Concerns over deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea over war in Ukraine. Russian lawmaker warns Ukrainian strikes on Russia would lead to nuclear war 15:50 A senior Russian lawmaker on Thursday said that Ukrainian strikes on Russia with western weapons would lead to nuclear war and that Moscow’s response would be tough with more powerful weapons.

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on a network of five groups and one person for enabling payments between Russia and North Korea to support Moscow's war in Ukraine and Pyongyang's weapons programs,

"The U.S. remains strongly committed to leveraging all our available tools to disrupt this and other schemes intended to support Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and enable (North Korea's) illicit access to the international financial system,

The U.S. State and Treasury departments announced new sanctions Thursday on five groups and one person said to be involved in illicit payment mechanisms between Russia and North Korea. In a statement issued by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control,

The United States on Thursday announced sanctions against five entities and one individual -- based in Russia and a Russian-occupied Georgian region -- for their alleged involvement in illicit financial schemes between Pyongyang and Moscow.