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.

The North Korean troops fighting for Russia are highly trained and will stop at nothing to avoid surrender, Ukrainian sources tell Sam Kiley, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor, in Sumy

All North Korean recruits are taught a song that includes a verse about saving their last bullet for themselves to avoid capture, one former soldier told NBC News.