This week, fighting continued to rage all along the front lines with some of the most intense battles being fought near Selydove, in the country’s east. Russia continued to strike Ukrainian cities and towns far behind the front lines with missiles and drones. Early in the week, Russian forces pierced Ukraine’s defensive line near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region. The defense did not collapse and the city was not lost to the Russians, the Ukrainian military said.
Russia launched more than a hundred drones at Ukraine overnight on Monday. Similar attacks, some of them smaller in scale, took place throughout the week. Around 15 drones targeting the Ukrainian capital were intercepted overnight on Friday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday. This week, all eyes have been turned to North Korean troops joining Russia’s war in Ukraine. North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday. South Korea weighs sending military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine after the North dispatched troops to support Russia in the war. The U.S. should consider taking “direct military action” if North Korean troops enter the war in Ukraine, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chair said.
Russian forces executed four Ukrainian National Guard service members taken prisoner near Selydove in Donetsk region. Around 80 per cent of Ukraine POW executions took place throughout 2024.
First North Korean units trained in Russia deploy in Kursk region, Ukraine’s defense intelligence says. In a statement on Thursday, the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the first North Korean troops, who had received training in Russia, had been seen in the Kursk region on Wednesday.
The intelligence service said roughly 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals, are being trained at five military training grounds in Russia’s far east.