Welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.
Before we get started, here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know as we head into the new week.
President Putin’s visit to North Korea
Last week, President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for the first time in more than 24 years, deepening ties between the two countries under Western supervision.
Putin and Kim Jong Un signed an agreement vowing to help each other in the event of an invasion, marking the strongest ties between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
Kim said the pact amounted to an “alliance”, while Putin hailed it as a “landmark document”.
During the glitzy visit, the two leaders took turns traveling in a Russian-made Aurus limousine, which the Kremlin said was a gift from the Russian president to Kim.
Putin said at a later press conference that Moscow had not ruled out sending weapons to Pyongyang.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the defense pact between Russia and North Korea signaled growing cooperation between “authoritarian states” and said the United States was “deeply concerned” by Putin’s comments about potentially supplying weapons to North Korea.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russia must abide by UN sanctions against North Korea.
attack
Russian officials on Sunday accused Ukraine of using five U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles to attack the Crimean peninsula’s main port city of Sevastopol.
At least five people, including three children, were killed and more than 100 were injured, according to authorities.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that four of the missiles were shot down by air defenses and that the fifth exploded in the air. It blamed the United States primarily for the reported attack.
Footage broadcast by Russian state television showed what sounded like an explosion and people fleeing the beach in Sevastopol.
Meanwhile, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said three Ukrainian drones attacked the city of Glyvoron on Sunday, killing one person.
On the same day that Russia claimed several attacks inside Ukraine, Moscow’s latest attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, killed one person and wounded four.
Mayor Igor Terekhov said the city of Kharkiv had come under attack with a guided bomb, a day after a Russian bomb struck a five-story residential building, killing three people.
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The United States announced it would redirect Patriot and other missiles destined for other partner countries toward Kiev.
White House spokesman John Kirby said the decision was “difficult but necessary” because Ukrainian forces are in “desperate need” of increased air defense capabilities as Russian attacks escalate.
Kirby said planes rolling off the production line over the next 16 months or so will be given priority for delivery to Kiev.
Trial of imprisoned journalists
Russia announced last week that the espionage trial of detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich would begin behind closed doors later this month.
The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32, is accused of “collecting secret information” for the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a facility that manufactures and repairs military equipment.
The first hearing is scheduled for June 26th.
The Wall Street Journal denied the allegations against Gershkovich, and Joe Biden said his detention was “completely unlawful.”
President Vladimir Putin said he had been in contact with Washington about a possible prisoner swap over the journalists, but gave no further details.