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Overnight drone attacks have been a staple of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Both countries give updates on the number of drones launched at them every morning - today, Ukraine's air force said it downed 359 out of 363 drones and six of eight missiles, while Russia said it downed 39 Ukrainian drones.

To us, it's just numbers, but civilians on the ground are living in constant fear.

Volodymyr, a Kyiv resident, told us he and others are "constantly second guessing" whether they are about to be hit by a drone, which they often hear "buzzing" overhead as they try to sleep.

He grew emotional as he explained that his mother often skips saying "good morning" to simply check that he is still alive.

Russian authorities have claimed a Ukrainian drone attack on its Kursk region on the border with Ukraine has injured a Chinese journalist.

Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of the Kursk region, claimed in a Telegram post that Lu Yuguang, a correspondent for the Chinese news outlet Phoenix TV, was injured in an attack when he went near the border yesterday.

He later said the 63-year-old had skin cuts to his head and refused hospitalisation after receiving treatment.

Russia's foreign ministry called on the United Nations and other international organisations to "promptly respond and give a proper assessment".

The reports could not be independently verified and there was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.

Yuguang told Russia's state news agency TASS that he was feeling fine, appearing with his head in bandages in a video posted on social media.

Asked about the report on Friday, China's foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" and called on all parties to work towards a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and promote de-escalation of the situation.

Lynne Tracy is leaving her role as US ambassador to Russia after serving through one of the most difficult periods in relations between the two countries.

Her departure comes as Russia and the US discuss a potential reset in their ties, which sharply deteriorated after Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Tracy, who has been based in Moscow, said she is "proud to have represented my country" in the Russian capital "during such a challenging time".

There is no suggestion that the diplomat, who was appointed by Joe Biden, has been removed from her role by the Trump administration.

You can read more on this story by clicking the link below.

Ukraine's top military commander claims the country's forces have halted Russia's recent advance into the northern Sumy region and stabilised the front line near the border with Russia.

Colonel General Oleksandr SyrAG百家乐在线官网i, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops to other areas of the frontline.

His claims have not been independently verified and Russian officials have not commented.

Russian forces have been slowly pushing forward at points of the 620-mile frontline, though their gains have been costly in terms of troop casualties and damaged armour, with Ukraine relying largely on drones to defend itself.

A "massive" Ukrainian drone attack overnight forced Russian officials to temporarily restrict traffic on the Don River, according to local officials. 

The river in the KalachevAG百家乐在线官网 district of Russia's Volgograd region was temporarily restricted to eliminate wreckage from the attack, the regional governor's administration said on Friday.

"Sappers are at work," Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said in a post on Telegram.

He added there were no injuries as a result of the attack.

It was not immediately clear whether the bridge on the Don River, Europe's fifth-longest, was damaged.

The Russian defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula, including 13 over the Volgograd region.

Reflecting on some brighter news from yesterday, Russia and Ukraine completed another round of prisoner exchanges as part of an agreement struck in Istanbul recently between the two sides.

Both countries exchanged the same number of prisoners, but there was no word on how many soldiers were involved this time.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y posted photos of some of the prisoners on X yesterday, saying many of them had been in captivity since the war began in 2022.

"We are doing everything possible to find each person, to verify the information on every name," he added. 

"We must bring all our people home. I thank everyone who is helping us in this effort."

Russia could be preparing to launch a big summer attack on Ukraine with help from more North Korean troops, South Korea's intelligence agency has warned.

The country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Russia may be readying to mount a large-scale assault against Ukraine in July or August, South Korean member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun told reporters on Thursday.

Lee cited the NIS as saying that North Korea has begun recruiting soldiers to be sent to Russia.

The NIS told a behind-closed-doors briefing for South Korean politicians that North Korea would likely send 6,000 additional military personnel to Russia in July or August.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted Russian security official Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang last week. 

At that meeting, it's believed he agreed to send 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to help rebuild Kursk - the Russian region invaded by Ukraine last year. Vladimir Putin's forces only managed to force the Ukrainians out with help from North Korean combat troops.

South Korean, American and Ukrainian officials think North Korea last autumn sent about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia.

South Korea said North Korea deployed about 3,000-4,000 additional soldiers to Russia earlier this year.

In return for North Korea sending artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia, Pyongyang is likely receiving technical advice on satellite launches and missile guidance systems, South Korean MP Lee Seong-kweun also told reporters.

Welcome back to our coverage on the latest in the Ukraine war.

North Korea could be sending more of its troops to Russia to help aid a large-scale assault on Ukraine this summer, South Korea's intelligence agency has warned.

Meanwhile traffic on the Don River in the KalachevAG百家乐在线官网 district of Russia's Volgograd region was temporarily restricted after a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor's administration said this morning, adding that no one was injured in the attack.

And yesterday saw another prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.

We鈥檒l bring you the latest updates shortly, so stay tuned.

The NATO summit at The Hague is now over and while Ukraine wasn't the main item on the agenda, the ongoing war with Russia was still discussed.

Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y held a series of bilateral talks with foreign leaders, including a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit.

The Ukrainian president said he discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace with Trump, adding the meeting was "substantive" and the pair discussed how to "protect our people".

He also said the two leaders discussed the possible co-production of drones and that he told Trump "the facts of what is happening on the ground".

Speaking this afternoon, Trump admitted he and ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y had previously had some "rough times" but that his Ukrainian counterpart "couldn't have been nicer" today.

He said he will now speak with Vladimir Putin about the war and "see if we can get it ended", adding that the Russian leader would "like to get out of this thing" and that the war has "been a mess for him".

Answering a question about whether Putin has any territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Trump said "it's possible".

He also said he thinks the Russian president has "been misguided" and adds: "I'm very surprised, actually. I thought we should have settled that easily."

US considering extra Patriots for Ukraine

At one moment during his remarks, Trump was asked a question about the Patriot missile systems by a woman who revealed her husband was serving in the Ukrainian army.

"That's a very good question," Trump said. "And I wish you a lot of luck. I mean, I can see it's very upsetting to you. So say hello to your husband."

On the question itself, Trump said he is considering sending more Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine to help Kyiv fend off Russian attacks. 

He said the air-defence missiles are "very hard to get" but that "we are going to see if we can make some of them available."

In other Ukraine news...

• NATO's secretary general Mark Rutte told the summit that the group "stands firmly with our neighbour and partner Ukraine";
• Despite this, he avoided committing to new aid packages or a firm timeline for Ukraine's NATO membership;
• Sir Keir Starmer announced a new pledge of 350 air-defence missiles for Ukraine, funded by seized Russian assets;
• He said there is now a "real resolve" among leaders to push Putin to the table for an "unconditional ceasefire" in Ukraine;
• In a joint meeting with ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y, E5 leaders (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Poland) reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine's "irreversible path" to NATO membership;
• But, unlike at previous summits, the official NATO communique at the end of the summit did not mention Ukraine's membership ambitions - a change likely to be because of Trump's stance on the issue;
• Leaders from The Normandy Five (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) expressed strong support for Ukraine's defence efforts, with some, like Denmark and Norway, advocating for sustained military aid.

We'll be pausing our coverage for now but we'll be back soon with any updates - particularly if there are big developments related to Ukraine at today's NATO summit.

Here are the key lines you need to know:

• Donald Trump will meet with Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y on the sidelines of the NATO summit today;
• Ahead of the NATO summit today, Trump posted a private message from NATO's secretary general Mark Rutte online, in which Rutte praised the US president and congratulated him on "decisive action in Iran" after he struck three nuclear sites;
• Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said he believes the US is fully behind its obligation towards NATO and the Article 5 clause on mutual defence after Trump yesterday refused to confirm explicitly that the US remains committed to it.

You can follow more from the NATO summit at The Hague in our separate live page - just click below: