Category World News

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, refutes Russia’s claim that Vladimir Putin targeted his country’s residence.

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, claimed on Monday that 91 long-range strike drones were used in an attack on Putin’s residence in Novgorod, northwest of Russia.

No one was hurt, Lavrov claimed, adding that the aerial attack was downed by air defense systems.

The strike occurred on Sunday, according to Yury Ushakov, a Kremlin aide who spoke with the Kremlin about Russia’s nuclear negotiations in Florida.

Zelenskyy quickly refuted Moscow’s assertion and claimed that Russia was trying to thwart the peace talks.

Andrii Sybiha, the foreign affairs minister of Ukraine, said the accusations were meant to derail the negotiations.

In a post on X, Sybiha claimed that the claim was intended to “create a pretext and false justification for Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine, as well as undermine and impede the peace process.”

Russia reiterated its intention to reevaluate its negotiating strategy in light of the alleged attack, with Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs, warning that Moscow’s response “would not be diplomatic.”

Later on Monday, Trump claimed that Putin had called him and that Ukraine had attempted to attack the Russian president’s residence.

Trump claimed Putin made the claim during a call with reporters.

“I dislike it,” I said. When Trump was questioned about how the claim might impact his efforts to put an end to the Ukrainian conflict, Trump responded, “It’s not good.” President Putin told me about it today. I felt a lot of anger for it.

When Trump was asked whether the allegations supported any particulars, he responded, “We’ll find out.”

Peace negotiations are stifled.

The developments come as Ukraine’s fourth-year full-scale invasion by Russia approaches.

A 20-point peace plan, according to Zelenskyy, is “90 percent agreed” and security guarantees between the US and Ukraine are “100 percent agreed.”

However, significant issues remain regarding the future of Russian-occupied territory in the east of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian people should decide the matter, suggesting that various aspects of any deal could be decided by referendum.

Following the talks in Florida on Sunday, both Trump and Zelenskyy have hoped a peace agreement might come to an end.

Zelenskyy outlined his phone calls with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics, and the Finnish president Alexander Stubb, updating them on the status of their communications.

As Trump pressures him to reach an agreement to end the war, he has sought to balance his dealings with his allies in Europe and the US.

On the front line, fighting continues.

Meanwhile, fighting persisted on numerous fronts in Ukraine, with the Russian army claiming that its forces had taken the village of Dibrova in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

According to regional governor Ivan Fedorov, at least one civilian was killed and another injured in the southeast of the Zaporizhia region when the Russians attacked the city of Orikhiv. He claimed a 46-year-old man was killed and a 49-year-old woman was hurt when Russian-guided aerial bombs struck the front-line city.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that three people had been injured by Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours. He claimed that a 73-year-old woman was hurt in the Hroza village, a 54-year-old woman in Zolochiv, and a 73-year-old man from Novoplatonivka.

Russia asserted that its forces were strengthening or expanding positions in various regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Sumy.

Since the start of the day, 89 combat engagements have been recorded along the front lines, according to the general staff of Ukraine. According to an operational update released by Ukrinform on Monday, Russian forces were focused on the Pokrovsk sector, with fighting still taking place in six different sectors.

On Monday, Saint-Tropez residents paid tribute to French icon Brigitte Bardot outside her home, one day after the actress passed away at the age of 91. Local authorities announced that the actress-turned-far-right agitator would be interred in a cemetery close to the southern town.

In coastal cities, Alawite protesters confront government supporters.

President Trump claimed he wanted to “quickly” enter the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, but that Hamas’ disarmament was the main issue. He stated that soon work would be done on reconstructing Gaza, adding that the area is “a tough neighbourhood.”

Pro-Palestine activists have sprayed red paint and smashed windows at the offices of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party in London, saying the action is in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in British jails.

The group Justice for the Hunger Strikers said on Monday that its members had targeted the governing party, citing growing anger at what it described as the government’s refusal to engage with the hunger strikers.

The protest was held as four detainees continue to refuse food while being held on remand awaiting trial, prompting increasing concern from doctors and campaigners that one or more could die.

Four other detainees have since ended their hunger strike but have said they plan to resume it in the new year.

Hunger strike enters critical stage

Heba Muraisi is on day 57 of her hunger strike and is being held in a prison in West Yorkshire.

In a statement shared exclusively with Al Jazeera on Monday, she said: “I’ve been forced fed repression and I’m stuffed with rage and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now. I am bringing acute awareness to the unjust application of UK laws by our Government and I’m glad that people can now see this after a year of imprisonment and human rights violations. Keep going, keep fighting”.

The three other detainees still on hunger strike are Teuta Hoxha on day 51, Kamran Ahmed on day 50 and Lewie Chiaramello on day 36. Hoxha and Ahmed have previously been hospitalised during the protest.

A spokesperson for Justice for the Hunger Strikers criticised the Labour government, saying it has failed to intervene despite advance warning of the hunger strike.

“Despite being given two weeks notice of the hunger strike, the Labour government has refused to engage with the hunger strikers or their families and legal representatives, even as they have reached a critical stage, with death a very real possibility”, the spokesperson said.

The hunger strikers are being held in five prisons across England over their alleged involvement in break-ins at the UK subsidiary of the Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in Bristol and at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.

The detainees deny the charges against them, including burglary and violent disorder, and said the UK government should itself be held accountable for its alleged role in Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people.

All eight hunger strikers are members of Palestine Action and were charged before the group was designated a proscribed organisation under “antiterrorism” laws. They are expected to spend more than a year in prison before their trials begin – well beyond the UK’s usual six-month pretrial detention limit.

According to the Prisoners for Palestine group, their trials are expected to begin between April and January 2027.

The detainees ‘ demands include release on bail, an end to what they describe as interference with their mail and reading materials, access to a fair trial and the de-proscription of Palestine Action.

Additional demands issued this week include transferring Muraisi back to HMP Bronzefield, closer to her family, lifting non-association orders between prisoners, and allowing detainees access to prison activities and courses.

International concern

Campaigners have described the protest as the largest hunger strike in Britain since the Irish hunger strikes of 1981, saying it has prompted hundreds of solidarity demonstrations across the country.

On Friday, a group of United Nations experts – including Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory – issued a statement expressing alarm at the detainees ‘ treatment.

“Hunger strike is often a measure of last resort by people who believe that their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted”, the experts said. “The state’s duty of care toward hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished”.

Separately, more than 800 doctors have signed a letter addressed to Justice Secretary David Lammy urging him to intervene. The letter, written on December 17, raised “grave concern” about the prisoners ‘ health, warning they were at high risk of organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.

Lawyers for the hunger-striking detainees said last week that they had initiated legal proceedings against the government, alleging it had abandoned its own prison safety policy. The detainees said they have written repeatedly to Lammy and other justice officials without receiving a response.

James Timpson, the UK minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said the government would not engage directly with the hunger strikers or their representatives.