North Korean soldiers have been “brought in again” to fight at the frontline in the Kursk region after reports that foreign soldiers were withdrawn following their mounting losses, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In his nightly video address yesterday, Mr Zelensky said: “There have been new assaults in the Kursk operation areas ... the Russian army and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again.
”He said a “significant number” of opposing forces have been eliminated, adding that “we’re talking hundreds of Russian and North Korean servicemen”.
It comes as Ukraine launched a new assault inside Russia’s Kursk oblast, expanding its incursion into Russian territory by as much as three miles.
Kyiv’s new incursion came on the six-month anniversary of its first attack inside Kursk, with one Russian military blogger describing it as coming “like a bolt from the blue”.
The incursion was also reported by the Russian defence ministry, which said Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles had launched several waves of attacks near the villages of Ulanok and Cherkasskaya Konopelka.
Next week, Donald Trump is likely to meet Mr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine's war to repel Russian invaders.
Key Points
- Zelensky says hundreds of North Korean and Russia troops return to Kursk frontline
- Putin admits situation in Kursk 'very difficult'
- North Korean troops have withdraw, South Korean intelligence reports
- Ukraine advances 5km in new incursion into Russia's Kursk
- French fighter jets arrive in Ukraine
David Lammy says he sees no imminent end to Ukraine war
08:00
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Shweta Sharma
David Lammy said did not see any hope of an imminent end to the Ukraine’s war with Russia despite Donald Trump’s pledge to end the war under his second administration.
Mr Lammy who was in Ukraine and met president Volodymyr Zelensky made remarks as peace talks are set to begin at a security conference in Munich next week.
“I am not sure we are weeks away from peace talks. And I say that because our assessment, which I’m quite sure the US shares, is that Putin shows absolutely no appetite for negotiation and to bring this war to an end,” he told the Guardian.
“We are still very much in the depths of winter. The truth is the young men and women that make up the Ukrainian force are fighting for their country’s future on the ground, and that will go on for a number of months …
“The Ukrainians are pretty clear there can be no ceasefire before negotiations. So I don’t anticipate a ceasefire in this war anytime soon. I’m very clear that Putin at the moment shows no desire to negotiate. And therefore, sadly, I think this war of attrition will go on for some months yet.”
Exclusive: Ex-Tory MP joins Ukraine’s foreign legion to aid fight against Putin
07:00
,
Tom Watling
Ben Stiller denies USAID funded Ukraine trip: ‘These are lies coming from Russian media’
06:00
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Tom Watling
Explained: Ukraine launches counterattack in Kursk
05:00
,
Tom Watling
After six months of combat in the Kursk salient, the Ukrainians launched another attack in the southeastern direction of Sudzha. The Ukrainians seemingly breached the first Russian defences, and an armored column managed to advance up to 5-7 kilometers deep towards Ulanok. 1/ pic.twitter.com/ogvsxEZFWW
— Emil Kastehelmi (@emilkastehelmi) February 7, 2025
Robotic vehicles to be rolled out to bolster Ukrainian front line
04:44
,
Shweta Sharma
Kyiv is launching a new initiative to deploy robotic combat vehicles to the front lines, as the war with Russia intensifies the need for technological superiority.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry announced the creation of specialised robotic units on Wednesday, releasing an image of a weaponised unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).
Drones, particularly aerial ones, have become indispensable in the conflict since Russia's 2022 invasion. With both sides deploying vast numbers of drones monthly, the focus has shifted to replacing ground troops with UGVs, a move driven by dwindling Ukrainian manpower reserves, according to officials.
Defence minister Rustem Umerov stated, "The Ministry of Defence is launching a project that will scale up the use of unmanned ground systems in the military."
It added that the project was based on trials conducted in co-operation with soldiers since the summer of 2024.
Read our full report.
Russian police open criminal investigation against British embassy employee for alleged assault
04:35
,
Shweta Sharma
Russian police have opened a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a freelance journalist by a person believed to be an employee of the British embassy, the Russian interior ministry said on Friday.
It said the journalist, a 23-year-old woman, had complained to police that she had suffered "physical and moral injury" in the alleged incident at Moscow's Vnukovo airport while trying to interview British diplomats arriving there.
"While the journalist was performing her professional duties, an unknown man, presumably an employee of the British Embassy in the Russian Federation, who was meeting the delegation, pushed her, causing the girl to lose her balance," the ministry said.
It said the British embassy had ignored a police request to identify the alleged offender and provide information about his diplomatic status. Russian authorities would work to ensure that the person concerned was punished, irrespective of their status and nationality, the ministry added.
Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the incident was "nothing more than an interference operation designed to intimidate legitimate diplomats, degrade the UK’s international reputation, and distract from Russia’s flagrant and repeated disregard for international law.
"It matches a persistent pattern of shameful behaviour by the Kremlin against UK diplomats in Russia," it said in a statement. "Intimidation will not deter our staff from promoting international stability and UK interests around the world."
Ukraine says it hopes ICC work will continue after Trump sanctions
04:09
,
Shweta Sharma
Ukraine believes that the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to Russian war crimes will continue despite US president Donald Trump imposing sanctions on the organisation, Kyiv's foreign ministry said on Friday.
Mr Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people involved in ICC investigations of US citizens or US allies, such as Israel.
The ICC is a permanent court that prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals.
"We are convinced that the ICC will continue to fulfil important functions in Ukraine’s case, in particular bringing Russian war criminals to responsibility," foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a press briefing in Ukraine's capital.
"We know that relations between the US and the ICC have a long history," Mr Tykhyi added.
Putin’s forces are desperate for a prize eastern city and Ukraine will fight street to street to keep them out
04:00
,
Tom Watling
Trump says he will 'probably' meet Zelensky and speak with Putin
03:50
,
Shweta Sharma
US president Trump said he will "probably" meet with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky next week and may also speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Trump was asked whether he'd have JD Vance meet with Mr Zelensky next week while the vice president travels to France and Germany.
"I will probably be meeting with President Zelensky next week and I'll probably be talking with President Putin," Mr Trump replied.
"I'd like to see that war end."Asked where he'd meet with Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump said it "could be Washington — well I'm not going there".
He didn't offer details on plans to speak with Mr Putin.
Zelensky says hundreds of North Korean and Russia troops return to Kursk frontline
03:13
,
Shweta Sharma
North Korean soldiers have been “brought in again” to fight at the frontline in Kursk region after reports that foreign soldiers were withdrawn after suffering losses.
“There have been new assaults in the Kursk operation areas ... the Russian army and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Friday.
He said a “significant number” of opponent troops “have been eliminated”, adding that “we’re talking hundreds of Russian and North Korean servicemen”.
It come as Ukraine and South Korean intelligence said North Korean troops appear to have withdrawn from fighting after mounting losses.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
03:00
,
Tom Watling
Russia claims it captured strategic coal-mining city of Toretsk as Ukraine denies
02:55
,
Shweta Sharma
Russia's Defence Ministry claimed on Friday that it has taken control of the strategic coal-mining city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine. However, Ukraine's military denied the city had been captured and reported heavy fighting in and around it.
Russia calls the city, which had a pre-war population of around 30,000 people, by its Soviet-era name of Dzerzhinsk, and says Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, where it is located, is now part of Russia, a claim Kyiv rejects as absurd.
Russian forces, after initially failing to advance on the capital Kyiv after its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, are concentrating on capturing Donbas, made up of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Toretsk has been one of the focal points of the advance along with other logistical hubs like Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka to the northwest and Pokrovsk further west.
The General Staff of Ukraine's military, in a late evening statement, said Russian forces had launched 10 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Toretsk sector.
"The occupiers' main efforts in attacks were concentrated near the city of Toretsk," it said. "Ukrainian servicemen repelled all enemy attacks."
We were told we were off to the seaside – but then kidnapped by Russia
02:00
,
Tom Watling
Human shields: The horrors those with disabilities face in Putin’s war
01:00
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine says its long-range drones hit a Russian airfield as France delivers Mirage fighter jets
00:00
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Tom Watling
The Baltics count down the final hours of relying on Russia
Friday 7 February 2025 23:00
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Tom Watling
Robotic vehicles to be rolled out to bolster Ukrainian front line
Friday 7 February 2025 22:00
,
Tom Watling
Where are Ukraine's mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
Friday 7 February 2025 21:00
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Tom Watling
Ryanair aims to be ‘first airline back’ flying to Ukraine from UK once Russia war ends
Friday 7 February 2025 20:00
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Tom Watling
In pictures: Civilian life near the frontline in Ukraine
Friday 7 February 2025 19:00
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Tom Watling
Russia opens criminal case over alleged assault involving British embassy employee
Friday 7 February 2025 18:00
,
Tom Watling
Russian police have opened a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a freelance journalist by a person believed to be an employee of the British embassy, the Russian interior ministry said on Friday.
It said the journalist, a 23-year-old woman, had complained to police that she had suffered "physical and moral injury" in the alleged incident at Moscow's Vnukovo airport while trying to interview British diplomats arriving there.
“While the journalist was performing her professional duties, an unknown man, presumably an employee of the British Embassy in the Russian Federation, who was meeting the delegation, pushed her, causing the girl to lose her balance,” the ministry said.
It said the British embassy had ignored a police request to identify the alleged offender and provide information about his diplomatic status. Russian authorities would work to ensure that the person concerned was punished, irrespective of their status and nationality, the ministry added.
The announcement came a day after Britain announced it was expelling a Russian diplomat in retaliation for Moscow throwing out a British diplomat last November. Russia had accused the diplomat of spying, which London emphatically denied.
Relations between Britain and Russia have plunged to post-Cold War lows since the start of the Ukraine war. Britain has joined successive waves of sanctions against Russia and provided arms to Ukraine.
Russia has also become involved in an escalating row with France this week over the accreditation of journalists.
Mapped: Ukraine launches counterattack in Kursk
Friday 7 February 2025 17:00
,
Tom Watling
What happened to the North Korean troops fighting Ukraine on the frontline?
Friday 7 February 2025 16:29
,
Tom Watling
Russia claims it's taken another eastern Ukraine town. Kyiv officials make no comment
Friday 7 February 2025 16:00
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Tom Watling
Ukraine disputes Russian claim to have captured Toretsk
Friday 7 February 2025 15:25
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine has denied Russian claims that its military has seized a city in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed earlier today that their forces had taken control of Toretsk, a strategic coal-mining city that has seen fighting in the streets for months. Russian forces have been advancing through the city.
A Ukrainian spokesperson for the Khortytsia military branch, however, told a local public radio station that fighting continues in the city.
Ukrainian military analysts say that capturing Toretsk, which is on high ground, could allow Russian forces to further complicate logistics for Ukrainian forces in much of the east and to advance to the northwest towards the regional logistics hub of Kostiantynivka, which links to several key cities.
Most of Toretsk's civilian population has long since fled or been evacuated and many of the city's buildings are pulverised or badly damaged.
Europe and Canada increased defence spending by 20% in 2024, NATO says
Friday 7 February 2025 15:00
,
Tom Watling
Defence spending by Nato’s European members and Canada rose by 20 per cent in 2024, compared to the previous year, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said on Friday.
Nato members are facing renewed pressure from US president Donald Trump to ramp up their defence spending, which he frequently demanded during his first term in office.
Many members have been anxious to show that they have taken his message on board and have already increased military spending, particularly since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
NATO said the 20 per cent boost by the alliance's non-US members took their total defence spending to more than $485 billion (£390bn).
“I'm looking forward to hosting defence ministers at Nato next week where we'll talk about investing more and better in defence,” Rutte said in response to a Reuters request to Nato for the latest spending figures.
“We've crunched the numbers. They're going up. In fact, spending by Europe and Canada is up 20 per cent in 2024, bringing the total additional investment in recent years from $640 to $700 billion.”
Nato said it could not make further figures available for the moment. But it is expected to release more at next Wednesday's meeting of alliance defence ministers, which will include a debut for Trump's Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
North Korean troops have withdraw, South Korean intelligence reports
Friday 7 February 2025 14:31
,
Tom Watling
North Korean troops appear to have withdrawn from fighting in the Russian border region of Kursk, South Korean intelligence has reported, corroborating earlier reports from Ukrainian sources.
Intelligence officials said the troops seem to have been pulled from the frontline around the middle of January after suffering heavy losses, estimated to be about 300 dead and 2,700 wounded.
Ukraine says it believes ICC work will continue after Trump sanctions
Friday 7 February 2025 14:03
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine believes that the work of the International Criminal Court in relation to Russian war crimes will continue after US president Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the organisation, Kyiv's foreign ministry said on Friday.
Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of US citizens or US allies such as Israel.
The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals.
“We are convinced that the ICC will continue to fulfil important functions in Ukraine's case, in particular bringing Russian war criminals to responsibility,” foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a press briefing in Ukraine's capital.
“We know that relations between the US and ICC have a long history,” said Tykhyi.
Russian advance slowing despite some success in eastern Ukraine, says British MoD
Friday 7 February 2025 13:36
,
Tom Watling
Latest Defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 07 February 2025.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) February 7, 2025
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/9eO2iukOE0#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/1mBHEckWbb
We were told we were off to the seaside – but then kidnapped by Russia
Friday 7 February 2025 13:00
,
Tom Watling
As Russian bombards key Ukraine stronghold – hope lives underground
Friday 7 February 2025 12:18
,
Tom Watling
Kremlin says 'we need to be patient' on Trump and possible Ukraine talks
Friday 7 February 2025 11:36
,
Tom Watling
The Kremlin said on Friday there had been a lot of inaccurate reports on US plans for ending the Ukraine war and called for patience as speculation swirled around the timing of a possible meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
At a briefing with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about a report that Trump's envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, was seeking to arrange a truce even before talks on a peace settlement.
“We have nothing to add yet. There are a lot of statements and reports on this topic that are refuted, changed, recognised as hoaxes or something else the next day,” Peskov said.
“There is nothing substantive on this account yet; we just need to be patient.”
Trump and Putin have both said they are keen to meet in person. The agenda, if such a meeting takes place, is expected to focus on Trump's stated aim to bring a swift end to the three-year-old conflict.
“Russia is open to negotiations. In any case, a settlement should come as a result of negotiations,” Peskov said.
CNN earlier quoted Peskov as saying there had been no initial contact between the two leaders about whether such a meeting was needed or where and how it might take place.
Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian parliament's international affairs committee, was cited by the state RIA news agency on Thursday as saying that preparations for such a meeting were at “an advanced stage” and that it could take place in February or March.
Peskov said on Wednesday that contacts with Trump's team at the level of “individual departments” were intensifying, but declined to provide further details.
Russian forces capture another settlement in eastern Ukraine, Tass reports
Friday 7 February 2025 11:03
Russian troops took control of the village of Druzhba in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the Tass state news agency reported on Friday, citing the Defence Ministry.
The town is to the north of Toretsk, which has been the site of heavy fighting and street battles in recent months.
DeepState, a Ukrainian war tracker with close ties to the military, records Druzhba as at least partially occupied by Russian forces.
Where are Ukraine's mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
Friday 7 February 2025 10:34
,
Tom Watling
UPD: Russian strike in Ukraine's northeast Sumy kills three
Friday 7 February 2025 10:00
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Tom Watling
Three people were killed in a Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.
Earlier, we reported the death toll was at two people.
The attack late on Thursday with three guided aerial bombs destroyed a residential building in the village of Myropillya, the Prosecutor General's office said in a statement.
The village sits near the border with Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops are locked in fierce fighting with Russian forces after launching an incursion there last year.
Mapped: Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Friday 7 February 2025 09:32
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Tom Watling
Ukrainian air defences seek out Russian drones in Kyiv
Friday 7 February 2025 09:00
,
Tom Watling
In pictures: Ukrainian rescuers look for remaining citizens in Pokrovsk
Friday 7 February 2025 08:34
,
Tom Watling
Below, we have some of the latest pictures from the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
Russian forces have advanced to the city’s outskirts and gained control of at least one of the two supply lines feeding the area. Pokrovsk is linchpin of the
Only the White Angels, a specialist Ukrainian evacuation group, is still entering the city to evacuate citizens. Between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians remain from a prewar population of 60,000.
Russian attack on Ukraine's Sumy region kills 2, officials say
Friday 7 February 2025 08:23
,
Tom Watling
A Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy has killed at least two people, local officials said on Friday.
The attack late on Thursday with three guided aerial bombs destroyed a residential building and rescue work continued into the morning, the local officials said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
“It is likely that people may still be under the rubble,” the regional administration wrote on the Telegram messenger app.
Ukraine downs 81 out of 112 drones launched by Russia
Friday 7 February 2025 07:46
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian military said that it shot down 81 out of 112 drones launched by Russia overnight to attack the country.
Out of the total number launched, 31 drones did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare, the military said this morning.
Ukraine discusses battlefield situation with Trump's Ukraine envoy
Friday 7 February 2025 07:00
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff said he discussed approaching meetings and battlefield developments with Keith Kellogg, US president Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Andriy Yermak said issues discussed ranged from Mr Kellogg's visit to Ukraine and the safety of Ukrainian civilians to meetings later this month at the Munich Security Conference.
Kremlin denies discussing possible Putin-Trump meeting
Friday 7 February 2025 06:48
,
Arpan Rai
Russia and the US have not yet begun to discuss a possible meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump, a Kremlin spokesperson said.
There had been no initial contacts about whether such a meeting was needed or where and how it might take place if it did happen, Mr Peskov said, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Both the leaders have said they are keen to meet in person with the agenda, if such a meeting does take place, expected to focus on Mr Trump's stated aim to bring a swift end to the Ukraine war.
Zelensky says Putin afraid to have conversation with him
Friday 7 February 2025 06:09
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is open to negotiating the end of war in Ukraine via diplomacy but the Russian president Vladimir Putin is avoiding talks.
“Answering journalists’ questions in Kyiv, I emphasised that Ukraine is open to diplomacy, but no decision or plan about Ukraine can be made without us. It cannot be a plan created by individual states – we must have a joint vision with our partners,” he said on X yesterday.
The Ukrainian president said Russia “will always look for excuses to avoid real talks”.
He went on: “I believe Putin is afraid to have a conversation with me about ending the war. He prefers to hide behind his entourage rather than sit down and have a direct conversation. Nevertheless, I believe President Trump will be able to force him to stop the war.”
Why Ukraine-Russia peace talks are not as simple as Trump makes out
Friday 7 February 2025 06:01
,
Tom Watling
North Korean troops withdrawn from Kursk after losses, Seoul says
Friday 7 February 2025 05:58
,
Arpan Rai
North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia against Ukrainian forces in Kursk are no longer seen in the battlefield for several weeks, South Korea’s spy agency said.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said that North Korean troops had been withdrawn from the war frontline around middle of January.
The pullback of Pyongyang’s troops has raised speculation that they have been withdrawn after suffering heavy losses.
Pyongyang sent roughly 11,000 soldiers to help with Vladimir Putin’s war effort in November last year, four months after Kyiv’s troops seized Russian territory in Kursk.
Used as human shields, starved and under fire: The horrors people with disabilities face in Putin’s war
Friday 7 February 2025 05:41
,
Arpan Rai
Almost completely paralysed, Oleg could do nothing but sit under the bombing in his own excrement, after his caregiver mother was killed in front of his eyes by a missile attack.
At some point during the three weeks he was stranded alone, Russian soldiers came into the building and stole the wheelchair the 65-year-old Ukrainian was sitting in. They told him they needed it for a wounded soldier, and left.
This was early spring 2022 on the eastern side of Mariupol, a strategic Ukrainian port city that was under one of the fiercest bombardments of Russia’s invasion. There was no electricity, water or phone connection. Temperatures had dropped to minus 10 degrees celsius.
Bel Trew reports: