The North Korean troops fighting for Russia are highly trained and will stop at nothing to avoid surrender, Ukrainian sources tell Sam Kiley, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor in Sumy

Soldiers fighting for Ukraine describe facing relentless waves of determined North Korean troops, Russian units with improved tactics, and Ukraine’s own struggles with exhaustion and sinking morale.

The Palestinian militant movement Hamas is expected to release four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday in exchange for a group of Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the 15-month-old war in Gaza.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag freed as 200 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons released in second such exchange under fragile truce

FILE PHOTO: A combination picture shows Israeli hostages Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Liri Albag and Daniela Gilboa, soldiers who were seized from their army base in southern Israel during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in these undated handout pictures. Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo