A Russian missile strike on Kharkiv has killed one and injured at least 54 others, including a child, officials in Ukraine have said.
The deadly overnight attack comes just a day after Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing three people, including a child, and wounding dozens.
Amid rising attacks on his country, Volodymyr Zelensky has accused China of supplying weapons, including gunpowder and artillery, to Russia in fresh allegations of Beijing’s involvement in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation,” Mr Zelensky said yesterday. “We are ready to speak in detail about this,” Mr Zelensky said, citing Ukrainian security and intelligence agencies.
China has not issued a response to the Ukrainian wartime president’s recent claims, but it has consistently denied arming Russia.
This comes as Ukrainian officials announced they have signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
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Key Points
- Russian missile attack on Kharkiv kills one and injures 54
- China is supplying weapons to Russia, says Zelensky
- Ukraine and US ink outline of minerals deal
- Zelensky accuses Trump's peace envoy of 'spreading Russian narratives'
Ukraine and US ink outline of minerals deal
06:31
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian officials announced they have signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
Ukrainian economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took to X and shared photos of her and US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, signing the outline of the preliminary minerals deal separately.
“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” she said on X.
The Ukrianian minister said that the signed document “notes the desire of the American people to invest together with the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine”.
We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/AQsHPkWh5X
— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) April 17, 2025
Zelensky accuses Trump's peace envoy of 'spreading Russian narratives'
06:31
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US special envoy Steve Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” about the war in Ukraine and overstepping his position.
“I believe Mr Witkoff has adopted the strategy of the Russian side. Consciously or not, he is spreading Russian narratives,” he said at a press briefing in Kyiv yesterday.
“Either way, it does not help. And I do not see any mandate for him to speak about Ukrainian territories. These lands belong to our people, to our nation, and to the future generations of Ukrainians,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president has said the country will not negotiate its territory as he dismissed Mr Witkoff’s recent remarks of Ukraine’s sovereign land.
Mr Witkoff told Fox News earlier this week that a potential peace deal could centre on the status of five territories, without naming the five Ukrainian regions – Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – held by Russia.
“As I said, we are discussing an unconditional ceasefire – and until that happens, we are not discussing territories,” Mr Zelensky said. “You know my position and our red lines: we will not recognise any of our temporarily occupied territories as Russian,” he said.
China is supplying weapons to Russia, says Zelensky
06:29
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has intelligence that shows China is supplying weapons to Russia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday as he announced significant progress towards a minerals deal with the United States.
“We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” he told reporters in Kyiv.
He did not specify whether he meant artillery systems or shells.
The allegation is likely to further strain relations between Kyiv and Beijing following the capture of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia. China has so far tried to maintain an outward perception of neutrality in the three-year war prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian missile attack kills one and injures 54
06:20
,
Arpan Rai
A Russian missile strike on Kharkiv has killed one person and injured at least 54 others, including a child, officials in Ukraine have said.
“According to preliminary information, the strikes on Kharkiv were carried out with ballistic missiles equipped with cluster munitions. That is why the affected areas are so extensive," Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
At least 20 apartment buildings and 30 houses were reported damaged in the attack.
The deadly attack comes just a day after Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing three people, including a child, and wounding dozens.
A snapshot of strained China-Ukraine ties as Zelensky accuses Beijing of arming Russia
06:08
,
Arpan Rai
China is supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, marking the first time he accused Beijing of direct military assistance to Moscow.
The latest round of accusations will likely strain the bilateral ties between Kyiv and Beijing, which are already under duress after two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russia were captured by Ukraine.
He said last week that Ukraine had information about 155 Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military against Kyiv's forces.
Mr Zelensky said at that time that Russia was recruiting Chinese nationals via social media and that Beijing officials were aware of that. He added that Ukraine was trying to assess whether the recruits were receiving instructions from Beijing.
A week ago, China reaffirmed its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and urged all parties to avoid “irresponsible remarks” — widely seen as a veiled response to Mr Zelensky’s comments.
Earlier, the Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to Chinese president, Xi Jinping, during the war and asked him directly about the possibility of Beijing supplying arms to Russia.
"He gave me his word that weapons would not be sold and sent to Russia," he said.
Moscow has already been receiving military support from other allies, including Iran and North Korea. Tehran has supplied long-range drones used in attacks far from the frontlines, while Pyongyang has provided artillery shells, missiles, and, according to Ukrainian officials, even troops.
The fighting in Ukraine has long developed into a war of attrition, in which both sides try to out-gun and out-kill each other by bringing greater numbers of troops and weapons to bear, making foreign military supplies vital.
Rubio speaks to Russian counterpart on Ukraine
05:52
,
Arpan Rai
US secretary of state Marco Rubio presented “to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace" regarding the war in Ukraine, a US spokesperson said yesterday, after Mr Rubio spoke with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that Mr Rubio had communicated the same message the US team had to the Ukrainian delegation and European allies in Paris, where she said it met an "encouraging reception”.
Trump reveals new date to sign Ukraine minerals deal, weeks after Oval Office ambush on Zelensky derailed it
05:45
,
Arpan Rai
President Donald Trump said the US and Ukraine would sign an agreement giving America access to much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth next week, more than a month after a planned White House signing ceremony with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was aborted after a disastrous meeting between him and Trump in the Oval Office.
Mr Trump announced the revived agreement and said it would be signed a week from today as he spoke to reporters alongside Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni yesterday.
“Well, we have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday... and I assume they're going to live up to the deal, so we'll see,” he said.
Lammy says Russia must accept ‘unconditional ceasefire’ after US-Europe talks
05:32
,
Arpan Rai
David Lammy has said Russia must agree to an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire” after meeting counterparts from the US and Europe for talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
The foreign secretary travelled to Paris for the first high-level discussions between British, French and White House officials since prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron separately visited Washington in February.
Mr Lammy shared little detail about the series of meetings that took place in the French capital yesterday but said the talks “underscore our shared commitment to global security”.
“We are working hard with allies to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine,” Mr Lammy said.
“Russia must agree to an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as Ukraine has done,” he said.
Putin praises Elon Musk as visionary
05:23
,
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has drawn a parallel between Elon Musk and a key figure in the Soviet space race, Sergei Korolev, praising the SpaceX founder as a visionary.
Speaking on Russia's space policy at a student meeting, Putin reportedly described Musk, a key adviser of US president Donald Trump, as "absolutely crazy about Mars", according to state news agency TASS.
Putin reportedly invoked the legacy of Korolev, the engineer behind Yuri Gagarin's historic 1961 spaceflight, to highlight the rarity of people like Musk.
TASS quoted Putin as saying: "Such people rarely appear in the human population, charged with a certain idea.“Even though it may seem incredible to me today, after a time such ideas are often realised."
How Ukraine’s 2.5-bn-year-old rock deposit became central to helping stop Russia
05:11
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them.
On Thursday, Ukrainian officials announced they had signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
Ukrainian economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took to X and shared photos of her and US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, signing the outline of the preliminary minerals deal separately.
In photos: France hosts Trump's top envoys on Ukraine peace talks
05:08
,
Arpan Rai
Russia accuses Ukraine of ignoring ceasefire at UN security council
04:45
,
Arpan Rai
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, has accused Ukraine of ignoring the ceasefire and carrying out around 120 strikes, as leaders met behind closed doors at the UN Security Council.
The session was called yesterday at Russia’s request over the energy infrastructure truce.
“Ukrainian forces have largely disregarded it, launching attacks on Russia’s fuel and energy infrastructure on a daily basis,” Mr Nebenzia told reporters after the meeting.
In a joint statement after the talks — read by Slovenia’s UN ambassador, Samuel Zbogar — Slovenia, Denmark, France, Greece, and Britain urged Russia to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.
“Ukraine wants peace, and has demonstrated this by agreeing to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire five weeks ago,” Mr Zbogar said.
“At the consultations today, Russia again rejected the comprehensive ceasefire and refused to make its first step towards peace."
Number of Americans who consider Russia an ‘enemy’ has fallen dramatically, new poll shows
04:36
,
Arpan Rai
The number of Americans who consider Russia an "enemy" to the US has fallen to its lowest point since the nation's president Vladimir Putin launched an expansionist war against Ukraine in 2022, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.
The shift has largely been driven by shifting opinions among Republicans who are falling in line with president Donald Trump’s defence of Mr Putin and his false assertions that Ukraine began the war.
According to Pew's poll, Americans who said Russia is the US's "enemy" have fallen to 50 per cent, down from 61 per cent in April 2024 and 70 per cent in March 2022, just after the invasion's start.
Among Republicans specifically, only 40 per cent saw Russia as an enemy, which is down from 58 per cent last year and 69 per cent in March 2022. Only 34 per cent of Americans overall now describe Russia as a competitor to the US, and only 9 per cent describe it as a "partner."
Trump says Ukraine-US minerals deal could be signed by next week
04:32
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine and the US could sign the minerals and economic cooperation deal they've been negotiating as soon as next week, president Donald Trump said yesterday
"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday (next week)," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House, in an apparent reference to the US-Ukraine deal.
Sitting alongside Mr Trump in the Oval Office yesterday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "we're still working on the details" and that the signing could come by next Friday.
"It's substantially what we'd agreed on previously," he said. "When the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think it's an 80-page agreement and that's what we'll be signing."
Mr Trump has pushed for a compact that would allow the United States to have privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington to Ukraine under the previous presidency of Joe Biden.
Trump has a deep grudge against Zelensky – but he’s now taken it further than ever before
04:26
,
Arpan Rai
What could possess Donald Trump to victim-shame Ukraine’s president and endorse the actions of an indicted war criminal by backing Vladimir Putin? Personal hatred of Volodymyr Zelensky? A near-demented obsession with personal sleight? A radical strategic vision that’s upended world affairs? Something worse?
Probably.
Soon after the massacre in Sumy, where two Iskander missiles slammed into the provincial Ukrainian capital killing 35 people, including two children, Trump sloughed off the atrocity by claiming it had been a Russian mistake. Shocking, but not surprising, as Trump has consistently taken the Russian side at every opportunity this year.
Before most of the bodies could be collected from the city morgue, though, he had gone on the offensive by doubling down on his efforts to pin Ukraine’s suffering on its president.
“When you start a war, you got to know you can win,” he said of Ukraine’s leader.
Russia now attacking civilian targets after shifting from energy sites, says Zelensky
04:25
,
Arpan Rai
Russia has reduced the number of its strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities but is attacking civilian infrastructure instead, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Mr Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv yesterday that, overall, Russia was launching the same number of missiles and drones at Ukraine as it had before the ceasefire.
"They reduced their strikes on energy. That's a fact," Mr Zelensky said.
"But I wanted us to pay attention to this – Russia did not reduce the number of strikes, that was the strategy... by reducing (strikes on) energy, they are hitting other civilian infrastructure," he said.
Russia and Ukraine agreed last month to a US-brokered, 30-day moratorium on military strikes against energy infrastructure, but both sides have frequently accused each other of violating it.
How residents of Ukraine’s Sumy are rebuilding after the deadliest Russian attack this year
04:18
,
Arpan Rai
The bustle of daily life in Ukraine’s Sumy makes it hard to believe that its people have faced a constant threat of death since Russia invaded their country three years ago.
Just days ago, Putin’s forces targeted the city centre in back-to-back missile strikes, killing 35 people and injuring over 100. It marked the deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilians this year.
Neighbours chatted in their apartment blocks, watching children play games in the courtyards. Pausing to look up, they would see the buzzing of attack drones and the familiar sounds of Ukrainian air defences before going back to their strange routine which is quickly becoming usual.
Zelensky accuses Trump's peace envoy of 'spreading Russian narratives'
04:18
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US special envoy Steve Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” about the war in Ukraine and overstepping his position.
“I believe Mr Witkoff has adopted the strategy of the Russian side. Consciously or not, he is spreading Russian narratives,” he said at a press briefing in Kyiv yesterday.
“Either way, it does not help. And I do not see any mandate for him to speak about Ukrainian territories. These lands belong to our people, to our nation, and to the future generations of Ukrainians,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president has said the country will not negotiate its territory as he dismissed Mr Witkoff’s recent remarks of Ukraine’s sovereign land.
Mr Witkoff had tol Fox News earlier this week that a potential peace deal could centre on the status of five territories, without naming the five Ukrainian regions – Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – held by Russia.
“As I said, we are discussing an unconditional ceasefire – and until that happens, we are not discussing territories,” Mr Zelensky said. “You know my position and our red lines: we will not recognise any of our temporarily occupied territories as Russian,” he said.
Ukraine and US ink outline of minerals deal
04:07
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian officials announced they have signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
Ukrainian economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took to X and shared photos of her and US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, signing the outline of the preliminary minerals deal separately.
“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” she said on X.
The Ukrianian minister said that the signed document “notes the desire of the American people to invest together with the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine”.
It is very important that the document notes the desire of the American people to invest together with the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine.
— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) April 17, 2025
China is supplying weapons to Russia, says Zelensky
03:52
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has intelligence that shows China is supplying weapons to Russia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday as he announced significant progress towards a minerals deal with the United States.
“We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” he told reporters in Kyiv.
He did not specify whether he meant artillery systems or shells.
The allegation is likely to further strain relations between Kyiv and Beijing following the capture of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia. China has so far tried to maintain an outward perception of neutrality in the three-year war prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
