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 attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.

North Korean soldiers, who were previously sent to Russia, are now in Kursk Oblast and are "already engaging in combat" operations against Ukraine. Source: Yonhap, citing South Korea's spy agency Details: The intelligence service reported that "North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia have moved to Kursk Oblast over the past two weeks and their deployment to battlefields has been completed".

The Kremlin is attempting to dictate the terms of any potential "peace" negotiations with Ukraine before Donald Trump's inauguration, a respected think tank says. While you scroll, listen to the Daily podcast on what Donald Trump's cabinet picks could mean for Ukraine.

President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post said Sunday.

Despite warning from future US president, Vladimir Putin has continued to escalate attacks on Ukraine. The Russian military attacked Ukrainian territory with missiles, aerial bombs and more than 100 suicide drones in the early hours of the beginning of this week.