Ukrainian forces fighting around Velyka Novosilka claim its Russian takeover will amount to nothing more than a flag-raising exercise

Russian forces have been slowly but steadily advancing in eastern Ukraine for more than a year in relentless ground combat that has caused massive military losses on both sides. Kyiv, for its part, has managed to capture and hold a pocket of territory inside Russia over the past six months.

Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine, as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv’s grip on the country’s industrial heartland.

Ukrainian special operations forces have given an insight into the brutal, near-suicidal tactics of the North Koreans they have faced in intense fighting in the Russian border region of Kursk.