Russian foreign minister says Russia 'ready to reach a deal' on Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia is "ready" to reach an agreement with Ukraine, according to an interview with CBS News posted online.
US President Donald Trump "mentions a deal and we are ready to reach a deal but there are still some specific elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned," Mr Lavrov said in the interview.
"There are several signs that we are moving in the right direction," he added.
When asked about a new wave of strikes on Ukraine which left at least 12 dead and dozens more injured in Kyiv, Mr Lavrov said: "We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military."
"If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them," he continued.
Earlier, Mr Trump issued a rare rebuke of the Kremlin via social media: "I am not happy with the Russian strikes," Mr Trump wrote. "Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cut short a visit to South Africa to urgently return to Kyiv after Thursday's Russian deadly strike on the capital.
Missile that killed 12 in Russian strike on Kyiv was North Korean - Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian missile that struck a residential building in Kyiv yesterday and killed 12 people was supplied by North Korea, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
A North Korean KN-23 (KN-23A) missile hit a residential block in the Sviatoshynskyi district west of Kyiv's centre during a major aerial attack by Russia, a Ukrainian military source told Reuters.
"According to preliminary information, the Russians used a ballistic missile manufactured in North Korea. Our special services are verifying all the details," Mr Zelensky said on X, without providing further details.
Russia made no comment on Mr Zelensky's remarks. Russia and North Korea have denied weapons transfers that would violate UN embargoes.
Russia's military cooperation with North Korea grew rapidly as Moscow became internationally isolated after invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine says North Korea has supplied Russia with vast amounts of artillery shells as well as rocket systems, thousands of troops and ballistic missiles, which Moscow began using for strikes against Ukraine at the end of 2023.
By the start of 2025, Pyongyang had supplied Russia with 148KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, Ukraine's military spy agency says.
KN-23 (KN-23A) missiles are armed with warheads of up to one tonne, which is more powerful than the Russian equivalent missiles, the Ukrainian source said.
In the initial readout after the Russian attack, Kyiv said seven ballistic missiles were used in total, identifying them broadly as Iskander-M/KN-23.
North Korea's involvement in Ukraine has alarmed not only European capitals but also South Korea and its allies in Asia, who fear that lessons learned from war could be unleashed onthem one day.
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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
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Irish Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
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Moment Putin's doomsday nuclear planes explode in major Ukrainian sneak attack
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Irish Independent
14 hours ago
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Ukraine destroys more than 40 military planes in major drone attack inside Russia
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