Watch: Zelensky confirms meeting with Trump in WashingtonZelensky confirms meeting with Trump in Washington
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 09:13
Zelensky says he will discuss long-range missiles with Trump to put pressure on Putin
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said he will be meeting the US president Donald Trump on Friday, when the two will discuss long-range missile capabilities to pressure Russia.
Announcing the departure of the Ukrainian delegation, Zelensky said: “I will also have the opportunity to come to Washington and meet with president Trump on Friday. I believe we will discuss a series of steps that I intend to propose. I am grateful to president Trump for our dialogue and his support.”
He said the long-range missile capabilities will be discussed to exert pressure on Moscow “for the sake of peace”.
“I will also meet with energy companies. This is necessary – it was President Trump’s proposal – and I will meet with these companies because there are pressing needs linked to various formats of attacks, not even the attacks that Russia has already carried out. In any case, we must be prepared. So, it will be helpful. Therefore, the main focus of the visit is air defence and our long-range capabilities aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace,” he said.
(Getty Images)
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 08:57
Russia opens new criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a “terrorist organisation” and of plotting to violently seize power.
The FSB today said the charges relate to the activities of a Khodorkovsky-backed group that opposes the war in Ukraine. The group, called the Anti-War Committee, has been banned in Russia.
Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who was once Russia’s richest man, served 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges that he and many Western countries said were politically motivated.
Khodorkovsky rose to prominence as one of a handful of wealthy businessmen who backed Russia’s former president Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, gaining huge power over the Russian economy as a result.
He fell from grace as Yeltsin’s successor Vladimir Putin tightened the Kremlin’s grip on previously independent-minded business figures.
He was pardoned in 2013 and left Russia. He has since backed a series of groups opposed to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
There was no immediate comment from Khodorkovsky or his representatives.
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 08:52
Zelensky says nearly 100 drones launched on Ukraine overnight: ‘Utterly terrorist, cynical’
Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with nearly 100 drones, of which most were shot down and guided bombs in late nigth attack.
“Last night, Russia’s aerial terror against our cities and infrastructure continued once again. The main targets were our energy facilities. Ninety-six attack drones were launched, most were shot down, though unfortunately not all. Yesterday evening, Russia dropped aerial bombs on Kharkiv, striking a city hospital and injuring 57 people. An utterly terrorist, cynical attack on a place where lives are saved,” Zelensky said on X.
He added: “Energy infrastructure in the region was also hit. In the Kirovohrad region, civilian infrastructure was damaged, including railway facilities in two local settlements. In the Sumy region, there were strikes on energy facilities and an enterprise. The Donetsk region was also attacked.”
The Ukrainian president said the world should compel Moscow to sit down for genuine negotiations.
“We count on action from the United States, Europe, the G7, and all partners who have these systems and can provide them to help protect our people. Ukraine needs sufficient air defence capabilities to shield its skies from missiles, drones, and glide bombs so that Russia’s aerial terror becomes meaningless,” he said on X.
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 08:32
Trump and Zelensky to discuss potential missile supply deal
More detail has emerged about Trump and Zelensky’s Friday meeting, with the Ukrainian leader telling reporters that the two plan to discuss Ukraine’s air defence and long-range strike capabilities.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelensky said that he had shared with Trump a “vision” of how many US Tomahawk missiles Ukraine needs for its war effort against Russia and that the two leaders would discuss further details on the matter at their working lunch at the end of the week.
Volodymyr Zelensky urges Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like he did in the Middle East during a phone call on 11 October 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 08:17
UN nuclear watchdog seeks a local truce to restore power to the Zaporizhzhia plant
The UN nuclear watchdog is pushing Ukraine and Russia to agree to local ceasefires so that external power can be restored to Ukraine’s huge nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, two diplomats familiar with the plan said.
The plant is in an area under Russian control since early in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents.
It has been operating on diesel generators since 23 September when its last remaining external power line was severed in attacks that each side blamed on the other.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the nuclear plant, Europe’s biggest.
The agency is proposing to restore external power to the plant in two phases, according to a European diplomat briefed on the proposal by the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi.
A Russian diplomat confirmed some aspects of the plan.
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 07:59
In photos: Russian attacks target civilians in Kharkiv overnight
Ukrainian firefighters work amid to extinguish a smouldering building in a fire following Russian strikes in Kharkiv (AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian firefighters work amid to extinguish a smouldering building in a fire following Russian strikes in Kharkiv (AFP via Getty Images)
Hospital patients take shelter inside a basement during a Russian air strike in Kharkiv (Reuters)
A wounded hospital patient takes shelter inside a basement during a Russian air strike in Kharkiv (Reuters)
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 07:26
Germany’s Merz says he will speak to Trump about ending Ukraine war
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would speak to US president Donald Trump about ending the war in Ukraine.
“Today is proof that when the international community stands together, peace can be achieved,” Merz said in a post on X, referring to the Gaza peace plan.
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 07:12
MI5 warns MPs they are being targeted by China and Russia
MI5 has warned MPs that they are being targeted by China, Russia and Iran through espionage in a shock warning.
In a caution posted by the government ahead of a Commons statement by security minister Dan Jarvis, intelligence chiefs issued new guidance to protect Britain’s democracy from foreign agents.
The warning noted that elected representatives and those who work with them may be targeted for their access to information, their ability to shape policy or public opinion, or their relationships with others of interest.
This includes not only classified material but also privileged or insider knowledge that foreign intelligence services find valuable. This could be through attempts to exploit overseas travel, online activity, and financial donations as routes to access and influence.
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 06:50
Trump to shift focus on Russia-Ukraine war after Gaza
Donald Trump is now set to turn his attention to ending the war in Ukraine after helping the Israel-Hamas conflict sign a peace deal.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said a possible ceasefire for Ukraine and the next steps will likely be discussed in a meeting on Friday between him and the US president.
“I think we need to discuss the sequence of steps that I want to propose to president (Trump),” Zelensky told journalists yesterday.
He said the long-range missile capabilities will be a part of discussion which will likely build pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to bring him to a negotiating table.
“The main topics will be air defence and our long-range capabilities, to maintain pressure on Russia,” Zelensky said.
The two leaders spoke on both Saturday and Sunday amid intensifying discussions about the potential provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, and a Ukrainian delegation led by prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko is slated to visit Washington before the Friday meeting.
(AP)
Arpan Rai14 October 2025 06:37