Ukraine-Russia live: Putin’s forces hit by drone attack in Crimea as North Korea ‘sends more troops’ to Russia

North Korean troops supporting Russia on the ground in Ukraine is a “shocking” and “desperate” new development in the war, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.

Mr Healey gave a statement to the Commons where he updated MPs as to a £2.26 billion loan to help Ukraine that will be funded by profits on frozen Russian assets.

Mr Healey told MPs: “North Korean soldiers supporting Russia’s war of aggression on European soil, it is as shocking as it is desperate.

“North Korea already sends significant munitions and arms to Russia in direct violation of multiple UN resolutions.

“This developing military co-operation between Russia and the DPRK has serious security implications for Europe and for the Indo-Pacific.

“It represents a wider, growing alliance of aggression which Nato and the G7 nations must confront.

“Despite this dangerous development, Ukraine remains determined to fight on their front line in the east and in the territory in Kursk.”

He added: “This conflict is now at a really critical moment, and that is why the UK continues to step up support for Ukraine.

“Ukrainians are fighting to regain their sovereign territory, but they are also fighting to protect the peace, the democracy and the security for the rest of us in Europe.”

China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders arrived yesterday in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the Brics bloc of developing economies that the Kremlin hopes to turn into a rallying point for defying Western influence in global affairs.

For Russian president Vladimir Putin, the three-day meeting also offers a powerful way to demonstrate the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov called it “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia, with 36 countries attending and more than 20 of them represented by heads of state.

The alliance that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed interest in joining.

Observers see the Brics summit as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to showcase support from the Global South amid spiraling tensions with the West while expanding economic and financial ties.

The UK is using profits on frozen Russian assets to loan £2.26bn to Ukraine to aid with its fight against Russia’s invasion, it has been announced.

The funds represent the UK’s share of a $50bn (£38.39bn) loan package agreed upon by the G7 nations, financed through interest generated from sanctioned Russian sovereign assets.

The money could be used to fund air defence, artillery or other military equipment and comes on top of the UK’s existing £3bn-a-year support for Ukraine.

Rachel Hagan reports.

South Korea will gradually take countermeasures in line with the level of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo told a briefing today.

His comments came as South Korea’s presidential office urged Pyongyang to immediately withdraw North Korean troops that Seoul says have been dispatched to Russia for the war with Ukraine.

Mr Kim made the comments in a televised briefing after a meeting hosted by National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik on the dispatch of North Koreans troops earlier today.

Mr Kim accused Pyongyang of acting like a “criminal organisation” by sending young North Koreans to fight in Russia and vowed to cooperate with allies in ensuring countermeasures against North Korea-Russia military cooperation.

It remained a possibility that South Korea could supply offensive weapons to Ukraine, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the presidential office.

In a memoir released eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his cause is worth suffering for while also acknowledging he wished he could have written a very different book.

“There is a mishmash of bits and pieces, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary,” Navalny writes in “Patriot,” which was published Tuesday, and is, indeed, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary.“

I so much do not want my book to be yet another prison diary. Personally I find them interesting to read, but as a genre — enough is surely enough.”

The final 200 pages of Navalny’s 479-page book do, in some ways, have the characteristics of other prison diaries or of such classic Russian literature as Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.”

He tracks the boredom, isolation, exhaustion, suffering and absurdity of prison life, while working in asides about everything from 19th century French literature to Billie Eilish.

But “Patriot” also reads as a testament to a famed dissident’s extraordinary battle against despair as the Russian authorities gradually increase their crackdown against him, and even shares advice on how to confront the worst and still not lose hope.

“The important thing is not to torment yourself with anger, hatred, fantasies of revenge, but to move instantly to acceptance. That can be hard,” he writes.

“The process going on in your head is by no means straightforward, but if you find yourself in a bad situation, you should try this. It works, as long as you think everything through seriously.”

In recent years, Navalny had become an international symbol of resistance. A lawyer by training, he started out as an anti-corruption campaigner, but soon turned into a politician with aspirations for public office and eventually became the main challenger to Russia’s longtime president, Vladimir Putin.Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, oversaw the book’s completion.

In a promotional interview for “Patriot,” she told the BBC that she would run for president if she ever returned to Russia - an unlikely move with Putin in power, Navalnaya acknowledged. She has been arrested in absentia in Russia on charges of involvement with an extremist group.

Putin “needs to be in a Russian prison, to feel everything what not just my husband, but all the prisoners in Russia” feel, Navalnaya said during an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

Russia summoned the German ambassador over the establishment of a regional headquarters of the NATO maritime command in the city of Rostock, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

“Washington, Brussels and Berlin must be aware that the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure into the territory of the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) will have the most negative consequences and will not go without a corresponding response from the Russian side,” the ministry said in the statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies on Tuesday “not to hide” and to respond to evidence of North Korean involvement into Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He said in his nightly address that Ukraine has information about the preparation of two units - possibly up to 12,000 North Korean troops - to take part in the war alongside Russian forces.

“This is a challenge, but we know how to respond to this challenge. It is important that partners do not hide from this challenge as well,” Zelenskiy added.

Three people including a child were killed in a Russian drone strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, officials said on Tuesday.

The attack targeted a residential neighbourhood and critical infrastructure, regional governor Ihor Kalchenko said on the Telegram messaging app.

In a statement, the Ukrainian military said air defences had destroyed 42 out of 60 drones launched by Russia overnight across various parts of Ukraine.

Pictures from the strike are yet to emerge but we will share them as they come in.

South Korea may consider supplying weapons directly to Ukraine in response to growing military ties between North Korea and Russia, officials stated on Tuesday.

This follows ongoing accusations that Pyongyang has deployed troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.

A senior official from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said the government is preparing diplomatic, economic, and military responses to various scenarios of North Korea-Russia military cooperation. These responses could include providing Ukraine with lethal weapons if the situation escalates.

“We are considering supplying defensive weapons as part of a phased approach, and if necessary, we may also consider offensive measures,” the official told reporters.

The remarks followed an emergency meeting of South Korea’s National Security Council (NSC) to discuss North Korea’s increasing military cooperation with Russia. The NSC condemned Pyongyang for sending troops to fight as “Russia’s mercenaries,” accusing the regime of neglecting its people’s well-being and human rights.

The senior official also mentioned that a team of intelligence and defence officials would visit NATO headquarters “within the coming days” after NATO chief Mark Rutte urged President Yoon in a Monday phone call to send a delegation to strengthen information-sharing efforts.

Both Russia and North Korea have denied any arms transfers but have committed to deepening military cooperation.

The US “will get Ukraine what it needs” to fight its war with Russia and “to fight for its survival and security”, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said in his Kyiv visit.

Speaking at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, the Pentagon chief noted that the US has delivered more than $58bn in security assistance for Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, making it Kyiv’s main backer.

Mr Austin said “there is no silver bullet. No single capability will turn the tide. No one system will end Putin’s assault.” He added: “Make no mistake. The United States does not seek war with Russia.”

“What matters is the way that Ukraine fights back,” Mr Austin told the assembled diplomatic and military personnel at the academy. “What matters is the combined effects of your military capabilities. And what matters is staying focused on what works.”

However, he gave no indication of whether Washington would endorse the key planks of Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-point “victory plan”.