Zelensky appoints ex-Prosecutor General Venediktova as ambassador to Switzerland

The call marks the first direct contact between the two leaders in nearly two months and comes amid heightened tensions over the stalled peace talks.

The move follows President Volodymyr Zelensky's Oct. 14 decree to strip Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov of his Ukrainian citizenship.

Explosions have been reported in Kharkiv, Izium, Kropyvnytskyi, and Poltava. Earlier, the Air Force issued a nationwide missile warning after Russia launched MiG-31 bombers.

"There will be no oil, (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is) not buying his oil from Russia, it started — you know, you can't do it immediately, it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon," U.S. President Donald Trump said.

Another Ukrainian military training ground was hit by a Russian missile strike on Oct. 16, wounding troops.

The decision to rename Fairy Tale Square was made “in order to honor prominent political leaders of modern times, as well as to draw international attention to the reconstruction of the hero city of Chernihiv," according to the explanatory note.

Ukraine's General Staff has released a recording of what it says are North Korean soldiers guiding strikes into Ukraine's Sumy Oblast.

"Our military knows what to do; they have the military potential and all the necessary capabilities," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"President (Donald) Trump has instructed the ambassador and myself to tell our European allies that we would be in favor of whether you would call it a 'Russian oil tariff' on China or a 'Ukrainian victory tariff' on China," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.