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I met Larysa standing on broken glass outside her Kyiv apartment block trying to convince two council workmen to come up to her flat and mend her shattered windows.

Only hours earlier she had been shaken to the core by a huge explosion in the residential complex car park three floors beneath her.

She invited us inside saying she had been terrified by the blast.

Larysa was clearly in shock and very teary.

Hypersonic missiles fired by Russia in hours of strikes – war latest

Larysa
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Larysa had been shaken by a huge blast

As we walked towards the entrance to her block I looked up; dozens and dozens of windows were shattered for floor after floor of the building.

Inside, the workmen started clearing up while we chatted.

“There was an explosion, and of course, I jumped immediately,” she told me.

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Police search for missile fragments in a residential area in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv

“I just looked outside and saw people running, so I ran through my apartment and checked all my windows… and then I saw the ambulance and fire engines arrive 15 minutes later.”

She kept telling me how she worries about her grandchildren, so I asked her if she could try to explain to another grandmother in the UK what it’s like living through this war.

“Oh, don’t even ask, most of all I worry about my children and grandchildren, one of my sons is on the frontline, the oldest one. I don’t worry about myself, I have thick skin, so I am okay, but my children…”

A missile struck Svyatoshyns'kyi district in Kyiv
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A missile struck a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv’s Svyatoshyns’kyi district
Site of missile strike in Kyiv

‘Let them be cursed!’

Larysa grew increasingly upset as we spoke – and she is particularly upset with Russia, its people, and President Putin.

“May they be cursed! I hope they can hear me, even friends I have known there my whole life… let them be cursed!

“I don’t worry about myself, I’m old, but I worry about my children and grandchildren,” she reiterated.

“I want an end to this as soon as possible, I want Putin to die…”

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‘Barbaric’ Russian missile and drone airstrikes
The secret journey of the ships accused of supplying invasion
Bakhmut will show who is winning the war – but at what cost?

Residents walk past destruction after missile strike in Kyiv
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Residents walk past the destruction
Cars caught fire after the missile strike in Kyiv

Shrapnel scars children’s playground

In the car park below, police searched for fragments of missile that hit this residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, in Svyatoshyns’kyi district. They were trying to figure out exactly what it was.

The Russians fired a whole range of weapons across the country, shattering the morning peace with devastating effect.

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Deadly strikes hit Kyiv and Lviv regions

Cars here caught fire as the missile crashed into the ground, and dozens upon dozens of apartment windows were shattered in the blast.

The children’s playground wasn’t spared either – we saw shrapnel marks on the swings and slides.

A few men were surveying their damaged vehicles, seeing what they could repair.

“As you see, we just try to fix the problem and continue to live and hope for the best… all the wars in history come to an end, so I hope it will be fast and peace will come soon,” one of them told me.

Strikes and sirens are part of life in Kyiv

Council workers began delivering large rolls of plastic sheeting for people to repair their windows as best as possible.

It is relatively mild here in Ukraine at the moment, but the temperatures can plunge in a matter of hours.

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How significant were missile strikes?

This was a massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and one of the targets was a power station in Kyiv, which burnt through the morning.

By the time we got to it, the fire was out, but there have been power cuts caused by the attack.

Emergency workers in Kyiv extinguish fire in vehicles at the site of a Russian missile strike
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Firefighters extinguish a blaze after a missile strike in Kyiv
People take shelter in metro station during an alarm
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People take shelter in a metro station during an alarm

Air raid sirens periodically sounded throughout the day here in the capital, and after three weeks of relative quiet, we watched as some residents once again returned to the metro to await the all-clear.

This surprised me; that even after all this time people still run for shelter when the sirens ring out.

It’s part of life here now.

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police have said.

The driver has been taken into custody after the incident shortly after 8pm local time on Saturday, police added.

People were in the area near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street for the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, named after a national hero of the Philippines.

Vancouver’s mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

He added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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