Ukraine-Russia war latest: Four dead after Putin launches major assault on Ukraine’s two largest cities – UK Times

Ukraine’s peace negotiators will finalise a document on security guarantees with the US and submit it for review “at the highest level”, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine, he said, is “coordinating meeting schedules with US president Trump’s representatives – our documents are largely ready for signing”.

Zelensky did not share more details on the guarantees document.

If Russia does not agree to end its war then pressure on Moscow must be maintained in other ways, he said.

“We understand that the American side is in contact with Russia regarding the political framework for ending the war. We have defined our vision, and there must be clear feedback from Russia – whether they are willing to end the war on real terms,” Zelensky said.

“If there is no such willingness, pressure on the aggressor must continue to increase.”

The U.K. and the U.S. have condemned Russia’s use of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile in Ukraine, calling it a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” at an emergency meeting called by the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Russia Friday claimed it fired the hypersonic missile at a critical target in Ukraine in response to what it described as an attempted drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences, a claim refuted by Kyiv.

At least four people have been killed in Russia’s most intense overnight aerial bombardment of the year so far, according to Ukrainian officials and media.

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under a short but intense attack from Russian missiles, head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said.

Reuters reported its witnesses heard explosions in the city, but there was no immediate word on casualties or damage.

In Kharkiv, 30km (18 miles) from the border and also a frequent Russian target, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said four people had died in a strike on the outskirts of the city.

Syniehubov said six people were injured.

Telegram channels monitoring Ukraine said about 20 ballistic missiles were launched within about an hour overnight, in what they described as the most sustained strike on Ukraine so far in 2026.

Russian forces are using African citizens as “meat for the meat grinder” in their war against Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official.

Videos from the war frontline show Russia’s troops allegedly strapping a landmine to an African mercenary’s chest and asking him to run as a human bomb through no man’s land and target Ukraine’s positions, reported The Telegraph.

An unseen man, believed to be a Russian soldier, uses racist insults and tells the mercenary that he is being used as a “can opener” who will blow himself up to “open” an enemy bunker.

The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the video independently.

Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Olexander Scherba, confirmed participation of several African nationals in Moscow’s war on Ukraine who are being used in Vladimir Putin’s meat grinding war.

Scherba said several members of a South African political party with close ties with Russia embroiled in a recent scandal were forced into combat.

“There might be all kinds of charm offensives on the African continent, but once an African person comes to this war, they just become meat for the meat grinder,” he told The Telegraph.

The scandal shows Russia “looks at Africa through imperial eyes, he said.

Ukraine has attacked Russia’s Taganrog city in the southern Rostov region, officials said this morning.

Rostov governor Yuri Slyusar said Russian air defence systems were trying to repel a Ukrainian air attack.

“Details on the impact on the ground are being clarified,” he said on his Telegram channel.

The Russian city hosts a number of military facilities and has come under frequent attacks throughout the war.

In November, Ukraine’s armed forces reported successful strikes on several strategic Russian targets, including the Taganrog Aircraft Repair Plant and the Atlant Aero drone manufacturing facility in Rostov oblast.

The year 2025 was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.

These deaths in Ukraine have gone up after intensified hostilities on the war frontline and expanded use of long-range weapons from Russia.

Conflict-related violence in Ukraine killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in 2025, a 31 per cent rise in the number of victims from 2024, the monitor said in a monthly update on civilian harm.

The vast majority of the casualties verified by the watchdog occurred in Ukrainian government-controlled territory from attacks launched by Russian armed forces, the statement added. Ukrainian officials generally cite the UN figures as accurate.

Almost two-thirds of all casualties last year occurred in frontline areas, with older persons particularly affected as they remained in their villages. Civilian casualties caused by short-range drones also increased sharply, it added.

“The expanded use of short-range drones has rendered many areas near the frontline effectively uninhabitable,” said Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission.

“In 2025, many people who had endured years of hostilities were ultimately compelled to leave their homes,” confirming displacement of civilians as another impact of the war.

Britain’s envoy to the UN said Russia’s use of hypersonic ballistic missile on Ukraine last week that killed four and injured several others should be “universally condemned”.

“This hypersonic missile capable of travelling at over Mach 10, is reported to have hit a site in the region of Lviv, just 50 miles from the Polish border,” ambassador James Kariuki, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, said yesterday.

“Such action is reckless – it threatens regional and international security, and carries significant risk of escalation and miscalculation,” he said.

Greenlanders could vote to join Russia if US president Donald Trump did not move quickly to secure the Arctic island, a senior Russian official said.

“Trump needs to hurry. According to unverified information, in a few days there could be a sudden referendum, at which the entire 55,000-strong Greenland could vote to join Russia,” said Russian security council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.

“And then that’s it. No new little stars on the (US) flag,” he said.

While Russia makes no claim to Greenland, it has long monitored the island’s strategic role in Arctic security, given its position on North Atlantic routes and the presence there of a major US military and space surveillance facility.

Trump has revived his push for the United States to take control of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, arguing Washington needs to own it to deter Russia.

The US president has said its location and resources make Greenland vital for national security, prompting firm objections from Denmark and Greenland.