If confirmed Luhansk would be first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Moscow; pictures show North Korean leader at repatriation of soldiers apparently killed in Ukraine. What we know on day 1,224

Moscow’s forces have seized all of Luhansk – one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one – Leonid Pasechnik, a Russia-appointed official there, said on Monday. If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on Pasechnik’s claim. In remarks to Russia’s state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he had received a report “literally two days ago” saying that “100%” of the region was now under the control of Russian forces.

Russian forces have captured a village in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in their three-year offensive, Russian state media and pro-war bloggers have claimed . Dnipropetrovsk, which lies to the west of the Donetsk region, is not among the five Ukrainian regions over which Russia has asserted a formal territorial claim. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian officials or from the Russian defence ministry.

North Korea’s state media showed on Monday leader Kim Jong-un draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, as the countries marked a landmark military treaty . In a series of photographs displayed in the backdrop of a gala performance by North Korean and visiting Russian artists in Pyongyang, Kim is seen by rows of a half a dozen coffins, covering them with flags and pausing briefly with both hands resting on them.

The European Union said Monday it had agreed a new long-term trade deal with Ukraine, covering imports of food products from the war-torn country that have angered EU farmers . Brussels and Kyiv have been wrangling over the deal after protests from farmers saw the EU slap quotas on tariff-free Ukrainian agricultural imports into the bloc. Brussels added certain restrictions in 2024, when it extended the agreement for one additional year, by introducing a maximum ceiling on certain tariff-free products such as cereals, poultry, eggs, sugar and corn. The European Commission said that under the new deal – which still needs to be finalised – quotas would remain for those sensitive agricultural areas. In return, Kyiv will cut its quotas for pork, poultry and sugar imported from the EU and push to align its food production standards with those of the 27-nation bloc by 2028, Brussels said.

The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it has completed its eighth review of Ukraine’s $15.5bn four-year support program, paving the way for a disbursement of an additional $500m to the war-torn country . That will bring total disbursements to $10.6bn, the IMF said in a statement, after its board’s approval of the review of Ukraine’s Extended Fund Facility. It warned of ongoing and “exceptionally high” risks to the country’s outlook.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to subjugate the whole of Ukraine and at the same time spread fear throughout Europe,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on a visit to Kyiv on Monday, adding that Putin’s “alleged willingness to negotiate is just a facade.” Kyiv and its allies have accused Russia of sabotaging diplomatic efforts, which have stalled in recent weeks, despite Washington’s desires to reach a quick peace deal.

US President Donald Trump’s senior envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellog also said on Monday that Russia cannot continue to stall for time “while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.” “We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war,” Kellogg wrote on X.