Ukraine-Russia war latest: North Korea to ‘unconditionally support’ Moscow as Trump vows to send weapons to Kyiv – UK Times

North Korea’s leader met with Russian foreign minister Segei Lavrov on Saturday in the coastal city of Wonsan, with the pair pledging further cooperation between the two countries.

Kim Jong Un has told Russia’s top diplomat that North Korea is ready to “unconditionally support” all of Moscow’s actions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is on a three-day visit to North Korea, and held high-level talks with the country’s leader on Saturday.

North Korea has provided troops and arms for Russia’s war with Ukraine, and pledged more military support as Moscow tries to make advances in the conflict.

Kim met Lavrov in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan where the two countries’ foreign ministers held their second strategic dialogue, pledging further cooperation under a partnership treaty signed last year that includes a mutual defense pact.

Kim told Lavrov the steps taken by the allies in response to radically evolving global geopolitics will contribute greatly to securing peace and security around the world, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported.

“Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis,” KCNA said.

A senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was gunned down in broad daylight in Kyiv, officials said on Friday as a maternity hospital was hit by a Russian drone barrage on the city of Kharkiv.

Surveillance footage published on social media showed the agent was executed in a car park by a gunman clad in dark clothing who fled the scene. Police said they were trying to identify the shooter and that “measures are being taken to detain him”.

The victim’s name has not been publicly disclosed and the identity of the suspect remains unclear. A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official said that the intelligence officer had been a colonel, according to Reuters.

My colleague Bryony Gooch has the full story:

Senators from both parties say that the legislation would pass smoothly. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he is open to a sanctions bill, which would open the door widespread bipartisan support.

Majority Leader John Thune said in a Senate speech earlier this week, “I fully expect that that could be ready for floor consideration as early as this work period. Senate Republicans are committed to working with the House and the White House to get this legislation through Congress and onto the president’s desk.”

My colleague Eric Garcia reports:

A man was killed in Russia’s Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house on Saturday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.

Belgorod region, a border province which adjoins Ukraine’s Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, has come under regular attack from Kyiv’s forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Strikes on the region have diminished in recent months, as Russia has intensified its attacks on neighbouring Ukrainian regions.

Below The Independent looks at how much support the US has provided to Ukraine’s war effort, why the Pentagon decided to pause shipments and what could happen from here.