Zelenskyy accuses Vladimir Putin of terrorist rampage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "pure terrorism" after at least 15 people were killed and 116 others were injured in a massive attack on Ukraine overnight, reports Independent.Co.UK.

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 Odessa. 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 civilized 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. 

The Kremlin has said it is unclear when direct negotiations with Ukraine will next take place.

Asked whether Russia planned to assess Ukrainian proposals for a ceasefire and hold new talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed there was no understanding of when the next direct negotiations with Kyiv would occur. Mr Peskov claimed that, in the coming days, Russia would assess the possible timeframe for continuing negotiations.

Ukraine's parliament has appointed Ruslan Kravchenko - a former head of the Kyiv region military administration - as the country's new prosecutor general.

The position had been vacant since October, after Andriy Kostin announced he was resigning to take responsibility for a scandal in which dozens of officials were alleged to have abused their position to receive disability status and avoid military service.

>>Agency