North Korea suffering mass casualties, says US as Zelensky set for £1bn arms boost - South Korea, Ukraine and the US previously accused Pyongyang of sending thousands of soldiers to help Russia

The first North Korean soldier taken prisoner of war by Ukrainian forces while fighting for Russia has died of his injuries, South Korean intelligence said Friday.

South Korea’s spy agency said Friday a wounded North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting for Russia against Ukrainian forces has since died from his injuries, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Russia launches 31 drones overnight: 20 destroyed, 11 off target — Ukrainian Air Force It was noted that another 11 drones did not reach their targets. Russia launched the missiles from the Voronezh and Kursk oblasts of the Russian Federation,

Vladimir Putin says Russia is 'striving' to end the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian President said the Government was prepared to use intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missiles or to use more powerful intermediate-range weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is open to a Slovakian proposal to host peace talks with Ukraine to end a conflict he said Russia was determined to bring to a conclusion.

Slovakia on Friday confirmed its readiness to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv's accusation that it is playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.