A Russian missile attack killed at least 16 people, including six children, in a residential area of the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, local officials said, but Russia's Defence Ministry said it had targeted a military gathering in the city.

Ukrainian officials say that a Russian missile strike Friday on the central city of Kryvyi Rih has killed at least 12 people, including two children, and injured more than 50.

A Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has killed 12 people and left dozens of others wounded, local officials say. The head of the local defence council, Oleksandr Vilkul, said a ballistic missile had landed in the centre of a residential area. Two of the dead were children, he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on Friday that he had met with an envoy for President Vladimir Putin this week and sent him back to Moscow with a message: the clock is ticking on when there needs to be a breakthrough in the peace talks to end the Ukraine war.

The Trump administration says it will soon be clear if Russia's Vladimir Putin really wants a peace deal in Ukraine, as France and Britain accuse him of playing for time.

Brussels — Britain and France on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks aimed at halting his country's invasion of Ukraine and demanded a swift response from Moscow after weeks of U.S. efforts to secure a truce.

Russia was notably absent from the sweeping tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, which are set to affect almost the entire world. The White House said sanctions imposed on Moscow because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had already ensured that there was no meaningful trade between the countries.

According to the Russian independent portal Meduza, Donald Trump did not impose tariffs on Russia to avoid tensions related to talks about ending the war in Ukraine. However, it was mentioned that Moscow might also face a separate decree.