Kim Jong Un has told Russia’s top diplomat that North Korea is ready to “unconditionally support” all of Moscow’s actions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
The promise came during a high-level meeting between Kim and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, after Russia launched a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine, which killed at least six people.
Vladimir Putin’s forces launched 597 drones and 26 missiles targeting the west of the country on Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The death toll from the barrage rose to six later in the day, while more than 20 other people were injured in the strikes, which hit cities including Lviv, Chernivtsi and Kharkiv.
The attack comes as Donald Trump is expected to send weapons to Kyiv, after promising to make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday as he grows frustrated with Putin amid intensified attacks on Ukraine.
The US president has also issued an ominous warning to the Russian president after a maternity ward in Kharkiv was damaged in a drone strike. “You'll be seeing things happen,” he said.
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Key Points
- Ukraine death toll rises to six after Russian bombardment
- Kim Jong Un ready to 'unconditionally support' Russia
- Senate seeks to hit Russia with sanctions over Ukraine – but Trump wants to control the Putin smackdown
- Russia launches 597 drones and 26 missiles on Ukraine, Zelensky says
- What would Trump’s weapons supply to Ukraine include?
Kim Jong Un ready to 'unconditionally support' Russia
09:32
,
Rachel Clun
Kim Jong Un has told Russia’s top diplomat that North Korea is ready to “unconditionally support” all of Moscow’s actions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is on a three-day visit to North Korea, and held high-level talks with the country’s leader on Saturday.
North Korea has provided troops and arms for Russia’s war with Ukraine, and pledged more military support as Moscow tries to make advances in the conflict.
Kim met Lavrov in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan where the two countries' foreign ministers held their second strategic dialogue, pledging further cooperation under a partnership treaty signed last year that includes a mutual defense pact.
Kim told Lavrov the steps taken by the allies in response to radically evolving global geopolitics will contribute greatly to securing peace and security around the world, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported.
"Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis," KCNA said.
Watch: Applause as Macron says Europe won't abandon Ukraine
09:00
,
Tara Cobham
Full story: Ukrainian intelligence officer gunned down in Kyiv
08:32
,
Tara Cobham
A senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was gunned down in broad daylight in Kyiv, officials said on Friday as a maternity hospital was hit by a Russian drone barrage on the city of Kharkiv.
Surveillance footage published on social media showed the agent was executed in a car park by a gunman clad in dark clothing who fled the scene. Police said they were trying to identify the shooter and that “measures are being taken to detain him”.
The victim’s name has not been publicly disclosed and the identity of the suspect remains unclear. A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official said that the intelligence officer had been a colonel, according to Reuters.
My colleague Bryony Gooch has the full story:
Watch: Trump ‘flat-footed’ by Pentagon's weapons halt to Kyiv and pledges more arms
08:00
,
Tara Cobham
Senate seeks to hit Russia with sanctions over Ukraine – but Trump wants to control the Putin smackdown
07:30
,
Tara Cobham
Legislation in the Senate rarely earns more than 80 sponsors. But Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s two-year-long invasion seems to be the spark drawing that support to a bill drafted by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Senators from both parties say that the legislation would pass smoothly. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he is open to a sanctions bill, which would open the door widespread bipartisan support.
Majority Leader John Thune said in a Senate speech earlier this week, “I fully expect that that could be ready for floor consideration as early as this work period. Senate Republicans are committed to working with the House and the White House to get this legislation through Congress and onto the president’s desk.”
My colleague Eric Garcia reports:
Watch: Trump's warning to Putin after Russia drones hit maternity ward
07:00
,
Rachel Clun
One killed in strike on Russian home, officials say
05:00
,
Reuters
A man was killed in Russia's Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house on Saturday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
Belgorod region, a border province which adjoins Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, has come under regular attack from Kyiv's forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Strikes on the region have diminished in recent months, as Russia has intensified its attacks on neighbouring Ukrainian regions.
Ukrainian intelligence officer gunned down in Kyiv
04:00
,
Rachel Clun
As Trump pledges more weapons for Ukraine - how reliant is Kyiv on US military assistance?
03:00
,
Rachel Clun
To the relief of officials in Kyiv, Donald Trump announced this week that the USwould resume weapons shipments to Ukraine - just days after those exports were halted by the Pentagon.
Below The Independent looks at how much support the US has provided to Ukraine’s war effort, why the Pentagon decided to pause shipments and what could happen from here.
Recap: NATO needs more long-range missiles to deter Russia, US general says
02:00
,
Reuters
NATO will need more long-range missiles in its arsenal to deter Russia from attacking Europe because Moscow is expected to increase production of long-range weapons, a US Army general told Reuters.
Russia's effective use of long-range missiles in its war in Ukraine has convinced Western military officials of their importance for destroying command posts, transportation hubs and missile launchers far behind enemy lines.
"The Russian army is bigger today than it was when they started the war in Ukraine," Major General John Rafferty said in an interview at a U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany.
"And we know that they're going to continue to invest in long-range rockets and missiles and sophisticated air defences. So more alliance capability is really, really important."
Six killed after Russian bombardment
01:00
,
Rachel Clun
Six people were killed and more than 20 were injured in Russian drone and missile attacks on Saturday, officials say.
Russia has continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dampened hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than three-year-old war.
Two people were killed by falling debris from a drone and 14 were wounded when Russian forces attacked the Bukovina area in the Chernivtsi region of southwestern Ukraine, regional governor Ruslan Zaparaniuk said on Saturday.
Two people were killed on Saturday in a missile strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak.
Two other people were killed on Saturday in the Sumy region by a Russian guided bomb, officials said.
A drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region wounded nine people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine over Friday night and into Saturday, Ukraine's air force said, the majority of which were shot down or lost through signal jamming.
Watch: Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘pure terrorism’ after new wave of drone strikes
Sunday 13 July 2025 00:01
,
Rachel Clun
Recap: Ukraine arrests Chinese father and son accused of spying on missile programme
Saturday 12 July 2025 23:00
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian authorities say they have detained a Chinese father and son on charges of spying on its Neptune anti-ship missile programme at a time when Kyiv is seeking to boost its domestic arms industry to counter Russian advances.
Neptune, a key component of Ukraine's naval warfare capabilities, was used to destroy the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the early months of the war. It has since been used on a range of targets including oil terminals.
The Security Service of Ukraine said on Wednesday that counterintelligence officials arrested a 24-year-old former student in Kyiv after supplying him with “technical documentation” related to Neptune production. They then detained the student’s father who they alleged was working to give the classified documents to Chinese special services.
Ukrainian officials claimed that the father lived in China but visited Ukraine to “personally coordinate” his son’s work.
Read the full report:
‘They are trying to sow fear’: How Russia has amped up its aerial strikes on Ukraine
Saturday 12 July 2025 22:00
,
Rachel Clun
Recap: All we know about the senior intelligence official gunned down in Kyiv
Saturday 12 July 2025 21:00
,
Rachel Clun
- A senior intelligence officer for Ukraine’s security service has been gunned down in Kyiv.
- CCTV footage published on social media showed the agent was slain in a residential parking lot on Thursday morning before a gunman clad in dark clothing fled the scene on foot in broad daylight.
- The victim’s name has not been publicly disclosed and the identity of the suspect remains unclear. A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official said that the intelligence officer had been a colonel, according to Reuters.
- Ukrainska Pravda has claimed the agent was Colonel Ivan Voronych, adding he died at the scene after the assailant fired five aimed gun shots.
- The New York Times claimed that Voronych was a part of the SBU’s Centre for Special Operations Alpha and had been within the organisation for decades.
- It remains unclear whether the agent’s death was a domestic issue or an assassination.
Trump's warning to Putin after Russia drones hit maternity ward
Saturday 12 July 2025 20:00
,
Rachel Clun
Recap: Kremlin says it awaits 'major statement' from Trump
Saturday 12 July 2025 19:01
,
Bryony Googh
Russia is awaiting the "major statement" that US president Donald Trump announced he would deliver on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he will make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, without elaborating what it will be about.
In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia-Ukraine conflict.
When asked about the new NATO weapons deliveries to Ukraine, Peskov called it “just business” as Kyiv had already been receiving weapons prior to this development.
In pictures: Cleanup after Russian attacks
Saturday 12 July 2025 18:00
,
Rachel Clun
Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine overnight and into Saturday killed at least six people and injured 20, officials said.
ICYMI: Ukrainian intelligence officer gunned down in Kyiv
Saturday 12 July 2025 17:01
,
Rachel Clun
A senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was gunned down in broad daylight in Kyiv, officials said on Friday as a maternity hospital was hit by a Russian drone barrage on the city of Kharkiv.
Surveillance footage published on social media showed the agent was executed in a car park by a gunman clad in dark clothing who fled the scene. Police said they were trying to identify the shooter and that “measures are being taken to detain him”.
The victim’s name has not been publicly disclosed and the identity of the suspect remains unclear. A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official said that the intelligence officer had been a colonel, according to Reuters.
Read the full report here:
10 million people displaced since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Saturday 12 July 2025 16:33
,
Rachel Clun
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced almost 10 million people to flee their homes, with about 3.8 million displaced within the country and 5.6 million abroad, the UN refugee agency's representative for Ukraine has said.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is continuing with "increased intensity" so international support funding a humanitarian response is crucial, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative Karolina Lindholm Billing said on Friday.
"At the moment, most who are newly displaced remain within the country and that's what most people prefer to do as well: to stay as close as possible to their home regions," Ms Lindholm Billing said.
The UNHCR representative stressed that every day the organisation and its local partners help people who are victims of aerial attacks, including recent strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv.
"People evacuating from front line areas need support. But at the same time, we have to continue helping Ukraine's immediate recovery, so that people who want to stay in Ukraine can actually do that," Ms Lindholm Billing said.
Watch: Trump says US will be sending more weapons to Ukraine
Saturday 12 July 2025 16:15
,
Rachel Clun
Putin 'will be seeing things happen,' warns Trump
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:57
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Vladimir Putin after a maternity ward in Kharkiv was hit on Friday.
When asked about the drones damaging a maternity hospital, the president said: “I know. You'll be seeing things happen.”
It comes ahead of his “major statement” on Monday for Russia after confirming the US would supply weapons to Ukraine via Nato, with the alliance covering the full cost.
“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” the president, who has grown frustrated with Russian president Vladimir Putin, told NBC News. “We’re sending weapons to Nato, and Nato is paying for those weapons, 100 per cent.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmytry Peskov said they await Trump’s statement.
One killed in strike on home in Russia, governor says
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:39
,
Reuters
A man was killed in Russia's Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
Belgorod region, a border province which adjoins Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, has come under regular attack from Kyiv's forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Strikes on the region have diminished in recent months, as Russia has intensified its attacks on neighbouring Ukrainian regions.
Ukraine death toll rises to six after Russian bombardment
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:22
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
The death toll in Ukraine from overnight Russian drone and missile attacks has now risen to at least six, officials say.
Overnight and on Saturday as Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dampened hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than three-year-old war.
Two people were killed by falling debris from a drone and 14 were wounded when Russian forces attacked the Bukovina area in the Chernivtsi region of southwestern Ukraine, regional governor Ruslan Zaparaniuk said on Saturday.
Two people were killed on Saturday in a missile strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak.
Two other people were killed on Saturday in the Sumy region by a Russian guided bomb, officials said.
A drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region wounded nine people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, the majority of which were shot down or lost through signal jamming.
In pictures: Aftermath of Russian attacks in Ukraine
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:08
,
Rachel Clun
ICYMI: Key takeaways after European court found Russia responsible for international law violations
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:50
,
Rachel Clun
Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments on Wednesday against Russia, finding Moscow responsible for widespread violations of international law in Ukraine and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014.
It’s the first time an international court has concluded there have been widespread human rights abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The 501-page ruling by the Strasbourg court combined four complaints — three stemming from the separatist conflict that broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and one linked to alleged violations of international law following the invasion.
In all four cases, the court’s 17 judges unanimously found Russian forces breached international humanitarian law.
Read the key takeaways here:
Watch: Trump's warning to Putin after Russia drones hit maternity ward
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:33
,
Rachel Clun
Russia warns US, South Korea and Japan against forming security alliance targeting North Korea
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:15
,
Reuters
Russia's foreign minister on Saturday warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited his country's ally for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation.
Sergey Lavrov spoke at North Korea's eastern Wonsan city, where he met the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and conveyed greetings from President Vladimir Putin.
Relations between Russia and North Korea have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying troops and ammunition to support Russia's war against Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance.
That has raised concerns among South Korea, the US and others that Russia might also transfer to North Korea sensitive technologies that can increase the danger of its nuclear and missile programs.
Speaking with reporters after a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui, Lavrov accused the US, South Korea and Japan of what he called their military buildups around North Korea.
"We warn against exploiting these ties to build alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia," he said, according to Russia's state Tass news agency.
In pictures: Ukrainians take shelter during overnight Russian attacks
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:57
,
Rachel Clun
Trump’s stark warning to Putin after Russia drones hit maternity ward: ‘You’ll be seeing things happen’
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:40
,
Andrew Feinberg
President Donald Trump on Friday issued a none-too-veiled threat of action against Russia after Moscow’s forces hit a Ukrainian maternity hospital, injuring nine people earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters before departing the White House to view flood damage in Texas, where 121 have died and 170 are still missing, the president was asked about the drone attack against the civilian target.
He replied: “I know. You’ll be seeing things happen.”
The president’s cryptic remark came less than a day after he told NBC News that he’d be making a “major statement” on the status of the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war this coming Monday.
Watch: Putin has played Trump ‘like a violin’ but now US president is his ‘only answer’, ex MI6 boss says
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:23
,
Rachel Clun
How Russia has amped up its aerial strikes on Ukraine
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:06
,
Rachel Clun
Russia has launched a streak of record-breaking aerial attacks on Ukraine over the past month. Below, The Independent looks at how, and why, Russia has decided to target Ukraine’s cities with such devastating force.
Death toll from overnight Russian attacks rises to four
Saturday 12 July 2025 12:49
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
The death toll from a barrage of drone and missile attacks from Russia has risen to four.
Overnight and on Saturday Russia pounded Ukraine with nearly 600 drones and decoys and 26 cruise missiles.
While Ukraine’s air force said they shot down most of the them, others struck targets in western parts of Ukraine.
Two people died and 14 were wounded when Russian forces attacked the Bukovina area in the Chernivtsi region of southwestern Ukraine with four drones and a missile, regional governor Ruslan Zaparaniuk said on Saturday.
A drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region wounded nine people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
He said that the two people died because of falling debris from a drone.
Two people were killed also on Saturday in a missile strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak.
A drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region wounded nine people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
UK must prepare for possible war with Russia within five years, ex-British Army chief warns
Saturday 12 July 2025 12:32
,
Jabed Ahmed
Britain must prepare for the possibility of war with Russia within the next five years, the former head of the British Army has warned.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, who stepped down as Chief of the General Staff last summer, told The Telegraph that a conflict with Russia by 2030 was a “realistic possibility”.
The UK government needs to act swiftly to improve national resilience, he said.
“If Russia stops fighting in Ukraine, within months they could have the capability to launch a limited attack on a Nato member, which would require our support,” Sir Patrick told The Telegraph.
Read the full report on his comments here: