Eleven injured in Russian missile attack on Zelensky’s hometown, regional head says

Ukraine says a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih – President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown – has injured 11 people, with six of those being treated in hospital in a “moderate” condition.

According to the regional head, Serhiy Lysak, the attack on the central Ukrainian city targeted a residential area, with extensive damage to four apartment buildings, several homes, businesses and communication networks.

The number of wounded is expected to rise, he says in a post on Telegram, while the fire caused by the attack has been put out.

The attack is more “proof that the Russians are at war with the civilian population,” he adds.

This is not the first attack this month of Zelensky’s hometown. 

We’ve had good calls with Russia and Ukraine, Trump says

Trump says that the US have had “good calls” with both Ukraine and Russia today.

“But it’s not easy,” he said.

Trump also praised himself for bringing the two sides to the point of discussing negotiations.

“I think we’ve had some very good results,” he said. “Just before I came here I got some pretty good news.” Though, he did not provide any further details on what he’s referring to.

He again claimed Ukrainian troops are “surrounded” and in “grave danger”, without providing further evidence.

“I asked him [Putin] not to kill those soldiers,” he added. “We don’t want them killed.”

Rubio calls for Russia and Ukraine to both make concessions

Rubio reasserts that “the only way to end this war is through a process of negotiations”.

He says both sides have to make concessions, adding this is the “reality” of ending a war.

The precise nature of those concessions remains to be seen and making “blanket statements” wouldn’t be helpful at this stage, the secretary of state adds.

Difficult to negotiate lasting peace in midst of war, Rubio says

Rubio says every country has the right to defend itself and its territory. He adds that Ukraine will “obviously have to agree” on what long-term security means for the country.

He stresses that an immediate ceasefire is essential.

“We can’t get to the second phase till we get through the first phase,” Rubio says.

“It’s very difficult to negotiate lasting peace in the midst of an ongoing war.”

Rubio admits he does not know how aligned US, Ukraine and Russia are yet

The US secretary of state continues to answer questions on the timescale of ceasefire proposals for the Ukraine war.

Rubio repeats that Witkoff is not here yet, but says there’s a lot of work to be done.

He admits it will be hard, saying he’s never said it would be “easy, fast, simple slam-dunk”.

It could come together pretty quickly if everyone aligns, Rubio tells press, but says he doesn’t know how aligned they are yet. “That’s what we’re about to find out,” he adds.

Asked again how long Putin has to agree to the ceasefire, Rubio responds: “The question isn’t how long, but are we actually moving towards a ceasefire, or is this a delay tactic?”

He says they’ll know that soon, a lot of which will be based from Witkoff’s conversation with Putin.

Negotiations ‘will not play out’ at press conferences

In response to a question asking whether Putin is playing for time, Rubio says that America is not going to make foreign policy decisions on the basis of what a leader says at a press conference or on social media.

He says negotiations will play out with leaders speaking privately in talks, not in front of cameras.

‘Do you trust Putin?’

Next up, Rubio is asked if he trusts Putin.

He says that’s an irrelevant question because it’s not about trust but action.

The US secretary of state says if we’re serious about foreign policy, we need to move away from this kind of talk.

He adds it’s not a reality show and it’s not about personalities.

US ‘cautiously optimistic’ over Ukraine deal

The US secretary of state says there is reason to be cautiously optimistic over the Ukraine ceasefire deal, but adds that it will not be easy or simple.

He says the US feels they are “some steps closer” to the end of the war but it’s a “journey of many steps”.

“There’s a lot of work remains to be done,” he says, adding that they’ll know more once US special envoy Steve Witkoff returns.

• Donald Trump says France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK PM Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war in Ukraine, ahead of visits from both leaders to the White House next week
• Speaking to Fox News, the US president also says Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has “no cards” in peace negotiations, adding: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings”
• Meanwhile, UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden says Britain is in a “potentially good position” with Trump, as he urges colleagues to focus on “what will actually happen” as well as what’s said
• Earlier, the US envoy to Ukraine struck a different tone to Trump, calling Zelensky a “courageous leader”
• The extent of Kellogg’s influence on US-Ukrainian relations is questionable, 

The leaders Zelensky has spoken to this week

Ukraine’s president has been criticised by President Trump for not bringing the war with Russia to an end, claiming “nothing got done” during three years of war.

This week Volodymyr Zelensky has been reaching out to leaders across the world for support during the ongoing war. Let’s take a look at some of those he has spoken to so far, and what he said following their conversations:

• Polish President Andrzej Duda: Zelensky said their “common goal remains clear – to protect Ukraine and all of Europe from Russia’s war of aggression”

• French President Emmanuel Macron: Zelensky said they discussed “our views on security guarantees – a just and lasting peace is our shared goal”
• Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: The pair discussed “continued military support, energy cooperation, sanctions…and the use of frozen Russian assets,” said Zelensky

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa: “South Africa’s voice matters, and we count on its support,” said the Ukrainian leader. South Africa has since invited Zelensky for state visit, but is yet to specify a time
• Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: Zelensky thanked Denmark for supplying weapons “and for our expanding joint defence production”
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer: The UK’s role in fortifying Europe’s defence and security “is important for us,” Zelensky said
• Nato Secreteray General Mark Rutte: The pair agreed there “must be confidence that in a few months or years, Putin won’t return with his war,” Zelensky said
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The pair met during Zelensky’s visit to Turkey

What Trump just said on Fox News podcast

US President Donald Trump has been speaking on a Fox Radio podcast this afternoon.

Here’s what he had to say to host, Brian Kilmeade, on the Russia-Ukraine war:

• Trump says that Russia and Ukraine would not want to begin peace talks if he was not involved
• He says that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron “did nothing” on Russia but says he considers Macron a friend and calls Starmer “a nice guy”

• Trump tells Kilmeade that “of course” he would take a call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite their recent testy exchange of words
• Trump insists several times that Russia could been “talked out” of invading Ukraine
• He says that former US President Joe Biden and Zelensky said the wrong things to Russia and there should never have been a war
• Trump stands by not inviting Zelensky to this week’s peace talks in Saudi Arabia, saying Russia “found it impossible to make a deal with Zelensky”
• He asserts that Russia is sincere in its efforts to make a peace deal, adding that Putin “doesn’t have to make a deal”

The Ukrainian army said four people were killed and dozens – many of them elderly – were injured in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region, which has been under Ukrainian control for five months.

More than 80 people are reported to have been rescued from the building.

The BBC has not been able to confirm Ukraine’s claim that it was a deliberate Russian attack using a guided aerial bomb. Moscow blamed Ukraine for the bombing.

Zelensky posted on X that the incident exposed Russia as “a state devoid of civility”.

“This is how Russia wages war – Sudzha, Kursk region, Russian territory, a boarding school with civilians preparing to evacuate,” he wrote.

“A Russian aerial bomb. They destroyed the building even though dozens of civilians were there.”

The Ukrainian army’s general staff posted on Telegram that four people had died and that 84 civilians were rescued, adding that “the strike was carried out on purpose”.

For its part, the Russian defence ministry said Ukraine carried out Saturday’s attack, which it described as a targeted missile strike.

Ukraine launched a lightning thrust into the Russian oblast of Kursk last August, taking Russian border guards by surprise.

The government in Kyiv made it clear at the time that it had no intention of holding on to the territory seized, merely to use it as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.

Zelensky likened Saturday’s strike to “how Russia waged war against Chechnya decades ago. They killed Syrians the same way. Russian bombs destroy Ukrainian homes the same way”.

“For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said on X. Those who want “to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given that opportunity”, he added.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said one of the two soldiers told officials he thought he was going to Russia for “training”, rather than to fight.

He was found with a Russian military ID card issued in the name of another person. The other soldier had no documents.

SBU said the two men, who were taken prisoner on 9 Jan, are in Kyiv and receiving medical care.

They only speak Korean and are being questioned with the assistance of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, SBU said.

Russia has not denied using North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said in October that it was his country’s “sovereign decision” whether or not to deploy such troops.

On Saturday, Zelensky posted photographs of the two captured soldiers, showing one of them with his head and chin in bandage, while the other had both his hands fully wrapped up.

Zelensky also shared a photo of a red Russian military ID card that gives the place of birth as Turan, in the Russian republic of Tuva, which shares a border with Mongolia.

SBU said that the soldier found with the ID card told interrogators he had been issued the document during the autumn of 2024, in Russia.

According to SBU, he also said that some of North Korea’s combat units had undergone a one-week training at the time.

“It is noteworthy that the prisoner…emphasises that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine,” the SBU statement said.

Zelensky’s office said in a statement on Saturday that the Russians “are trying to hide the fact that these are soldiers from North Korea by giving them documents claiming they are from Tuva or other territories under Moscow’s control”.

The intelligence service reported that the soldier carrying the ID card said he was born in 2005 and had been serving North Korea as a rifleman since 2021.

The second prisoner is reported to have given some of his answers in writing because he had an injured jaw, according to SBU.

SBU said it believed he was born in 1999 and had been serving North Korea as a scout sniper since 2016.

The Geneva Conventions state that the questioning of prisoners should be carried out in a language they understand and prisoners must be protected against public curiosity.

BBC News and other international media have not yet verified Ukraine’s account of the prisoners and their capture.

Ukraine and South Korea reported late last year that North Korea had sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said on Monday that more than 300 North Korean soldiers have died while fighting for Russia, and at least 2,700 of them have been wounded.

In December, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported that a North Korean soldier believed to have been the first to be captured while supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine had died after being taken alive by Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky said on Sunday “there should be no doubt left that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea”.