
Zelensky calls Russia peace proposal an ‘ultimatum' and demands talks with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday dismissed Russia's ceasefire proposal as "an ultimatum" and renewed his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock over the three-year war.

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RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Three drones targeting Moscow shot down, Russia says
Russian air defence forces have shot down three drones attempting to attack Moscow, according to the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He did not provide further details but said that emergency services were working at the sites where debris had fallen. Russia's aviation watchdog said that Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region had temporarily suspended operations to ensure flight safety. It announced soon afterwards that services had resumed. Elsewhere, overnight strikes by Ukraine injured three people in the western Tula region, Russian officials said. Earlier, Ukrainian officials said that Russia had carried out a barrage of drone strikes across the country, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv. "Kyiv came under another attack involving UAVs and ballistic missiles" overnight, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine wrote on Telegram. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that four people had been confirmed dead and 20 were wounded - 16 of whom were hospitalised. Several fires broke out in various districts as a result of the shelling, including at a residential building, a civil infrastructure facility and a metal hangar while train tracks were damaged in the Kyiv area. Strikes also hit the western city of Lutsk and Ternopil region. "Today, the enemy carried out the most massive air attack on our region to date. There are multiple strikes," head of Ternopil's regional military administration Vyacheslav Negoda said. "We have begun extinguishing fires and assessing the damage and other consequences," he added. The shelling in Lutsk wounded five people. "We also have numerous broken windows in private homes, several educational institutions, and one damaged government facility," the city's Mayor, Igor Polishchuk, said on Telegram. Meanwhiile, buildings and cars were damaged in the western city of Khmelnytsky, according to the region's governor. Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to take revenge following a recent drone attack by Ukraine on Russian soil, which destroyed billions of euro worth of nuclear-capable bombers. He appeared to rule out a ceasefire or any direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Zelensky said that Russia had issued an "ultimatum", demanding that his country fully pull out of four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed but does not fully control.


The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
What is Ukraine's ‘mystery missile'? Russia quaking after Kyiv uses ‘new weapon' to blitz Putin on night of hell
VLADIMIR Putin has been left shell-shocked by a brand new mystery missile he claims Ukraine attacked him with overnight. A massive strike ripped through an airport in Bryansk and reportedly destroyed a placement of Putin's Iskander missile system. Advertisement 9 Vladimir Putin has been left shell-shocked by a brand new mystery missile he claims Ukraine attacked him with overnight in Bryansk Credit: East2West 9 The huge blasts targeted a Russian airfield with a giant mushroom cloud eruption seen by onlookers Credit: East2West 9 The severity of the attack has led to Russians accusing Kyiv of using German-supplied Taurus missiles Credit: Getty 9 Thursday saw one of the most explosive evenings of fighting for some time during the gruelling war. The night of hell saw The Russia tyrant hammered Ukraine with 407 drones and 44 missiles - unleashing a But a valiant Ukraine hit back with their own set of attacks. Advertisement read more in Ukraine war Dramatic footage shows one explosion, believed to be from the mystery weapon, followed by a powerful secondary blast. A follow up attack also took out a launcher for the Iskander a day earlier, Ukraine claimed. But the blasts were something never been seen before by the quaking Russians during their illegal invasion. This led to speculation on pro-Kremlin media channels that Ukraine may have fired a powerful German-supplied Taurus missile. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Putin-loyalists Tsargrad said on Telegram: 'Did the first Taurus strike Russia? "Unprecedented escalation in Bryansk and destruction of Iskander missiles.' Putin plotting 'final killer offensive' to WIN Ukraine war despite Russian losses nearing 1 MILLION As channel MIG Russia claimed the pinpoint Bryansk strike was carried out with Western-made long-range missiles. If it was a Taurus, it would mark the first ever time it has been used by Kyiv. Advertisement The Russians would also view it as an 'unprecedented escalation' in the conflict due to the damage the weapon can cause. Discourse around German weapons has ramped up in the parts 24 hours ever since Chancellor Friedrich Merz met in the Oval Office with Donald Trump. German sources have had to deny that any agreement had been reached during the talks to send supplies of long-range Taurus' to Ukraine. Merz had announced at the end of May that Ukraine's key backers - including Germany, France , the UK and the US - had all lifted restrictions on where donated weapons can be used. Advertisement And the announcement could even mean that Britain's bunker-busting Storm Shadow rockets are a nightmare for enemies as they are capable of dodging air defences. 9 The mystery blast from Ukraine saw two explosion ring out across the airfield Credit: East2West 9 Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone attack in Kyiv Credit: Reuters Advertisement 9 A Russian bomb lands in Ukraine overnight Credit: AP The £800,000 missiles - already being fired within Ukraine - use GPS to precisely hit targets, and can travel at 600mph. The Taurus missile system is widely regarded as Germany 's equivalent to the Storm Shadow. The tit-for-tat attacks came hours after US President Donald Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia fight for a while. Advertisement The president has been so far unsuccessful on getting the two countries to agree to peace - with Moscow not moving on its demands. The American was full of praise for Ukraine though as he labelled The daring operation saw a fired up Putin's Advertisement It comes as a new report accused Putin of plotting a final killer offensive along three fronts to win the war this summer . The Russian army is nearing one million casualties in its bungled three-year-old invasion as Now, some 125,000 Russian soldiers are reportedly right now massing along the Sumy and Kharkiv frontiers, according to Ukraine's military intelligence. Over the past fortnight border villages have fallen to Russia as it is may to be preparing the ground for the offensive. Advertisement But some senior commanders in Ukraine believe that could be a feint and Russia is actually preparing to attack further south to push further into the Donbas, Russia is likely to attack through three areas near each other in the Donbas - Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk. 9 Fire and smoke rise in Kyiv following a Russian drone and missile strike overnight Credit: Reuters 9 Advertisement


Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Six Ukrainian regions targeted by Russia in one of war's largest aerial attacks
Russia bombarded six regions of Ukraine on Friday in one of its largest aerial attacks of the three-year war, Ukrainian officials have said. The night-time assault lasted for hours and killed three emergency responders in the capital Kyiv as well as another person in a north-western city, according to authorities. The barrage included 407 drones and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. Ukrainian forces said they shot down about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the drones. Today is a day of our gratitude to every journalist, to all media workers, to everyone who develops new information platforms and resources. The world knows what is happening in Ukraine. Every country knows our position and hears what we are doing to defend our independence and… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 6, 2025 Ukrainian cities have come under regular bombardment since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations. 'Russia doesn't change its stripes,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Mr Zelensky, as well as the Ukrainian interior ministry and the general prosecutor's office, said three emergency workers were killed in Kyiv while responding to the Russian strikes. 'They were working under fire to help people,' the interior ministry said in a statement. The war has continued unabated even as a US-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. The negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs, however, and the sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting. Ukraine has offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and a meeting between Mr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock. But the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce and has not budged from its demands. An explosion is seen after a Russian air strike on Kyiv on Friday (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/PA) Mr Putin said in a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this week that he would respond to Ukraine's daring long-range attack on Russian air bases on Sunday. Russia's defence ministry claimed it had aimed at Ukrainian military targets with 'long-range precision weapons' and successfully struck arms depots, drone factories and repair facilities, among other targets. In Russia, air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital early on Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended during the night as a precaution. Ukrainian drones also targeted three other regions of Russia, authorities said, damaging apartment buildings and industrial plants. Three people were injured, officials said. The Russian defence ministry said that air defences downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions early on Friday. It added that three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black Sea.