Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian president Vladimir Putin has instructed his generals to abandon the rules of war in pursuit of more territory in Ukraine.
Zelensky said Putin gave the order last month, telling the Financial Times: "He said there are no rules now."
Russia has since stepped up its air strikes on civilian targets, particularly in Kyiv, hitting data centres and energy infrastructure as well as schools and hospitals. Zelensky cited intelligence from intercepted communications from Kremlin officials
Earlier, South Korea vowed to escalate its row with Kyiv over the announcement of two North Korean POWs’ transfer to Seoul, saying the country’s “dignity” is at stake.
Ukraine has sought to play down the row as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”, but on Friday South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said his country would take “further action” if Kyiv does not apologise and continues to deny the existence of a confidentiality agreement related to the POWs.
Hungary welcomes Ukrainian bill strengthening Hungarian minority rights
Hungary has welcomed Ukraine's move to submit to parliament draft legislation that strengthens the education rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority.
Hungarian prime minister Peter Magyar said on Friday: "The bill strengthens the legal guarantees of education in the Hungarian language, and the network of educational institutions."
Zelensky says Putin has told his generals 'there are no rules now' in Ukraine war
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian president Vladimir Putin has instructed his generals to abandon the rules of war in pursuit of more territory in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.
The Ukrainian president made the remarks during a visit to a bomb shelter inside a school that had been hit by a Russian drone on Thursday.
Zelensky said Putin gave the order last month, saying: "He said there are no rules now." Russia has since stepped up its air strikes on civilian targets, particularly in Kyiv, hitting data centres and energy infrastructure as well as schools and hospitals.
Russia still formally denies that it strikes civilian targets, and typically justifies its strikes as hitting military-linked buildings or infrastructure.
Zelensky cited intelligence from intercepted communications from Kremlin officials, the FT reported.
Ukraine 'has more to lose' in row with South Korea
Cho Han-bum, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said any escalation by South Korea in its row with Ukraine would most likely involve support it already provides the war-hit country, including humanitarian, financial and reconstruction assistance.
"Ukraine has more to lose than South Korea because it is receiving support from Seoul," Cho said.
South Korea has provided humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion and in July pledged an additional $100 million innon-lethal support on the sidelines of the Nato summit.
"However, neither side benefits from a prolonged confrontation," Cho said, noting that South Korea relies on Ukraine for information related to North Korea's military activities.
Ukraine wants to heal 'misunderstanding' with South Korea
Ukraine is working to heal a spat with South Korea over Kyiv's publicly announced transfer of two North Korean servicemen taken prisoner in the war against Russia.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed while he was addressing the UN General Assembly last week that the prisoners had been sent to South Korea, angering Seoul which expected the transfer to remain secret.
Ukrainian Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha told journalists late on Thursday: "I would not like to call this an incident. Let's say, it's a diplomatic misunderstanding," according to a report run by the news website nv.ua and other media.
"I really hope that this situation will be resolved in the very near future and we are working on it. For us, South Korea is an important country. And I really hope for momentum, continuation, and concrete results that we are truly achieving with them."
Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in January 2025, the first to be captured alive since Pyongyang entered the war in 2024 assisting Russia.
North Korea has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Russia, including a mutual defence pact, and dispatched an estimated 14,000 troops to help Moscow evict Ukrainian troops from its Kursk region.
Zelensky this week said more than 8,000 North Korean troops remained in Russia and 10,000 were being trained for a future deployment.
Ukraine attacks industrial facilities in Russia's Volgograd with drones, governor says
Ukraine has attacked the Russian city of Volgograd, home to a large oil refinery, with drones targeting industrial facilities, governor Andrei Bocharov said on Telegram on Friday.
The drone attack sparked a fire in an apartment building, injuring one, and was later extinguished, he said, without naming the industrial facilities.
South Korea threatens to escalate row with Ukraine over POWs
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung says Seoul will take additional measures if Ukraine continues to deny the existence of a confidentiality agreement related to the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war, and called on Kyiv to acknowledge the agreement and apologise.
In a post on X, Lee also expressed grave regret over Ukraine's response, accusing Kyiv of undermining South Korea's head of state and warning that remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea amounted to invoking the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula.
Russian air strikes hit Southern Bridge in Kyiv again, says mayor
Russian air strikes have again hit the Southern Bridge in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Friday.
On Thursday, Russian drones smashed into a school in Kyiv and into the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro River, triggering fires in the capital, as Moscow continues its near-daily around-the-clock strikes on Ukraine.
Kanye West’s Russia concerts cancelled after weeks of uncertainty
The 49-year-old American rapper was scheduled to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.
Writing on the messaging platform Telegram, Moscow-based promoter Say Agency announced that the dates had been scrapped.
"Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the Ye concerts in Saint Petersburg on the scheduled dates will not be able to take place," the agency posted.
Watch: Ukraine strikes two ships linked to Russia in Black Sea, Zelensky says
Russia intensifies airstrikes
Russia has intensified airstrikes as its overall frontline advances have slowed this year.
One person was wounded on Thursday in a Russian attack on a business centre in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional officials said.
City administration chief Serhiy Lysak said infrastructure had been damaged but gave no further details.
Odesa and the surrounding region have been a frequent target of attacks aimed partly at choking Kyiv's export revenues.
Russia, which says it strikes only military targets, reported that it had attacked a data centre in Odesa and a cargo vessel in the nearby port of Chornomorsk.
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks on Russia, striking oil refineries and major online retailers to try to undermine Moscow's war effort.
One man was killed when a Ukrainian drone exploded in the town of Graivoron in Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities said on Thursday.