A captured North Korean soldier has said he did not know he was being sent to fight in a war in Russia and that Pyongyang’s troops are suffering major losses in battle, according to a video released by Ukraine.

Russia claims to have captured the strategically important Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka, as Vladimir Putin ’s forces continue their push in the Donetsk region. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

British intelligence has reported that one-third of the troops deployed alongside Russian forces in Ukraine are already out of action. Pyongyang sent a contingent of 12,000 soldiers to Russia to assist local forces in regaining lost territory in the Kursk region,

Vladimir Putin has refused to directly engage with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him “illegitimate”. The Russian president said Ukraine will have to find a legal way to hold the peace talks as Kyiv has not held any elections since Russia started the war on its smaller neighbour.