Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of “pure terrorism” after at least 15 people were killed and 116 others were injured in a massive attack on Ukraine overnight.
The Ukrainian president called the attack “one of the most horrific” of the war so far, with Ukrainian officials saying 14 were killed in Kyiv and one person was reported dead in Odesa. In total, Russia fired almost 500 drones and missiles across Ukraine, in one of Moscow’s largest attacks since invading Ukraine in February 2022.
“Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilised society responds to terrorists,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that it was still unclear how many remained trapped under the debris.
The attack came just hours after Donald Trump claimed it was a mistake to throw Russia out of what was formerly the G8.
“This was a big mistake,” said the US president, adding that he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Mr Putin not been ejected from the high-profile group of nations. “Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else ... he’s not a happy person about it,” Mr Trump said.
Read More
Key Points
- 15 killed, 116 injured in major Russian attack overnight
- Trump defends Putin over G7 ejection: ‘He’s not happy about it’
- Russian attack kills US citizen in Kyiv, mayor says
- Zelensky’s plan to speak with Trump at G7 called off as US president leaves early
- UK and allies to slap fresh sanctions on Putin
Top Putin ally meets North Korean leader for second time in less than two weeks
09:35
,
Andy Gregory
Sergei Shoigu, the head of Russia’s powerful security council, met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the second time in less than two weeks on Tuesday.
Russian news agency Interfax quoted the security council as saying that negotiations between the pair had begun, but did not specify the subject of their talks.
Mr Shoigu also previously visited Pyongyang and met Mr Kim on 21 March and 4 June this year, after the North Korean leader signed a strategic partnership treaty – including a mutual defence pact – with Vladimir Putin last year.
North Korea sent thousands of soldiers late last year to help Russia expel Ukrainian troops from its western Kursk region. British defence intelligence claimed this week that North Korean troops had suffered more than 6,000 casualties in Kursk.
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use against Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
Toll of Russian overnight attacks rises to 15 killed and 116 wounded
09:10
,
Andy Gregory
The number of people reported wounded in Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukraine has risen to 116, in strikes which killed 14 people in Kyiv and one person in Odesa.
The head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 others were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night.
The bombardment demolished a nine-storey residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Russian drone strikes in the southern port city of Odesa killed one person and injured 17 people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional administration.
Close to 200 clashes reported along frontline as Ukraine claims Russia suffered over 1,000 casualties
09:03
,
Andy Gregory
Ukraine has reported another heavy day of fighting along the front line, with 186 combat clashes taking place over the past 24 hours.
The most intense fighting came once again in the direction of Pokrovsk, the Donetsk city which has been central in Vladimir Putin’s sights for months. The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Kyiv’s troops had repelled 56 Russian attacks in the area over the past day of fighting.
Claiming to have inflicted 1,060 casualties on Russia over the same period, Ukraine’s military sai Russia had launched 56 air strikes, deployed more than 3,000 kamikaze drones and fired nearly 5,500 artillery shells in a single day of fighting.
Ukraine's air force says it downed 428 out of 472 Russian drones and missiles overnight
08:43
,
Andy Gregory
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 402 of 440 drones – and 26 of 32 missiles – launched by Russia overnight.
The air force said in its daily update that 428 Russian projectiles were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defences, 262 were shot down, and 166 were lost, likely due to electronic warfare techniques.
The attack mostly targeted the capital Kyiv – where 14 people were reported dead – and Odesa, where one person was killed, with at least 75 people reportedly injured.
Trump appears to snub Zelensky at G7 summit
08:30
,
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump appeared to snub a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky as he left the G7 leaders’ summit early on Monday night.
According to the Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainian and US presidents were expected to meet on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday, in what would have been their third face-to-face meeting since January.
But the White House said Mr Trump had left the Canada summit after dinner on Monday with other G7 leaders “because of what’s going on in the Middle East”.
However, Mr Trump – who claimed Tehran’s residents should evacuate and warned that “Iran can not have a nuclear weapon” – said on his social media platform Truth Social that his reason for leaving early “certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire”, adding: “Much bigger than that ... Stay tuned!”
It was not immediately clear as to whether Trump will return for the final day of the summit on Tuesday.
UK and allies to announce new sanctions against Russia
07:50
,
Arpan Rai
Britain and its G7 allies are expected to announce further sanctions against Russia today, the government said, stepping up pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
"We are finalising a further sanctions package – and I want to work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia’s energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war," Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say.
Britain has already sanctioned over 2,300 individuals, entities and ships as part of sanctions against Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"We should take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President (Vladimir) Putin it is in his – and Russia’s interests – to demonstrate he is serious about peace," Sir Keir is expected to say.
Watch: Live: Aftermath of Russian missile and drone strike on Ukraine as 14 killed and 40 injured
07:38
,
Arpan Rai
Kyiv faces 'one of the most horrific attacks' overnight, says Zelensky
07:37
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has witnessed “one of the most horrific attacks” overnight as Russia fired almost 500 drones and missiles on the war-hit country, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“More than 440 drones and 32 missiles were used. Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks. Also, overnight, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions were attacked,” Mr Zelensky said.
“All the affected are receiving the necessary assistance. 75 people have been reported injured. As of now, 15 people are confirmed dead,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said that it's still unclear how many remain trapped under the debris.
He added: “Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists.”
I receive regular reports from Minister of Internal Affairs Klymenko and our military commanders on the aftermath of Russia’s massive strike. More than 440 drones and 32 missiles were used. Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks. Also, overnight, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia,… pic.twitter.com/4ZMFBj8eJ2
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 17, 2025
Russian attack on Kyiv during G7 summit shows disrespect to US, foreign minister says
07:21
,
Arpan Rai
A deadly Russian attack on Kyiv during the Group of Seven summit sent signal of disrespect to the US and other partners who have called for an end to the war, Ukraine's foreign minister said today.
"Putin's goal is very simple: make the G7 leaders appear weak. Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong," Andrii Sybiha said on X.
This night, Russia launched a massive and brutal strike against Ukraine. Hundreds of drones and missiles targeting civilians. Kyiv suffered particularly severe attacks.
— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) June 17, 2025
Putin does this on purpose, just during the G7 summit. He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United… pic.twitter.com/4XHoKWPu3R
Shoigu reaches North Korea on Putin's instructions
07:08
,
Arpan Rai
Russia's top presidential security adviser Sergei Shoigu was expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after arriving in Pyongyang "on special instructions" from president Vladimir Putin, Russia's Tass news agency reported today.
Mr Shoigu will hold talks with the North Korean "leadership on implementing agreements" reached during his visit earlier in June under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by the two leaders last year, Tass reported.
It did not elaborate on the details of Mr Shoigu's expected talks or what the Russian president’s instructions were.
The visit by Mr Shoigu is the third in nearly three months as the two countries rapidly advanced diplomatic and security ties in the past two years, including North Korea's military support for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Russia downs 147 Ukrainian drones overnight, defence ministry says
06:59
,
Arpan Rai
Air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region, overnight, the defence ministry said this morning.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin earlier said that two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow had been repelled.
Fears Trump will veto G7 joint statement on Russia sanctions and Israel
06:27
,
Arpan Rai
Efforts by the world’s biggest democracies to toughen sanctions against Russia and hold a joint position on the Middle East crisis look set to be thrown into chaos by Donald Trump.
The US President, who landed in Alberta, Canada late on Sunday night, opened off his remarks at the G7 summit by suggesting it had been a “mistake” to boot Russia out of the former G8.
It had already been reported by CBS News that Mr Trump does not intend to sign a G7 statement related to Israel and Iran, citing unnamed US officials.
David Maddox, our Political Editor at the G7 in Canada, reports:
14 killed, 40 injured in major Russian attack on Kyiv overnight
06:08
,
Arpan Rai
At least 14 people were killed and 44 others were injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv overnight, Ukraine's interior minister said this morning.
The attack damaged residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities, minister Ihor Klymenko said on his Telegram channel.
In photos: Missiles explode over Kyiv skies as Russia launches a massive attack
06:03
,
Arpan Rai
Trump defends Putin over G7 ejection: 'He's not happy about it'
05:48
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump made a brief one-day visit to the G7 summit in Canada on Monday and largely made headlines for expressing unhappiness over the 2014 expulsion of Vladimir Putin from the group.
"This was a big mistake," Mr Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected from the high-profile group of nations.
“I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” he said.
“They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn’t in politics then.
"Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group.
His remarks come at a time when European nations say they want to persuade the US president to back tougher sanctions against Moscow.
The US leader has indicated that he would rather have the G7 become the G8 or possibly even the G9, adding Russia and China as authoritarian governments to an organisation whose members are otherwise democracies.
"It was a rough start," said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council.
Watch: Trump says it was a mistake to boot Russia out of G7
05:45
,
Arpan Rai
16 injured as Russia rains missiles and drones on Ukraine overnight
05:15
,
Arpan Rai
At least 16 people were injured after waves of Russian drones and missiles struck districts across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early this morning, city officials said.
The barrage of drones and missiles used to attack Ukrainian cities damaged an apartment building and sparked fires.
Witnesses told Reuters the drones swarmed over the capital and they also heard what appeared to be missiles overhead.
An air raid alert remained in effect more than seven hours after it had been proclaimed.
Other parts of the country also came under attack, including areas outside the capital and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where the regional governor reported at least four strikes.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that most of the 16 injured were in Solomianskyi district, near the city centre, where a drone damaged the top floor of an apartment building and other non-residential areas.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, noted 12 strikes in five districts. Among the targets was a kindergarten in the city's eastern edge.
"The capital is coming under a combined attack," Tkachenko wrote.
"The Russians are deploying missiles and strike drones. There are fires in different districts and emergency crews are at work.
"Waves of drones had attacked Solomianskyi district, he said. "This is a very difficult night," he wrote, adding that there had been power cuts in some areas.
Zelensky's plans to discuss weapons purchases called off as Trump leaves early from G7 summit
05:14
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky’s plans to discuss new weapons purchases for Ukraine with Donald Trump in Canada have been scrapped after the US president said he is leaving the Group of Seven summit a day early.
Mr Trump’s early exit is due to the evolving situation of conflict in the Middle East, the White House said.
Mr Zelensky, who is visiting Austria, is set to attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada today, where he had hoped to meet Mr Trump on the sidelines of the meeting.
“One of the questions that I will discuss with president Trump during the meeting is the defence package that Ukraine is ready to buy,” Mr Zelensky had told a news conference in Vienna.
French president Emmanuel Macron said Mr Trump's departure was positive, given the objective to get a ceasefire in the Middle East.
G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until this evening.
Russian attack kills US citizen in Kyiv, mayor says
04:38
,
Arpan Rai
A US citizen was killed in an overnight air attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the city’s mayor said this morning.
The 62-year-old American was pronounced dead by doctors in the city, mayor Vitali Klitchsko said on his Telegram channel and gave no other details.
"During the attack on Kyiv, a 62-year-old US citizen died in a dwelling in the Solomianskyi district opposite where medics were providing assistance," Mr Klitschko wrote. "Medics noted his clinical, biological death."
The US embassy in Kyiv has not issued a comment immediately.
Officials said Russian forces deployed drones and missiles in the attack on several districts of the capital, with at least 12 people injured.
Starmer 'happy with make-up of G7' despite Trump comments
04:28
,
Arpan Rai
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said he is "happy with the make-up" of the G7, Downing Street said after the US president Donald Trump suggested that kicking Russia out of the group was a mistake.
Asked earlier yesterday if Sir Keir agreed with the US president's remarks, a Number 10 spokesman said: "I think obviously those comments are a matter for the US."
He added: "The prime minister goes ahead with the G7 and is happy with the make-up of it."
Russia repels two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow
04:23
,
Arpan Rai
Russian air defence units repelled two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow, the city's mayor said in the early hours today.
Emergency crews were examining fragments at sites where the drones fell, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Ukraine and Russia have both sent waves of drones against a range of targets in recent weeks and have exchanged attacks as of this morning.
Last month, dozens of Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow or the region surrounding the capital.
Trump says ‘was mistake’ to boot Putin from G7
04:07
,
Arpan Rai
Donald Trump said it was a mistake to kick out Russian president Vladimir Putin from the G7 summit yesterday as he started his speech.
The US president used the brief media appearance alongside Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to revive his years-old complaint about Mr Putin’s removal in the wake of the 2014 invasion of Crimea.
Mr Trump complained that the G7 “used to be the G8” until “Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in.”
“I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago. But it didn’t work out that way. But it used to be the G8 and now it’s, I guess, what’s that? Nine years ago, eight years ago, it switched over,” Mr Trump said.
Andrew Feinberg reports:
Five injured as mass drone attack hits Kyiv apartment building
04:00
,
Arpan Rai
At least five people were injured after a mass drone attack caused major damage to a Kyiv apartment building in the early hours today, city officials said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the damaged apartment building was in the Solomianskyi district near the centre of the capital. Rescue teams were also needed in two other districts, he said.
"A large group of enemy drones is still headed for the city centre," he said, warning of incoming Russian attack.
While Mr Klitschko said two people had been injured, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, put the number of injured at five.
