Russian strikes across Ukraine ahead of talks in Washington
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 August 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Zelensky has condemned the latest deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine, ahead of his talks with President Trump and European leaders in Washington. Mr Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out what he called demonstrative killings to 'humiliate diplomatic efforts' to end the war. Ukraine says at least ten people have been killed in strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Also the Egyptian foreign minister and the Palestinian prime minister are visiting the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to highlight the need for more food aid to get through. We have an interview with the Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa.
And Croatian ultra-nationalist mega-gig exposes divided society.
(Photo: A residential area damaged by strikes in Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine, on Monday. Credit: EPA)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, welcome to the program. This is News Hour from the BBC World Service. We're coming to you live from London. I'm Paul Henley. |
| 0:11.5 | Ukraine's President Zelensky is in Washington, ahead of what are perhaps his most important talks yet with Donald Trump at the White House. |
| 0:19.4 | Mr Trump will also have meetings with a number of European |
| 0:22.1 | leaders, including the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister. They've come to the US to |
| 0:27.3 | show their support for Ukraine. Today's talks come days after the US leader met Vladimir Putin |
| 0:33.3 | on American turf in Alaska to try to prepare a peace agreement following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:40.3 | President Trump has already said Ukraine joining NATO or retaking occupied Crimea are off the table. |
| 0:47.8 | So what's on it? Let's hear live from our Washington correspondent Tom Bateman. |
| 0:51.8 | Welcome, Tom. From what you've heard, what is the American |
| 0:54.7 | plan today? Well, we heard extensively from some of Mr. Trump's top officials over the weekend, |
| 1:01.4 | notably Steve Wickoff, his chief negotiator on this issue, and Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, |
| 1:07.4 | both of whom were in the room with Mr. Trump when he met Vladimir Putin on Friday. |
| 1:13.1 | And there are two things here, I think, that are, you know, at the top of the agenda here. |
| 1:18.2 | One is about a territorial carve-up effectively that Mr. Putin has managed to get Mr. Trump to pivot his position on, |
| 1:26.9 | which is what is going to happen, basically, |
| 1:29.2 | is a discussion over territory. Vladimir Putin has been demanding that Ukraine withdraw from |
| 1:36.0 | the whole of the Dombas region in the east. That includes territory, which is still controlled |
| 1:41.3 | by the Ukrainians. Now, Mr. Zelensky has adamantly rejected that throughout, |
| 1:48.0 | but it appears that there will be some pressure, is my sense, |
| 1:51.7 | from the White House, on the Ukrainians to concede on that. |
| 1:55.1 | On the other hand, there has been talk from both of these officials over the weekend |
| 1:59.2 | that the Americans are prepared to shift |
... |
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