Latest war in Ukraine: 'Explosions' in Kiev as rocket attack launched; North Korean troops fight alongside Russia

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Yesterday, the US claimed that North Korean troops had teamed up with Russian soldiers to battle Ukrainian forces.

“More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun combat operations with Russian forces,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. to reporters.

It is part of a broader Russian strategy to retake the Kursk region, which has been held by Ukrainian forces for several months.

US and European news sources suggested that as many as 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops had massed on the region’s border in recent days.

We could also see Russian forces launch a ground attack in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region at short notice, after a Kiev military spokesman warned this could happen soon.

The attacks could create a new pressure point for Kiev’s overloaded defenders, who are already on the back foot in the east.

We’ll be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day, so stay with us.