The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported that Ukrainian defenders repelled 38 Russian assaults on the Pokrovsk front on 24 October, particularly near the city of Selydove. In total,

Russian forces have captured the villages of Serebrianka and Mykolaivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, as military blogs reported Russian advances near key frontline towns.

Britain and Germany signed a landmark defence agreement on Wednesday and pledged to co-operate on exercises on NATO's eastern flank as they stressed the need for Europe to be able to defend itself given possible escalation in the war in Ukraine.

Officials say German submarine-hunting planes will patrol the North Atlantic from a base in Scotland under a new Britain-Germany defense pact in response to the growing threat from Russia

Britain and Germany will sign a defence agreement on Wednesday, the first of its kind between Europe's two biggest spenders on defence, which includes a commitment to develop new deep-strike weapons.

North Korea – with whom Russia signed a mutual defence pact – is already widely believed to be arming Moscow for its invasion but troops on the ground would mark a new escalation in the conflict.

Ukraine and South Korea have also raised an alarm over North Korea allegedly sending soldiers to assist the Russian war effort. They had since been deployed to three different training grounds in the Russian Far East, he added. “If they do deploy to fight against Ukraine, they are fair game,” Mr Kirby said.