North Korean soldiers in a military parade in Pyongyang in 2017 (Iliya Pitalev/AP}

Monday’s Coverage: Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico Visits Putin

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1620 GMT:

At least nine civilians have been injured by a Russian attack on an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine.

Preliminary reports indicate the four-story building was struck by a ballistic missile.

Three residents — a 79-year-old man and women aged 69 and 72 — are in moderately severe condition in hospital.

UPDATE 1408 GMT:

Ukraine has received $1 billion from Japan and the UK through the World Bank’s Growth Foundations Development Policy Loan program.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal posted, “The funds raised will be used to strengthen our economy and finance priority expenditures in the social and humanitarian spheres.”

UPDATE 1403 GMT:

The Russian-installed head of occupied Berdyansk in southern Ukraine has been injured after his car exploded in a yard outside a house.

The cause has not been reported, and Vasyl Nechet’s condition is unknown.

Nechet contributed to the establishment of a pro-Russian regime in the city after Moscow’s invasion. He joined Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party, and was appointed head of the occupation council.

UPDATE 1345 GMT:

Russian authorities are limiting access to YouTube and threatening to cut off WhatsApp.

YouTube’s traffic has been reduced to 20% of normal levels, since it was slowed by Russian regulators in the summer.

Senator Artem Sheykin said Monday of WhatsApp, “If the messenger fails to fulfill certain requirements and obligations, the probability of blocking may increase.”

Russia declared Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, an “extremist organization” in 2022.

Last Friday, WhatsApp was added to the register of information distributors, which requires it to store user data and hand it over at the request of Russian law enforcement agencies.

Shirkin said, “The development of the situation with WhatsApp in Russia in 2025 will depend on the position of the messenger’s management on storing information about users and correspondence and providing it at the request of the [State security service] FSB.”

UPDATE 1041 GMT:

Two civilians have been killed and five injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, one person was killed and two injured by attacks on 38 settlements, including Kherson city.

In the Donetsk region in the east, one civilian was slain and two wounded.

Air defenses downed 36 of 60 drones fired by Russia overnight. Another 23 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

UPDATE 0726 GMT:

Germany has announced additional military assistance for Ukraine.

Berlin will deliver two Patriot air defense launcher systems and one IRIS-T SLS anti-aircraft missile system; 15 Leopard 1 A5 tanks; ammunition for Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks; two Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 65,000 ammunition rounds; and other armored vehicles, ammunition, and equipment.

Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency said earlier this week that German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with 155mm artillery rounds, with initial deliveries scheduled for the first half of 2025.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says more than 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region in western Russia.

Zelensky made the statement hours after South Korean intelligence put the number of North Korea casualties at 1,100.

Ukrainian, South Korean, and US intelligence have estimated that around 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed. Most are in the Kursk region, part of which has been held by Ukraine since a cross-border incursion on August 6.

Zelensky echoed the South Korean assessment that North Korea is preparing to deploy additional troops and weapons, including kamikaze drones, for Russia’s invasion.

“There are risks of North Korea sending additional soldiers and military equipment to the Russian army, and we will have tangible responses to this,” he said.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff posted on Monday:

A comprehensive assessment of multiple intelligence shows that North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase the deployment of troops (in Russia), while currently supplying 240-millimeter rocket launchers and 170-millimeter self-propelled artillery.

There are also some signs of [North Korea] moving to manufacture and supply suicide drones, first unveiled during [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un’s on-site inspection in November.

South Korean officials said around 200 munitions factories in North Korea are running at full capacity to produce weapons, with Russia providing fuel and equipment to Pyongyang for the production.

In return for arms and ammunition sent to Russia, North Korea may have received as much as $5.5 billion, said one analyst.

The Wall Street Journal supported the assessment through analysis of satellite imagery. The outlet concluded that North Korea is preparing to supply more arms to Russia, beyond around 20,000 containers it has already sent.