Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump presented with plan to end war if elected - as trial of US journalist to begin (2024)

If North Korean troops were sent to Ukraine to help the Russian army they would become "cannon fodder", Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder.

In a briefing yesterday evening, Mr Ryder was asked about the possibility of North Korean forces being sent to Ukraine as the country advances its military partnerships with Russia.

Mr Ryder did not say there was any indication of North Korean troops actually being sent into combat, but he cautioned the North against that potential development.

"That's certainly something to keep an eye on," he said.

"I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine."

During a summit in Pyongyang last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin signed a deal requiring each country to provide aid if attacked and vowed to boost other cooperation.

Observers say the accord represents the strongest connection between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.

Ukrainian shelling destroyed a radiation control post in Velyka Znamyanka in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russia's management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine reports.

"Specialists carried out a number of compensatory measures to control the radiation situation in the area," the management said.

Radiation levels, the management added, do not exceed safe levels.

For context: Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the early days of Moscow's invasion on Ukraine in 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv have sinceroutinely accused each other of endangering safety around it.

Evan Gershkovich has been seen before the start of his behind-closed-doors trial in Russia.

Reporters were allowed to briefly film the US journalist today before the start of his trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that he denies.

Mr Gershkovich was seen standing in a glass box, with a shaved head.

The Wall Street Journal reporter was first arrested on espionage charges in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been "gathering secret information" on orders from the CIA.

Mr Gershkovich faces 20 years in prison if convicted and he has spent over a year in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.

A Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa has struck civilian infrastructure this morning, regional governor Oleh Kiper reports.

The attack damaged an administrative building in the industrial sector.

Mr Kiper said there were no casualties in the attack.

Earlier this week, a Russian missile strike damaged a storage facility in the city, injuring three people.

Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian forces in theinvasion, with many attacks aimed at the city's port facilities.

Russia denies targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.

A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight today, South Korea's military has said.

The missile was launched from near the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said.

Japan's defence ministry said the missile flew to an altitude of about 62 miles and range of more than 200km.

Senior officials of South Korea, the US and Japan have held a phone call and condemned the launch as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond.

US Indo-Pacific command also issued a condemnation and called on Pyongyang to refrain from further unlawful and destabilising acts.

"While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation," it said in a statement.

North Korea's last missile launch was on 30 May.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin held a summit and signed a mutual defence pact.

Seoul, Washington and Tokyo criticised the two countries' deepening military cooperation, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calling the pact "anachronistic".

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.

Yesterday the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two top Russian military figures - former defence minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov - for allegedly directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine.

It brought the total number of warrants against senior Russian suspects to eight since the start of the war - with Vladimir Putin among them.

Kyiv welcomed the move, but Moscow dismissed it as legally meaningless.

Before we get to our live updates, here's a brief rundown of the other main developments from the past day:

• Russia and Ukraine each returned 90 prisoners of war in the latest swap between the two countries;
• The EU officially launched membership talks with Ukraine in what Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a "historic day" for Kyiv;
• Russia's deputy foreign minister warned of "tragic and fatal" consequences for the West if it underestimated Russia's resolve;
• The European Court of Human Rights found Russia guilty of committing multiple human rights violations in Crimea since it annexed the peninsula a decade ago;
• The Reuters news agency reported that Trump has been handed a plan to end the Ukraine war if he becomes president in November - including telling Kyiv it would only get more US military aid if it entered peace talks.

The map below shows the latest territorial picture in Ukraine...

That brings an end to our live updates on the Ukraine war for this evening.

We'll bring you any major updates overnight. In the meantime, you can scroll through the blog below to catch up on the day's developments.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a direct message to the two Russian top generals who are the subject of fresh arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court.

The court has accused Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelenskyy said: "Shoigu, Gerasimov – your path to The Hague is open."

The Ukrainian president also said the official start of Ukraine's ascension into the EU today was a "historic result", adding: "We will definitely implement everything necessary to advance through each chapter of our relations with the EU and to create a treaty – a treaty of Ukraine's accession."

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov spoke over the phone today, in what marked the first call between Mr Austin and his Russian counterpart since March 2023.

The two men discussed the importance of open lines of communication, the Pentagon said.

Spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said Mr Austin had initiated the conversation.

Mr Belousov was appointed to the role of defence minister last month after the shock dismissal of longtime minister Sergei Shoigu by Vladimir Putin.

Some of the returned Ukrainian soldiers were prisoners taken from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the head of the Ukrainian president's office has said.

Andriy Yermak said of the 90 fighters returned by Russia today, 52 were from a large group of Ukrainians captured while trying to defend the Azovstal steelworks in southern Ukraine while others had been held as prisoners after the capture of Chernobyl.

Both sites were seized by Russia early in the war.

Mr Yermak described the latest prisoner swap as an "important exchange".

"Thanks to our team for their work. Grateful to the UAE for facilitating the exchange. We will return everyone," he said.