A WHO warehouse full of medical equipment and other humanitarian supplies has been struck and destroyed in a Russian strike on Ukraine.

The WHO's director-general said UN workers tried to evacuate health supplies from the Dnipro facility but some 170 pallets – more than half – were still inside when it was hit.

"I cannot say loudly enough: attacks on health care MUST STOP," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X.

"Otherwise, people are deprived of lifesaving healthcare. Even wars have rules. One of those is that health must be protected!"

It comes as Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky claimed North Korea was preparing to deploy as many as 50,000 soldiers to support Russia's war effort.

Zelensky said North Korea would benefit from "experience in modern warfare" as well as receiving licences to produce more advanced Russian technology.

He appealed to South Korea to respond by providing support "in an area where we have a shortage", referring to its air defence systems.

Earlier, UK defence secretary Wes Streeting urged allies to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences ahead of winter, warning that Vladimir Putin will seek to use the colder months as a “weapon” against Kyiv.

Six die in Ukrainian drone attack on Belgorod, Russian authorities say

Six people died in a Ukrainian overnight drone attack on the Russian city of Belgorod, the regional crisis centre said on Sunday.

Alexander Shuvayev, the acting governor of Belgorod region, earlier said three people were killed and 25 others, including two children, were injured.

The death toll later rose to six after officials said emergency crews combed an apartment building which had been set ablaze.

Shuvayev said the attack sparked fires in two apartment buildings and a large number of residential and non-residential buildings were damaged.

Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed more than 150 Ukrainian drones over the European part of the country, as well as over Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

In Novorossiysk, a major Russian export port on the Black Sea, drone debris fell on two facilities, local mayor Andrei Kravchenko said, without identifying the sites.

The local crisis centre later said three residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured.

In Bashkortostan region, a Ukrainian drone struck a building under construction and a crane in the city of Ufa, state-run RIA news agency reported, citing local emergency services

WHO warehouse destroyed in Dnipro, Tedros says

A WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine, was struck and destroyed last Friday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.No casualties were reported.

A WHO staff member and drivers had left the site earlier in the day after helping evacuate 130 of around 300 pallets of medical supplies intended for frontline health facilities.

“I cannot say loudly enough: attacks on health care must stop. Otherwise, people are deprived of lifesaving healthcare,” Mr Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted.

“Even wars have rules. One of those is that health must be protected!”

Russia says it captures two villages in eastern Ukraine

Russian forces have taken control of two villages in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the state-run RIA news agency reported on Sunday, citing the Russian defence ministry.

The ministry report on Telegram said Russian forces had seized Vasyutinske, a few kilometres east of the "fortress city" of Kramatorsk, and Toretsk, southwest of the city of Druzhkivka.

Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement of the two settlements changing hands.

Russia is slowly advancing westward through Donetsk region, though there has been little significant change for months in the positions along the 1,200km (775mile) frontline.

The Ukrainian war blog DeepState, which uses open source reports in documenting the frontline positions of both sides, reported that Russian forces had made advances near Illinivka -- outside the contested city of Kostiantynivka.

It also reported Russian advances near Chasiv Yar, to the west of the city of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in 2023 after long months of heavy fighting.

The Ukrainian military's General Staff, in a late evening report, said Kyiv's forces had repelled 24 attacks around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka and other centres.

Russian commanders said last month their forces had seized Kostiantynivka, but Ukrainian officials have disputed the claim.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly video address on Sunday made no reference to changes in frontline positions, but singled out for praise Ukrainian forces fighting in specific areas, notably Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk.

War entering a ‘new phase’, military analyst says

Military analyst Michael Clarke has said that the war is entering a “new phase”.

While Russia is making “incremental progress” and Ukraine is “hitting back locally”, he described the advances as “snail’s pace stuff”.

Speaking to Sky News, he said that the two countries are “hurting each other now to a degree that is going to push it to some sort of crisis”.

“Russia has a much greater capacity to be hurt because it hasn’t been hurt very much so far as a society.”

He said that Kyiv is “poking the bear in the eye” by escalating attacks and said that it is a “dangerous assumption” to expect Moscow to back down.

Clarke said that Putin’s “next best option” may be to “frighten” Ukraine’s European allies into reducing their support for Kyiv.

'Frightened and disorientated' cat found in ruins of Kharkiv flats

Emergency workers responding to a Russian attack on a Kharkiv tower block found a frightened cat from the rubble.

Rescue workers were digging through the remains of the building to rescue residents when they found a cat inside the rubble and rescued it.

Ukraine's state emergency service said “Barney” was found "frightened and disorientated, alone amidst the ruins".

The male cat was carefully rescued and his owner was on her way to pick up her cat, the spokesperson said.

"Behind the rubble – someone's life, and we cherish each one."

Two people were killed and 16 were injured in the strike in Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities said on Sunday.

Ukraine's Zelensky says up to 50,000 North Korean troops to be deployed in Russia

Volodymyr Zelensky has said up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in Russia to fight for Pyongyang's ally, while calling on South Korea to provide support for its air defence.

Zelensky said on X on Saturday that "a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia", a higher figure than his estimate of 30,000 in July.

He did not elaborate on how he obtained the information. He said Kyiv had found some North Korean missiles in Ukraine's territory, without disclosing their locations.

"It is absolutely clear that North Korea will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licences from Russia, and receive all kinds of military tools from them," he said.

Urging Seoul to have closer cooperation with Kyiv, Zelensky said that Ukraine "would very much like to receive support from South Korea in an area where we have a shortage", referring to its air defence systems.

"We are ready to work on the Drone Deal and other areas as well," he said, adding that Ukrainian diplomats "are in contact" with Seoul to push potential deals.

North Korea has so far sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk Region in 2024, helping Moscow beat back a major incursion into the region by Ukrainian forces.

The latest:Kyiv unleashes wave of nearly 300 drones in 12 hours, says Moscow

Russian air defences engaged and shot down 285 Ukrainian drones in the space of just 12 hours, according to Russia’s defence ministry as Kyiv steps up its cross border assaults.

The ministry said that the drones were downed between 8am and 8pm Moscow time, with incidents mostly occurring in the central and western regions of Russia.

They also included the region of Bashkortostan, between the Volga River and the Ural mountains, they added.

The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, wrote on Telegram that air defence units had destroyed five drones headed for the capital, a regular occurrence in recent months.

Five injured in Russia's bomb strikes in Sumy

Russian bomb strikes on Ukraine's northern city of Sumy injured at least five people overnight, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday, flagging damage in a number of residential areas.

Russian forces launched five strikes on the city using guided aerial bombs.

What are Patriot missiles and why do they matter?

Ukraine is urgently seeking more Patriot interceptors to defend against a nightly barrage of Russian ballistic missile strikes.

But the Iran war has drained arsenals in the US and the Gulf, and some European countries are holding onto missiles they may need for their own defense.

So what are the Patriot interceptor missiles?

Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defense system built by US weapons maker Raytheon Technologies that can be used in all kinds of weather and at long range.

Developed in the 1980s, the Patriot system has been modernized over the past decades, expanding its capabilities and reach. It is slated to remain in service through 2048.

A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. The system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, depending on the interceptor used.

The earlier PAC-2 interceptor uses a blast-fragmentation warhead that detonates in the vicinity of a target, while the PAC-3 family of missiles uses more accurate "hit-to-kill" technology to physically collide with the target.

Why do they matter?

Kyiv has repeatedly asked Western allies for more air defences to protect critical infrastructure and civilian areas from frequent Russian missile and drone attacks.

While effective at intercepting missiles and aircraft, Patriots are a costly way to shoot down low-budget drones. Patriot interceptors are estimated at around $4 million per missile, CSIS says, while Russia can send hundreds of cheap drones a day.

Although not originally designed to intercept hypersonic weapons, in May 2023 the US confirmed Ukraine had used the Patriot system to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which Moscow claims is hypersonic.

What are the obstacles?

Russia has long said that giving Ukraine interceptors would amount to a direct escalation. They said it would delay the chance of peace.

But Donald Trump’s main line of argument is that the US needs its weapons and cannot afford to give them away to Ukraine. Indeed, the Patriots have been in short supply since the US went to war with Iran in February.

Trump in July offered Ukraine the right to make its own Patriot interceptors, but later reneged, saying the US has “not agreed” to such an arrangement.

Catch up: Bulgaria's PM says drone explodes near gas pipeline close to Romanian border

A drone entered Bulgarian airspace on Saturday and exploded close to an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing the border from Romania.

Bulgaria’s prime minister Rumen Radev said the drone exploded just after 5 a.m. about 100 meters (330 feet) inside Bulgarian territory.

It was not detected or identified while flying through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.

“There are no casualties or damage to buildings. The area has been cordoned off. We continue to monitor the situation,” Radev said following a government emergency meeting.

Radev said the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded around 200 meters from a Romanian compressor station, and about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Bulgaria’s compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance. Following this incident, we will also redeploy border police anti-drone detection and countermeasure capabilities from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania,” Radev said.

It was unclear where the drone had originated or whether it was linked to Russia or Ukraine.