Ukraine live: North Korea troops in Russia shows Putin is desperate, say G7

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven democracies and three key allies said on Tuesday they were gravely concerned by the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia and the possibility they may be used in the war against Ukraine.

“The DPRK’s (North Korea) direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, besides showing Russia’s desperate efforts to compensate its losses, would mark a dangerous expansion of the conflict,” the ministers said in a statement.

Besides G7 members the United States, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany, France and Canada, the statement was also signed by South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The ministers said they condemned “in the strongest possible terms” increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Russia’s “unlawful procurement” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

They said they were deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea, and would work with international partners “for a coordinated response to this new development”.

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine‘s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday killed six people, injured at least 20 more and destroyed a critical infrastructure facility, Ukrainian officials said.

Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that a fire broke out as a result of the strike. Authorities did not say what the facility was.

Before the attack, Fedorov and Ukraine‘s Air Force announced a ballistic missile alert for the region.

Russia has recently stepped up attacks on Zaporizhzhia, using highly destructive guided bombs, which Ukrainian forces find hard to shoot down.

The city is an important logistical and industrial hub located about 40 km (25 miles) from the frontline. Moscow’s troops partially occupy the Zaporizhzhia region, which is also home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff urged allies to give more support to counter Russian attacks.

“Violence must be stopped by strong actions,” Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

A Russian attack on Ukraine‘s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed six people and injured nine more, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday.

He said earlier that the Russian forces had attacked an infrastructure facility in the city.

Poland plans to invest 3 billion zlotys (£577 million) to boost ammunition production, according to a bill published late on Monday, aiming to ensure it has sufficient supplies in the event of an attack from Russia.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has become Nato’s biggest spender on defence in relation to the size of its economy, with the 2025 budget allocating 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product for the purpose.

“The draft act aims to create opportunities to provide financing for activities aimed at increasing the capacity for ammunition production,” the bill says, with a particular need to expand large-caliber production to bolster the potential of the Polish Armed Forces.

The government aims to adopt the bill during the fourth quarter, according to its website.

Some Nato officials have said the Kremlin might be ready militarily to attack Nato countries in five to eight years’ time, once it has rebuilt its forces after the war in Ukraine. Moscow has regularly dismissed Western suggestions that it might consider an attack on Nato.

In September Maciej Idzik, a board member of the state-owned Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), told Reuters that Warsaw aimed to ramp up its production of 155 mm artillery rounds.

Photos have dropped on the wires from the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.

Russian forces are only several miles away from the city, a linchpin of the wider region’s defences.

The Ukrainian air force shot down 48 out of 79 drones and two missiles launched by Russia overnight. The air force said the location of 30 other drones had been lost, while another had returned to Russia.

An overnight attack using guided aerial bombs on the eastern city of Kharkiv also injured two people and damaged windows in three apartment buildings, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

A drone attack on the northeastern region of Sumy damaged a gas station, regional authorities added.