“While other countries of the world are celebrating Christmas, Ukrainians are continuing to suffer from endless Russian attacks,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram.

Russia’s wartime economy has been sustained, in part, by oil and gas revenues as Europe has relied on it for several decades. Key to that arrangement is Ukraine, the country Russia is at war with, as the countries have a deal in place to allow Russian gas to transit via Ukraine and reach Europe.

The strikes ignited fires at the Kadamovsky range, a crucial training site for Russian troops heading into Ukraine.

Taras Chmut, the head of the Come Back Alive foundation, a Ukrainian non-governmental military charity organisation, believes that freezing combat actions in the war with Russia is a very bad scenario,

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia is estimated to have suffered a total of 777,720 casualties, including 1,630 killed or wounded in the past day alone. — Ukrinform.

Despite the relatively high casualty rate, Zelensky added that North Korea might send even more resources to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s armies.

Ukrainian military intelligence said a Russian Shahed-136 drone warehouse became engulfed in a "devastating" fire that destroyed $16 million worth of drone parts, according to a Telegram post by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR).

"Through various sources of information and intelligence, we assess that North Korean troops who have recently engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces have suffered around 1,100 casualties," the JCS said in a statement.

The situation with European countries that buy Russian gas is very complicated and requires increased attention, the Kremlin said on Monday after talks the previous day between President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting for Moscow in Russia's western Kursk region.

Tatarstan is a multiethnic Russian republic which is home to a significant Muslim minority. Between October 22 and October 24, its capital, Kazan hosted the summit of BRICS countries which include Brazil, India, China and South Africa, and is considered by Russia to be the Global South's alternative to the G7.