Civilian deaths and injuries in the first five months of 2025 were nearly 50 per cent higher than the same period last year, UN rights experts tasked with monitoring abuses in war-torn Ukraine said on Wednesday in their latest report.

More than one million Russian military personnel have likely been killed or wounded since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, according to a growing body of Western estimates.

According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Russia has been transferring Iranian loitering munitions technology and large-scale manufacturing infrastructure to its close ally, North Korea. If true, this development could have significant military ramifications for South Korea, a United States treaty ally.

Two waves of Russian attacks targeting the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv kill at least four, injuring more, as hopes of peace dim.