Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service.
We're coming to you live from London.
I'm James Menendez.
And we're going to start today in Ukraine,
a country facing repeated accusations from the Trump administration that it's blocking efforts to reach a peace settlement,
even as Russia's offensive continues to claim the lives of Ukrainian civilians.
Last night, Russian missiles and drones rained down on the capital Kiev,
killing at least nine people.
Large explosions were reported in the Ukrainian capital as air defence systems tried to shoot them down.
Well, on Wednesday, President Trump attacked the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky,
for refusing to recognise Russia's... occupation of Crimea on the Black Sea.
Writing on Truth Social, he said, we are very close to a deal,
but the man with no cards to play should now finally get it done.
The US has floated the idea of recognising Russia's annexation of Crimea back in 2014,
as well as parts of the four regions it's occupied since the full-scale invasion of 2022.
While speaking at a news conference in South Africa a few hours ago,
alongside his South African counterpart,
President Zelensky said Russia also needed to feel the diplomatic heat.
I don't see much pressure on Russia or any new strong sanctions packages against the Russian aggression,
for now.