Zelensky: Global action against Russia, Iran and North Korea needed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for joint international action against Russia, Iran and North Korea.

"Russia is now trying to save Iran's nuclear programme – there is no other way to interpret the public signals and non-public activities," Zelensky said in Kiev on Thursday, during his nightly video address.

He said whenever one of Russia's partners comes under pressure, Moscow attempts to intervene. A uniting of Russia and its allied states must be prevented.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that Russia could ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Iran, a Russian ally, to avoid the feared nuclear armament.

"When Iranian Shahed drones – now significantly upgraded – and ballistic missiles from North Korea – also upgraded – kill our people in Ukraine, it is a clear sign that global solidarity and global pressure are not enough," Zelensky said.

"We must significantly tighten sanctions."

Flowers for victims of Russia's airstrike on Kiev

On Thursday, Zelensky laid flowers at the destroyed residential block in Kiev where, two days earlier, 23 people were killed by a Russian missile strike. In total, around 30 people lost their lives in airstrikes on Kiev and other cities.

"This is deliberate terror, as the Russian army under Putin carries out everywhere," Zelensky said.