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The last time war came to Oryol was 1941. It came under Nazi occupation, before becoming one of the first major cities to be liberated by the Soviet Red Army.

More than 80 years on, fighting is not far away once again.

Ukraine’s incursion into the neighbouring Kursk region is little more than 100 miles south, and if the West does allow Kyiv to strike deeper inside Russia, Oryol would be in range.

“I am worried, of course I am,” Olga told Sky News, near Lenin Square, in the centre of the city.

“But I hope they won’t reach us. I really hope so.”

Not everyone was happy to speak to us.

“Great Britain is our enemy,” Mikhail said, when we told him we were from the UK.

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But after initially declining to give his opinion, he elaborated: “[The West] will give permission now and the missile hits where we stand. And where will we be? In the cemetery.”

If the West does give Kyiv the green light to use their long-range missiles, civilians won’t be the target though.

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Oryol is not far from Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region

Instead, it’ll be the launchers and runways that send Russian rockets into Ukraine, something Moscow has been doing for quite some time. But that fact is conveniently overlooked.

“I condemn Blinken’s position,” Leonid tells us, referencing the US secretary of state’s comments that Washington is “not ruling out” giving Kyiv permission.

“Of course, [the missiles] could reach here, without a doubt, but only if our valiant armed forces allow them to.”

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Biden could allow Ukraine to hit Russia with US missiles

Despite this apparent new threat, life in Oryol continues as normal.

Signs of the current conflict, like recruitment posters and military murals, have become part of the landscape.

Oryol
Image:
President Vladimir Putin’s image looms large on a building in Oryol

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Putin: ‘It will mean the direct participation of NATO.’

The latest addition are makeshift bomb shelters. They appeared shortly after Ukraine’s cross-border assault, which has now been going on for nearly six weeks.

The shelters are a clear indication that things aren’t going to plan for Russia. This was never part of the script.

But that’s not how people in Oryol see it, including those who have been displaced by the fighting.

Anna Konstantinova and her family, including three-month-old Anna, fled their home near the border in Rylsk when the incursion began, and are now being housed at a guesthouse in Bolkhov, north of Oryol.

She was told they’d be able to return home after a few days, but it’s now been a month. Yet she still believes the Kremlin’s message that everything is under control.

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Drones appear to hit buildings in and near Moscow

“In war, there are mistakes,” Anna said. “But I believe that everything will work out and everything will be fine.”

Even now, two and a half years into a war that was supposed to last a few days, the wisdom of the so-called Special Military Operation (SMO) is not questioned.

“If they hadn’t started the SMO, [Ukraine] would have simply attacked Russia,” asserted Anna, repeating the reasoning Vladimir Putin gave when he launched the full-scale invasion.

‘Drones were flying over our heads’

Lyudmila, 85, is another evacuee at the guesthouse after fleeing her home near Sudzha.

“It was terrifying,” she told us.

Lyudmila says drones were flying overhead as she and her family fled their home
Image:
Lyudmila says drones were flying overhead as she and her family fled their home

“When we were driving, drones were flying over our heads. And one drone, or shrapnel, hit our car and broke the side window. I don’t know how we survived.”

For her, though, this isn’t the first time she’s seen Russia invaded.

She was alive when the Germans came and is certain that Russia will again emerge victorious.

Read more:
Russian ship in satellite image ‘delivering missiles from Iran’
One dead after Moscow region struck by Ukraine drones

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“We’ve always won,” said Lyudmila, bursting with pride.

“We fought with the French for so long before, we fought with the Germans a long time ago and won, the Mongols and the Tatars.

“The Russian people have always won, because they are so courageous and they are kind. They don’t want war.”

However to Ukraine, it’s very clear Russia does want war, and it’s why the West is considering giving Kyiv more help.

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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
Image:
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
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
Image:
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
Image:
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
Image:
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
Image:
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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