Russia-Ukraine war current: Zelensky says 10,000 North Koreans could join Putin's invasion

Russian forces have taken control of the village of Maksymilianivka, less than 10 km (6 miles) from the key Donetsk city of Kurakhove.

The Kurakhove sector, west of the Russian-controlled regional center of Donetsk, is one of the focal points of Russia's steady advance through the region. Russia is pushing to reach the Pokrovsk logistics center, about 50 km north.

Ukrainian forces have repelled 36 of 45 battles near Kurakhove in 24 hours and nine clashes are still ongoing, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

The popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState showed that control of Maksymilianivka was disputed. According to the report, 35 of 45 attempted Russian advances in the Pokrovsk sector were repelled.

Volodymyr Zelensky said his intelligence service had information that 10,000 troops from North Korea were being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against his country

Intervention by a third nation in the hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war,” Mr. Zelensky said.

“We have information from our intelligence services that North Korea has sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters. “They are preparing 10,000 soldiers on their land, but they have not yet moved them to Ukraine or Russia.”

He did not elaborate on the claim, which came a day after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that Washington and its allies were concerned about North Korea's military support for Russia's war in Ukraine, but was unable to comment on the Ukrainian claims does not confirm the sending of soldiers to fight for Moscow.

He had previously warned that any North Korean involvement would be “the first step toward a world war.”

As night falls in a suburb northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the witches of Bucha come to life.

By day the women work as doctors and teachers, but at night they protect Ukraine from the Russian drones that hover overhead.

The women – known by the nickname “Witches of Bucha” – are volunteers in air defense units.

As more men are sent to the front, volunteers have been trained to use machine guns and assault rifles to shoot down drones packed with explosives sent from Russia.

“My job is to listen to them,” Valentyna, a veterinarian, tells the BBC. “It's nervous work. But we have to stay focused and pay attention to the slightest noise.”

Our women's correspondent Maya Oppenheim Reports:

Ukraine's allies must continue to supply Ukraine with ammunition in 2025, the Czech, Danish and Dutch prime ministers said in a joint statement on Thursday, pledging at a meeting in Brussels to continue to do so themselves.

The Czech Republic led an initiative this year to buy ammunition for Kiev using funds from NATO allies to make up for shortages on the front lines in the war against invading Russian forces.

“The ammunition initiative must continue in 2025,” the leaders said. “Our countries are already finalizing other concrete projects for supplies of 155 mm ammunition under the initiative, as well as other calibers on a bilateral basis.”

They said it was crucial for Kiev's other allies to make quick decisions about providing munitions.

“Only early notification and allocation of resources will ensure a stable and predictable flow of ammunition that can continue in the first months of 2025 to ensure that Ukraine is well supplied,” they said.

Last Thursday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the initiative to supply large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine would achieve the goal of delivering half a million shells by the end of the year.