57 h. ago North Korea to send up to 30,000 troops to bolster Russia’s forces, Ukraine says

North Korea is already helping Russia as Putin's forces struggle against determined Ukrainian resistance, and the dictatorship is now said to be about to triple its numbers

Politics

3 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia claims to have seized all of Luhansk region and first village in Dnipropetrovsk

If confirmed Luhansk would be first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Moscow; pictures show North Korean leader at repatriation of soldiers apparently killed in Ukraine. What we know on day 1,224Moscow’s forces have seized all of Luhansk – one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one – Leonid Pasechnik, a Russia-appointed official there, said on Monday. If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on Pasechnik’s claim. In remarks to Russia’s state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he had received a report “literally two days ago” saying that “100%” of the region was now under the control of Russian forces.Russian forces have captured a village in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in their three-year offensive, Russian state media a...

Events

3 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia claims to have seized all of Luhansk region; Kim Jong

If confirmed Luhansk would be first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Moscow; pictures show North Korean leader at repatriation of soldiers apparently killed in Ukraine. What we know on day 1,224Moscow’s forces have seized all of Luhansk – one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one – Leonid Pasechnik, a Russia-appointed official there, said on Monday. If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on Pasechnik’s claim. In remarks to Russia’s state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he had received a report “literally two days ago” saying that “100%” of the region was now under the control of Russian forces.Russian forces have captured a village in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in their three-year offensive, Russian state media a...

Events

7 d. ago Inside North Korea’s vast new beach resort as Kim Jong Un bets on tourism

The Wonsan-Kalma beach resort is North Korea's biggest tourist site. Russia said Thursday it will send its first group of tourists to the site in July

Society

7 d. ago American gang arrested in South Korea for trying to send Bibles and rice to North Korea by sea

Six Americans have been detained in South Korea for attempting to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, US dollars bills and Bibles towards North Korea by sea, police said

Events

7 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Soldiers captured by Russia in Mariupol among those released in prisoner swap

EU extends Russia sanctions but new package blocked by Slovakia. What we know on day 1,220Ukraine and Russia exchanged a new group of captured soldiers on Thursday, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Neither side said how many prisoners were released in the latest exchange. The majority had been held captive for more than three years, according to Ukraine’s coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war. Many of them were taken prisoner in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 after a nearly three-month siege, it said. Russian officials said its soldiers had been transferred to Belarus and were receiving “psychological and medical care”.The EU’s 27 leaders on Thursday agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, resolving fears that Kremlin-friendly Hungary would let the measures lapse, officials said. The decision at a summit in Brussels means that the EU’s swe...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Putin’s claim that Ukraine is ‘ours’ is evidence of his disdain for peace efforts, says Kyiv

Russian president says Russians and Ukrainians are one people – which Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected – and warns Moscow could also seize Sumy city. What we know on day 1,214Vladimir Putin has said he believes the whole of Ukraine is “ours” and warned that advancing Russian forces could take the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine’s foreign minister denounced the Russian president’s statements on Friday as evidence of Russian “disdain” for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Putin, when asked about fresh Russian advances, told the country’s flagship economic forum in St Petersburg that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and “in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. The Ukrainian president said commanders had discussed Russia...

Politics

2 w. ago North Korea will send 5,000 military construction workers to Russia, Kremlin says

Sergei Shoigu says North Korean workers will help repair damage from Ukrainian incursion in Kursk

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone factory attacked, 1,000km away in Tatarstan

Factory making Iranian-designed Shahed drones is hit, far from Russia-Ukraine border; Russian strikes damage energy and other civilian facilities in Poltava oblast. What we know on day 1,209See all our Ukraine war coverageUkraine’s military said on Sunday it had attacked a Russian drone factory in the city of Yelabuga in Russia’s Tatarstan region. The target is around 1,000km from Ukraine. The Ukrainian military general staff said the factory produced, tested, and launched drones at Ukraine, in particular against energy and civil infrastructure. Videos on social media showed an explosion said to be at the factory in Yelabuga, also known as Alabuga, which builds Iranian-designed Shahed drones. The Russian local governor confirmed the attack.Russian forces hit the Kremenchuk oil refinery in Ukraine’s Poltava region with missiles and drones, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denounced the attack on the central Poltava region as a vile s...

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv repatriates more bodies of fallen soldiers amid major exchange with Russia

Ukraine says return in line with deal reached in Turkey while Russia hands over 1,200 bodies; Moscow claims capture of another Sumy village. What we know on day 1,207Ukraine has repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in accordance with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian officials said Friday. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Russia had returned 1,200 bodies, and “according to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel”. The repatriation of the bodies was carried out with the help of Ukraine’s armed forces, the country’s security service, the interior ministry and other government agencies, its statement said. Forensic experts would now work to identify the remains. The repatriation marks one of the war’s largest returns of remains.Russia says its forces have captured another village in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region amid its ramped-up offensive there. M...

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says troops contesting Russian advance in Sumy

Ukrainian forces ‘pushing back the occupiers’ says president but prevailing assessments show Russian gains. What we know on day 1,206Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces are pushing back against Russian forces in the border Sumy region where they have established a foothold in recent weeks. “Our units in Sumy region are gradually pushing back the occupiers,” said Ukraine’s president in his nightly video address. “I thank you! Thanks to every soldier, sergeant and officer for this result.”The Ukrainian president provided no further details and offered no proof of Ukrainian advances in the area, and the claim contradicts prevailing assessments of continued Russian gains in Sumy. Russia has seized over 190 sq km (73 sq miles) of the Sumy region in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps. They have captured more ground in the past days, advancing to around 20km from the city of Sumy’s northern suburbs and rendering it vulnerable to long-range artillery an...

Events

3 w. ago 3 killed and scores injured as Russia targets Ukraine with new attacks

Russian forces have pummeled Ukraine with drones and other weapons, killing three people and injuring scores of others despite international pressure to accept a ceasefire

Events

3 w. ago Nato jets scrambled as Russia launches 'biggest drone bombardment' of Ukraine

Ukraine’s air force said 479 Russian drones were launched in the war's biggest overnight drone bombardment

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine claims to have damaged Russian fighter jets in night

Special forces reportedly launched assault on Russian airfield about 400 miles from Ukrainian borderUkrainian special forces claim to have damaged two fighter jets in a night-time raid on an airfield deep inside Russia as Kyiv sought to disrupt Vladimir Putin’s steady advances on the frontline.A week after the spectacle of Operation Spiderweb, when drones struck the Kremlin’s nuclear-capable bombers, the general staff of the Ukrainian army claimed a fresh success. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Poland scrambles planes to secure airspace as Russia targets western Ukraine

The Polish response comes as Russian troops advance on east-central Ukraine. What we know on day 1,202See all our Ukraine war coveragePoland and allied countries scrambled aircraft early on Monday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting western Ukraine near the Polish border, the operational command of the Polish armed forces said. “The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the regions bordering the areas at risk,” it said on X.All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts in the early hours of Monday after the Ukrainian air force warned of Russian missile and drone attacks.Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv, which Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging app early on Monday.Russia says its forces are advancing to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in the three-year war, raising the prospect of a...

Events

3 w. ago Russian forces closing in on Sumy city three years after Ukraine forced them out of region

Independent monitors confirm Kremlin claims of new and symbolically important advances in east of UkraineRussian military units appear to be within 18 miles (29km) of the city of Sumy, three years after Ukraine forced them out of the northern region, while also making new and symbolically important ground in the east.Independent monitors confirmed Kremlin claims to have retaken the village of Loknia, which had been liberated along with the rest of the Sumy region during Ukraine’s 2022 spring counteroffensive. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Kyiv accuses Russia of ‘dirty games’ over prisoner swap delay claims as Kharkiv hit by drone attack – Ukraine war live

Kyiv and Moscow in dispute over prisoner swap as at least three people killed in night-time attack on Ukraine’s second cityUkraine’s air forces shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian military said.“This morning, on 7 June 2025, as a result of a successful air force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down,” the military said on the Telegram messenger, according to Reuters. Continue reading...

Events