Ukraine-Russia war live: North Korean troops deployed to frontline will ‘surely return in body bags’, US says

A large explosion has been reported in the port area of Russian-occupied Berdyansk.

Petro Andriushchenko, Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram: “Our drones have been attacking Berdyansk since six in the morning.

“The main one hits in the port area. Smoke from a large fire is visible above the port with a large number of ambulances and firemen.

“In addition, the local occupation administration, almost for the first time, acknowledged the hit, reporting an attack on the premises of the administration itself in the city

“In addition, the electricity supply has disappeared in some areas, and the work of official budget bodies has been canceled.

“Finally, good morning from the occupation.”

A Russian glide bomb struck a Kharkiv apartment block with local authorities claiming a child was killed and 34 residents injured.

Chief of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram: “Unfortunately, a child died. Despite all efforts, medics failed to resuscitate the boy.”

As a result of the impact, part of the nine-storey apartment block was almost completely destroyed.

He added at least two people including a child were still trapped under the rubble.

The body of the 11-year-old was retrieved from under the rubble with severe head injuries and fractures.

South Korea has said it is considering sending a military team to Ukraine to monitor the expected deployment of North Korean troops on the frontlines by Russia.

North Korea has sent some 11,000 soldiers to Russia and over 3,000 of them have been moved close to the frontlines, Reuters quoted an unnamed South Korean official as saying.

The official said North Korea will gain military knowledge from its troops helping the Russian war effort which poses a military threat to South Korea. “So it is incumbent upon us to analyse and monitor the activities of North Korean troops against our ally, Ukraine,” the official added.

One person was killed and six were injured after Russian strikes on buildings, buses and cars in Kherson over the past 24 hours.

Chief of the Kherson Regional State Administration Oleksandr Prokudin said on Facebook on Thursday: “Russian military targeted library and office premises and populated areas of the region, including damage to multi-storey buildings and 21 private buildings.

“The occupiers also [struck] garages, buses and private cars. Due to Russian aggression, one person died, six more got injured.”

Throughout the past day, Ukrainian Defense Forces said there were 145 recorded combat clashes at the frontline. They added their strikes had hit one Russian command post, two air defence systems, one artillery gun in firing position, two field ammunition depots, three clusters of enemy personnel and military equipment, and four enemy radar stations.

Russian troops attacked a strategic bridge across the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Estuary in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, launching two ballistic Iskander missiles and eight guided missiles, said the Ukrainian military on Thursday.

The bridge has been a target several times over the past two years, and is an important railway and car connection in the region.

The Ukrainian military added that Russia used two ballistic missiles to attack the eastern town of Kramatorsk.

The air force shot down 17 out of 43 drones and two guided missiles launched by Russia overnight, it said, adding that 23 drones were “locationally lost”, likely due to electronic warfare and three more left Ukraine-controlled airspace.

All drones threatening the capital Kyiv were disabled by air defence.

Ukrainian forces have pushed into Toretsk recently, a US war think tank has said.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have advanced near Kupyansk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and southwest of Donetsk City, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday.

An investigation by the BBC has found that Russia may be using drones to target civilians in the frontline city of Kherson.

Both Ukraine and Russia use drones to target military infrastructure.

Kherson’s military administration told the BBC that 30 civilians in the city have died due to Russian drone attacks since 1 July.

Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.

The Independent was not able to independently verify these claims.

The Russian military has not responded to the BBC’s questions on the allegations, but they have consistently denied that they target civilians.

BBC Verify claimed they have examined six videos shared on both Ukrainian and Russian social media where evidence of these apparent drone attacks on civilians is visible.

Ukraine has named three North Korean generals who it claims have accompanied their troops to Russia.

In a statement to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Ukraine’s delegation said the generals are among at least 500 North Korean officers sent to Russia, reported Reuters.

The statement added that the troops will be formed into at least five formations of 2,000-3,000 soldiers each and integrated into Russian units to hide their presence.

Ukraine named Colonel General Kim Yong-bok, a senior general with command of special forces that South Korean intelligence claims have been deployed to Russia.

“This is a large and almost unprecedented deployment for the KPA,” said North Korea leadership expert with US-based Stimson Center Michael Madden, who believes General Kim Yong-bok is in Russia as a representative of Kim Jong Un.

The other generals are Colonel General Ri Changho, deputy chief of the general staff and head of the reconnaissance general bureau, and Major General Sin Kum-cheol, head of the main operational directorate.