Ukraine has confirmed for the first time that its troops have entered the neighbouring Russian region of Belgorod.

Ukrainian forces have also been fighting in parts of Russia’s Kursk region, eight months after a cross-border incursion, although Russia has recaptured lost territory there.

On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Kursk and Belgorod regions.

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In his nightly video address, posted on X, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time his troops have been active in Russia’s Belgorod region as they seek to protect Ukrainian towns near the border.

He said Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had reported “on the situation at the front, including our presence in the Kursk and Belgorod regions”.

“We continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory, and this is just – war must return to where it came from,” he said.

“The main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in Sumy and Kharkiv regions as much as possible from the Russian occupier.”

Last month he referred to “certain steps” undertaken by Ukraine’s military in Russia “a little below the Kursk region” – suggesting a presence in the Belgorod region.

While it is the first official confirmation by Ukraine of its troops in Belgorod, Russian military bloggers had reported battles there in recent days.

Mr Zelenskyy also said that despite Russia’s recapture of areas of Kursk in recent weeks, the operation had a specific purpose.

“Thanks to the entire Kursk operation – we have managed to ease the pressure on other parts of the front, particularly in Donetsk region. It is absolutely crucial to keep destroying Russian equipment and all logistics used by the occupiers,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Zelenskyy’s hometown held funerals for some of the 20 people, including nine children, killed by a Russian missile which hit apartment buildings and a playground.

More than 70 people were also wounded in the attack on Friday night on Kryvyi Rih.

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Russian forces mounted several attacks on villages around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to Ukrainian military officials posting on Telegram on Monday.

They have for months been attempting to encircle the city, an important logistics hub, but Ukrainian resistance has slowed the Russian advances in the area.

Donald Trump is trying to broker a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

But the fighting has continued, and it remains unclear whether the US will maintain its military support for Ukraine.

Donald Trump has said the US is having direct talks with Iran over its nuclear programme – stating Iran will be in “great danger” if the negotiations fail.

The president has insisted Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons.

But Iran almost immediately contradicted the president insisting the talks due to take place in Oman on Saturday would be conducted through an intermediary.

Iran had pushed back against the US president’s demand that it enter negotiations over its nuclear programme or be bombed, but speaking at the White House on Monday, Mr Trump said: “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started.

“It’ll go on Saturday,” he continued. “We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen. And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable.”

When pressed for more details on the talks, the US president said they are taking place “at almost the highest level”, without specifying who would take part or where they would be held.

“Hopefully those talks will be successful, it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful,” he said. “We hope that’s going to happen.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr Trump said Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if the talks aren’t successful, I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran”.

However, Mr Trump’s bullish comments were not matched by Tehran. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that indirect high-level talks would be held in Oman, adding: “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s state media said the talks would be led by Mr Araghchi and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, with Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al Busaidi, acting as intermediary.

Mr Trump’s previous warnings of possible military action against Iran heightened already tense nerves across the Middle East.

He has said he would prefer a deal over military confrontation and in March wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to suggest talks. Iranian officials at the time said Tehran would not be bullied into negotiations.

Direct talks would not occur without the explicit approval of Iran’s supreme leader, who said in February that negotiations with the US were “not smart, wise, or honourable”.

During his first White House term, Mr Trump withdrew the US from a deal between Iran and world powers designed to curb Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.

He also reimposed US sanctions.

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Iran has since far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes but Western powers accuse it of having a clandestine agenda.

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Benjamin Netanyahu’s White House visit – his second in just over two months – was also due to include a news conference but this was cancelled earlier on Monday.

Officials said the decision was made because the Israeli prime minister and Mr Trump had “two back-to-back media availabilities (the greeting in the Oval Office and the formal news conference), and they wanted to streamline things”.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has demanded an independent investigation into the “atrocious” deaths of 15 aid workers killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in March.

The group’s president, Dr Younis al Khatib, said he had asked the UN Security Council to form an investigation committee into the “intentional killing of the medics”.

In response to Sky’s Alistair Bunkall, spokesman David Mencer claimed the killings were the result of Hamas hiding among civilians and using them as human shields.

But speaking in Ramallah, Dr al Khatib said those responsible must be held “accountable for these crimes” via international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.

“It’s not enough to comfort us with condolences and nice words of investigation and accountability. There has to be action taken,” he added.

He urged an “independent and thorough investigation of this atrocious crime” and that “no one should be above the law”.

“So many questions being asked of the Israelis,” he said.

“Why were they killed? Why did you destroy the ambulances after killing them? Why did you try to dig deep and hide the ambulances? They have to answer for that.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Monday that a preliminary inquiry into the shooting “indicated the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area”.

The IDF added that “six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists”.

It comes after footage at the weekend showed the moment the aid workers were killed, with ambulances and fire insignia clearly visible and red lights flashing.

The paramedic filming, later found with a bullet in his head, is heard saying there are Israelis present and reciting a declaration of faith often used before someone dies.

He adds: “Forgive me, mother, this is the path I chose mother, to help people, forgive me, mother, I swear I chose this path only to help people.”

The Israeli military originally claimed the vehicles – which were travelling north of Rafah on 23 March – didn’t have headlights or emergency signals on and were targeted as they looked “suspicious”.

An IDF investigation is ongoing, but an Israeli government spokesman claimed on Monday that “six Hamas terrorists” were among those killed.

Mr Mencer said: “IDF soldiers opened fire at a distance at vehicles moving suspiciously in their direction.

“Among the dead were six Hamas terrorists – what were Hamas terrorists doing in ambulances? The incident was reported in real time to UN officials.”

He claimed there were “many documented occasions” when Hamas had used ambulances as cover.

An evacuation order was also in place at the time, which meant moving vehicles were prohibited, according to Israel.

The head of the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, Jonathan Whittall, said the 15 people were found in a “mass grave” in the sand.

He said those killed comprised eight members of the PRCS, six civil defence members and one UN employee.

Dylan Winder, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said it was “outraged at the deaths” and that “even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules”.

“They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have been protected. Their ambulances were clearly marked, and they should have returned to their families. They did not,” he said.