in the coming weeks, the report said.

The United States intends to improve the capacity of the US industrial base in order to support Ukraine's needs should the conflict continue for a long time, the report said.

Earlier this year, US defense officials met with major US defense firms to discuss the capability of the US industrial base to support Ukraine's military needs should the conflict continue for a long time. Congress also approved a $40 billion package to provide assistance to Ukraine.

Australia has added 16 more Russian citizens to the sanctions list, including retired Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, who allegedly has personal ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the document said.

The list also includes Children Ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Construction Irek Faizulin and Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev.

Moreover, Australian has also imposed sanctions on three alleged relatives of the Russian President: Mikhail Putin, Roman Putin and Igor Putin.

"This is not part, as far as I know, part of the Secretary-General's effort," Dujarric said during a press briefing. "Discussions on that effort to bring Ukrainian grain and Russian grain, fertilizer out to the global markets are continuing at a rather intense clip."

"Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it has issued a Notification of Blocked Property to Heritage Trust, a Delaware-based trust in which OFAC-designated Russian oligarch Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov holds a property interest," the release said. "As of June 30, 2022, Heritage Trust holds assets valued at over $1 billion. This action ensures that those assets remain blocked and inaccessible to Kerimov."

At present, some 1,400 Canadian service members are stationed in the Baltics.

"I conveyed the message of President Zelensky to President Putin and I expressed my readiness to establish communication between the two leaders," Widodo said after his talks with Putin.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he was planning to hold talks on the "grain corridor" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky within the week.

"At the end of the current week or at the beginning of the new week, I plan to hold telephone conversations on the grain corridor with both Putin and Zelensky," Erdogan said at a press conference after the NATO summit in Madrid.

The Indonesian leader has already arrived in Moscow, with the meeting with Putin starting soon. After a working breakfast, the two presidents will make a statement to the media, the official said.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the exchange included 144 service personnel from each side.