Russia-Ukraine War

Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia or occupied territories since the war began.

On Dec. 17, a US military official said North Korea had suffered several hundred casualties while fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

Bulgarian nationals Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, are accused of being part of a sophisticated spying network run by a Russian agent named Jan Marsalek.

Ukraine says it accepts that it cannot join the alliance until the war is over but extending an invitation now would show Russia's Putin that he could not prevent Kyiv from becoming a NATO member.

Zelensky said he also spoke with European and US officials to help him get Israel to lend Ukraine support, especially with air defenses.

With Ukraine entering uncharted territory, a sense of escalation has been palpable as Moscow and Kyiv push to improve their battlefield positions ahead of any negotiations.

"It has been Russia that has escalated the conflict time and time again," spokesperson Miller said, pointing to North Korean troops the US says have been deployed and clashed with Ukrainian forces.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens.” 

A day after Yevhen Stepanenko was born, a Russian tank was parked outside the clinic. It was kept running at the time by a diesel generator, and water was supplied by two fire trucks parked nearby.

Russians claimed the American citizen had provided intelligence for two years.