The Department of Defense said that Russian officials had initiated the negotiations with North Korea but it was unclear whether any agreement had been finalized or whether any shipments were actually in progress.
Russian and Russian-aligned forces claimed to have made significant headway in their ongoing campaign to consolidate control over Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region.
Although Zelensky did not directly accuse Venediktova and Bakanov of collaborating with the Kremlin, he noted in his daily video address that both agencies had experienced significant problems with collaboration.