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The UN secretary general has told Vladimir Putin that “a just peace” is needed to end the Ukraine war.

Appearing alongside Mr Putin at a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, Antonio Guterres called on the Russian leader to agree a peace deal “in line with the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions”.

He said summit attendees: “Across the board, we need peace. We need peace in Ukraine.”

It comes after President Xi Jinping claimed on Wednesday that China and fellow BRICS member Brazil have put forward a peace plan for the war in Ukraine.

He told Mr Putin and other leaders at the three-day summit that they intend to rally further international support in the hope of bringing fighting there to an end.

Mr Xi said: “We must uphold the three key principles: no expansion of the battlefields, no escalation of hostilities, and no fanning flames and strive for swift de-escalation of the situation.”

The BRIC coalition formed in 2009, bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the following year, changing the name to BRICS.

It was largely disregarded at first – but it has since grown in both membership and influence with Russia’s war in Ukraine and Iran’s involvement in the wars in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon dominating global geopolitics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.
Pic: Reuters
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Leaders in Kazan this week. Pic: Reuters

Just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr Putin and Mr Xi signed a “no limits” partnership between their two countries.

Beijing, however, has kept largely quiet on the Ukraine war and not tried to use its influence on Moscow to bring it to an end. This week’s claims of a peace plan could result in new impetus for talks to resolve the conflict.

 Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.
Pic Reuters
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Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin attend the BRICS summit in Kazan. Pic Reuters

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi added that his country “supports dialogue and diplomacy, not war”.

Mr Guterres has not visited Russia in over two years and the decision sparked criticism from Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote on X ahead of the summit that his trip to Kazan would “only damage the UN’s reputation”.

“This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace,” it added, also rejecting the China-Brazil plan.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Mr Guterres, responded by saying it is “standard practice in attending meetings of organisations with large numbers of important member states, such as the G7 and the G20” – pointing out that BRICS countries represent “half the world’s population”.

Notably, President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which is a NATO member and hoping to enter the European Union, was also there.

Vladimir Putin and  Narendra Modi hug during the extended format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.
Pic: Reuters
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Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi in Kazan. Pic: Reuters

Appearing alongside BRICS members on Thursday, Mr Guterres also called for peace in the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan.

On the Middle East, Mr Xi called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.

Alternative payment system would counter sanctions

In a joint declaration bringing the three days to a close, BRICS members voiced concern about “the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions”.

Mr Putin’s priority for the meeting was discussions of an alternative global payment system that could be used between members – after Russia was cut off from SWIFT at the outbreak of its invasion, due to Western sanctions.

As such, the attendees’ statement talked of a “faster, low-cost, more efficient, transparent, safe and inclusive cross-border payment instruments built upon the principle of minimising trade barriers and non-discriminatory access”.

Mr Putin said it was important as all the BRICS members “share similar aspirations and values and a vision of new democratic global order”.

Such a system would allow member countries to bypass the US dollar, which is currently used for oil transactions and other major international trade.

Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan.
Pic: Reuters
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Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pic: Reuters

On the sidelines of the summit, Mr Putin also met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

He reiterated the “truly friendly” ties between Russia and Iran that he hopes will be solidified with a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty”, which is due to be signed by the pair on Mr Pezeshkian’s planned trip to Moscow.

A date for that visit has not been decided, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

Commenting on the Middle East crisis, Mr Pezeshkian added: “The flames of war continue to rage in the Gaza Strip and
cities of Lebanon, and international institutions, particularly the UN Security Council as a driver of international peace and security, lack the necessary effectiveness to extinguish the fire of this crisis.”

Mr Modi and President Cyril Ramaphosa have chosen to go to the BRICS summit rather than, as leaders of India and South Africa, attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which is also taking place at the same time and is being visited by UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, among others.

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‘The capital is under attack’: Russian drones launched over Kyiv after Moscow targeted

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'The capital is under attack': Russian drones launched over Kyiv after Moscow targeted

Russia has launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital overnight, after Moscow itself was targeted.

Amid flailing peace talks, the Kremlin’s nightly attacks on Ukraine continued.

Ukraine war – follow the latest updates

A large-scale Russian attack through the night into Sunday injured at least 11 in Kyiv and killed three people in towns surrounding the capital.

There were attacks elsewhere as well, including drone strikes in Mykolaiv, where a residential building was hit.

An apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv.
Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
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An apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

‘Massive’ attack

In Kyiv, the city’s administration warned “the night will be difficult”, as people were urged to remain in shelters.

The city’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described it as a “massive” attack.

He said: “Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. The capital is under attack by enemy UAVs. Do not neglect your safety! Stay in shelters!”

It came after at least 15 people were injured in attacks the night prior.

Russia claimed it also faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday, and that it intercepted and destroyed around 100 of them near Moscow and across Russia’s central and southern regions.

A municipality worker cleans up after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv.
Pic: Reuters
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A municipality worker cleans up after a Russian drone strike on Kyiv. Pic: Reuters

Russia ‘dragging out the war’

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continued a prisoner exchange, marking a rare moment of cooperation in the war.

Amid the most recent attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his calls for sanctions on Russia.

Russia “fills each day with horror and murder” and is “simply dragging out the war”, he said.

A resident looks at an apartment building that was damaged in a Russian drone strike.
Pic: Reuters
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A resident looks at an apartment building that was damaged in a Russian drone strike. Pic: Reuters

“All of this demands a response – a strong response from the United States, from Europe, and from everyone in the world who wants this war to end,” Mr Zelenskyy added.

Every day “gives new grounds for sanctions against Russia”, he said, and each day without pressure proves the “war will continue”.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is ready for “any form of diplomacy that delivers real results”.

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Nine of Gazan doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

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Nine of Gazan doctor's 10 children killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis

Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.

Warning: This article contains details of child deaths

Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.

Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.

Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.

In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.

The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

Rescuers removing the children's bodies from the rubble. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
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Nine children were killed in the strike. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.

“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”

Rescuers placing the children's bodies in a van. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack

Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.

Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.

Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar's husband who is also a doctor, being taken into hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
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Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar’s husband who is also a doctor, was taken to hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.

Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.

Rescuers unload the children's bodies. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Image:
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence

‘No political or military connections’

Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.

“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”

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Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies

He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”

Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.

Read more:
Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I don’t want to lose her’
Dad wrongly pronounced dead in Israeli bombing killed in airstrike

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Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

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UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

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UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

A woman walks amidst rubble at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Pic: Reuters
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A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

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Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

More on Gaza

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

Palestinians carry a body at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza .
Pic: Reuters
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A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

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‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

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The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

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