(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had been briefed about North Korea's involvement in the war in his country and Russia's plans for this autumn and winter.

North Korea is sending its citizens to help Russia’s military fight Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said, increasing concerns about the alliance between Moscow and the secretive state.

Russia is strengthening its military ties with North Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned, as he reiterated a plea for more sustained supplies for his country’s forces.

Ukraine urged international organizations on Sunday to respond to reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed in Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram that he sent letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the case,

Russian pro-war milbloggers have reacted to yet more reports of Ukrainian POWs being executed by Moscow’s forces by seeking to justify the killings, while some have even called for more. In the latest case of what appears to be an increasingly common occurrence,

Russian units continue to advance on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region in nearly all directions. According to analysts and representatives of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), we may witness Ukrainians withdrawing from Russian-controlled areas in the coming weeks.