Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US of “unwillingness” to help in the war after Russian strikes killed more than 70 people over two days.

Speaking to reporters in Pryluky after a Russian guided aerial bomb attack on Kramatorsk that killed at least 30 people, he pushed back against US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s earlier comment that the war was at a “stalemate” and that Washington would keep working toward a settlement.

“We have heard about many different moments during the war. Many hopeless situations, difficult corners and so on. We – people, leaders, politicians – drive ourselves into a corner… Even on the first day of the war, we were not in a corner. Because one person tried to drive an entire nation into a corner, and the nation rose up and defended its state,” he said.

“You see, you cannot negotiate economic projects for the future with the Russians on the one hand and, on the other, say that we are at a… diplomatic deadlock. We are not at a diplomatic stalemate. Shut down their entire economy. Shut Russia’s mouth. Do not feed them with your sales. Just impose sanctions on their weapons. Open Starlink to us, to Ukraine,” he added.

“So where’s the truth here, where’s the honesty? Where’s the stalemate? … That’s called unwillingness,” he said.

“One cannot, on the one hand, negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects, whilst on the other hand say that we find ourselves in some sort of … diplomatic stalemate,” Zelensky ‌added.

A former Ukrainian security services officer linked to a bomb attack targeting a millionaire businessman in Monaco has claimed that the operation was authorised by senior figures in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, HUR.

Vitalii Zhykovych alleged that an active-duty HUR officer, Vladyslav Reut, had proposed the operation against Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolayev, in an interview with the BBC.

Yermolayev and his 13-year-old son were seriously injured in the June explosion, while his partner suffered catastrophic injuries.

Zhykovych, who describes himself as a freelance operative for Ukraine’s SBU security service, said he believed the mission had official approval.

“As Reut informed me, this operation […] had been authorised and approved by Reut’s superiors, who served in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence [HUR],” he said.

He denied involvement in planting the bomb or killing Anastasia Berezovska, the woman filmed placing the explosive device in Monaco. Her body was discovered with gunshot wounds in woodland near Kyiv a week later.

Zhykovych and Reut were subsequently arrested over her murder.

Reut initially confessed to investigators before changing his account in court to blame Zhykovych.

HUR has not commented on the latest allegations but previously said it was committed to a full investigation and would cooperate with law enforcement authorities.

A Ukrainian delegation will travel to the US on Friday and Saturday for talks aimed at advancing efforts to end the war, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Zelensky urged US president Donald Trump to increase sanctions pressure on Russia and said he expected Ukraine’s European allies to participate in the discussions.

The talks, scheduled to take place in Florida, will involve Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, alongside senior Ukrainian officials Rustem Umerov, Sergiy Kyslytsya and David Arakhamia.

A Ukrainian drone attack has sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s Tver region, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

TASS cited the regional governor as confirming the blaze following the attack.

The extent of the damage and whether there were any casualties were not immediately clear.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk has condemned a wave of deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine, including Thursday’s attack on two civilian buses in Kramatorsk.

“I am appalled by the wave of attacks killing civilians across Ukraine over the past four days, including today’s horrifying strike hitting two public buses,” he said in a statement.

“The scale and manner of these attacks – killing and injuring people on buses, at their homes and work in different areas of the country – is reprehensible.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian strikes had killed 78 people and wounded 215 others across the country over the past two days.

A Russian ⁠air strike has ⁠killed ​one person ⁠and injured two others in ‌the Ukrainian ‌city of Zaporizhzhia, ‌acting governor Mykhailo Semikin said on ‌Telegram on ​Friday.

UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband visited the site of the Russian strike in Pryluky along with Volodymyr Zelensky, where he condemned Vladimir Putin’s “evil intent and evil strategy”.

He announced “more sanctions on Russia, on the war machine of Putin, on the shadow fleet, on the oil companies, on the crypto, on the financing of the war”.

“My message to Putin is clear – you cannot wait us out. Until you choose the path of peace, the UK will not relent in its support for Ukraine, our values, or our national security. You will remain a pariah,” he said.

They visited a site where 22 people, including five children, were killed in a single strike on a five-storey block of flats in Pryluky on Wednesday.

The sanctions package, which includes around 40 targets across Russia’s financial, oil and technology sectors, is designed to disrupt Russia’s supply chain and cut off financing streams.

Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US to accede to his request to expand Ukraine’s access to its Starlink satellite service in order to better target Russian ballistic missile launchers, after Moscow launched one of the deadliest single aerial attacks of the war so far.

Speaking to reporters in ‌Pryluky in the east of Kyiv, he said: “Open Starlink for Ukraine. You did open it when you ‌were responding to Iran … I’ve said quite openly – give it to us, help us defend our skies and dominate there. And then Putin will sit down at the negotiating table.”

At least 30 people were killed in a Russian glide bomb attack on two civilian buses in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, rescue officials said.

Three others were killed in the nearby village of Bilenke, while 18 people were wounded, according to Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin, who accused Russia of deliberately targeting passenger buses to maximise civilian casualties.

Two people ⁠were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes on Thursday ⁠in ​Russia’s border ⁠region of Belgorod, regional ⁠officials said.

The regional ​operational ⁠headquarters reported ‌one person died when a drone ‌struck a ‌car.

A later evening strike killed ⁠one person and injured three.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Belgorod region ‌has been a ​frequent ‌target of ⁠Ukraine’s forces.

Indian imports of Russian oil have their lowest level since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, according to a report.

In the four weeks up to 4 October, shipments of Russian rude averaged just 310,000 barrels a day, Bloomberg data showed. This is the lowest level since March 2022.

India has gradually reduced its dependence on Russian oil since the US threatened punitive sanctions earlier this year.