City and administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, site of a pivotal WWII battle and regional administration since 1779.
Ukraine has reported that North Korea has deployed missile personnel and thousands of troops to western Russia and the Kursk region and that Moscow has used North Korean KN-23/KN-24 missiles in recent strikes. Kyiv, Western analysts and local officials say the transfers increase Russia's ballistic missile capacity at a time when Ukraine lacks high-end air defences.
Russia and North Korea have opened a one-kilometre, two-lane road bridge across the Tumen River, creating the first direct road link between the countries. Trucks have begun crossing and Russian officials say the bridge will handle up to 300 vehicles daily and connect to Russia’s federal road network; passenger traffic will start when the crossing is fully operational later this year.
Amnesty International has found that migrants from Brazil, Colombia, Sri Lanka and South Africa were lured by fake civilian jobs to Russia and then conscripted into the Russian army. The group says coercion, passport seizure and false promises amount to trafficking in many cases. Ukraine and Russia have long recruited foreigners for their wars, with thousands serving on both sides.
Zelensky has told the UN that Ukraine has transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. He says North Korea is using soldiers as currency to support Russia, while Kyiv seeks humanitarian and legal pathways amid international scrutiny.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an apology after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly said Kyiv transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Seoul says the transfer was meant to be confidential and accuses Ukraine of breaching an agreement; Kyiv denies any nondisclosure pact and calls the matter a diplomatic misunderstanding.
South Korea has demanded an apology and recalled its ambassador after Ukraine’s president revealed Kyiv transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea in January 2025. Seoul says the disclosure violated a confidentiality agreement and risks Pyongyang retaliation; Ukraine says the matter is a diplomatic misunderstanding.
Across Ukraine and Russia, drone and missile attacks have escalated, killing civilians and damaging infrastructure. Crimea reports restrictions on electricity and water after a drone incident; multiple regional strikes in Bryansk and Kharkiv kill and wound people. NATO training exercises show allied readiness to defend against drone-enabled warfare. Starlink remains contested amid a broader information and security backdrop.
North Korea has displayed new attack drones, held weapon tests and has called for rapid expansion of unmanned aeronautical technology, state media report. Seoul has detected recent missile and drone launches and has reorganised its own forces to prioritise drone and counter-drone capabilities as tensions remain high after border incidents.
The Ukrainian army has broadened its use of underground tunnels and gas pipelines near Kupiansk, expanding tactics into an underground battlefield. Drones and specialized units are reshaping control along the Oskil River as Kyiv reports progress in Operation Veles, described by President Zelensky as a great success.
Russia has placed four JTI subsidiaries in Russia under temporary administration, drawing protests from Japan. Tokyo warns Moscow to reverse the decree, while experts say the move tests Tokyo’s resolve amid ongoing tensions over Ukraine and regional security.
Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow have published leaked Rosstat data detailing war-related deaths in Russia, including 356,056 killed in combat and thousands more from non-combat causes. The figures, not officially verified by Moscow, align with other casualty estimates and suggest the war is Russia's deadliest since WWII. The leak underscores ongoing disputes over casualty counts and the human cost of the conflict.