The U.S. says there will be a "firm response" as Ukrainian forces holding ground in Russia's Kursk region now face North Korean troops "engaging in combat."

Russia on Wednesday launched its first combined drone and missile assault on Kyiv in over 70 days as Ukrainian leaders urgently seek more Western air defence support amid political concerns

And in occupied Crimea, a senior Russian naval officer has been killed in a bomb attack claimed by Kyiv. According to a Kyiv security source, the bomb attack in Sevastopol was a Ukrainian hit on one of its highest-ranking targets to date.