Ukrainian officials expect a counteroffensive in western Russia to begin in the coming days as North Korea’s troops train with Russian forces.

A week after Ukrainian soldiers clashed with North Korean troops for the first time, 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops are expected to target Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region of Russia in an effort to reclaim some of its territory.

Nearly all would raise their hands to go, ex-military defectors explain, owing to regime loyalty, promise of higher status and a glimpse of the outside world.

Palestinians are reckoning with an incoming U.S. president who expressed near unreserved backing for Israel in his first term. Abbas, who once barred senior Palestinian officials from communicating with the Trump administration, recently spoke to Trump by phone, and they discussed the possibility of meeting.

A former North Korean soldier says even the country’s elite troops are ill-prepared for frontline action against Ukraine, making them highly vulnerable to defeat and death.

Ukraine has been fighting North Korean troops in Russia since August. Here's an inside scoop of what we know so far.