Ukraine–Russia latest: Zelensky says 10,000 North Koreans could join Putin’s invasion

Russian forces have taken control of the village of Maksymilianivka, less than 10 km (6 miles) from the key city of Kurakhove in Donetsk.

The Kurakhove sector, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk, is one of the focal points of Russia’s steady advance through the region. Russia has been pressing to reach the logistical hub of Pokrovsk, about 50 km to the north.

Ukrainian forces had repelled 36 of 45 battles near Kurakhove over 24 hours and nine clashes were still going on, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said.

Popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState showed control of Maksymilianivka to be contested. The report said 35 of 45 attempted Russian advances had been repelled in the Pokrovsk sector.

Volodymyr Zelensky said his spy agency has information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against his country

A third nation wading into the hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war,” Mr Zelensky said.

“From our intelligence we’ve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” he told reporters at Nato headquarters. “They are preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers, but they didn’t move them already to Ukraine or to Russia.”

He did not go into detail about the claim that came a day after US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said that Washington and its allies are alarmed by North Korea’s military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine but couldn’t confirm Ukrainian claims that soldiers were sent to fight for Moscow.

Earlier, he warned that any North Korean involvement would be “the first step to a world war.”

When nightfall descends on a suburban area northwest of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Witches of Bucha come alive.

By day, the women work as doctors and teachers, but by night, they safeguard Ukraine from the Russian drones that surge above them.

The women – who go by the moniker of the Witches of Bucha – are volunteers in air defence units.

As increasing numbers of men are deployed to the frontlines, the volunteers have undergone training to wield machine guns and assault rifles to shoot down drones filled with explosives sent from Russia.

“My role is to listen for them,” Valentyna, a veterinarian, tells the BBC. “It’s nervous work. But we have to stay focused, to [listen out] for the slightest sound.”

Our women’s correspondent Maya Oppenheim reports:

Ukraine’s allies must keep supplying it with ammunition in 2025, the Czech, Danish and Dutch prime ministers said in a joint statement on Thursday, as they vowed during a meeting in Brussels to continue doing so themselves.

The Czech Republic has this year led an initiative to buy ammunition for Kyiv with funding from NATO allies, in order to make up for shortages on the frontlines in the war against invading Russian forces.

“The Ammunition Initiative must continue in 2025,” the leaders said. “Our countries are already finalizing further concrete projects for deliveries of 155 mm ammunition within the Initiative, as well as other calibres on a bilateral basis.”

They said it was crucial for Kyiv’s other allies to quickly make decisions about supplying funds for ammunition.

“Only early indication and allocation of funding will secure a stable and predictable flow of ammunition to continue in the early months of 2025 to make sure Ukraine is well stocked,” they said.

Last Thursday Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the initiative to supply large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine would meet the target of delivering half a million shells by the end of the year.