Russia

Moscow and Pyongyang until now had responded vaguely to the South Korean and Western claims of the troop deployment.

The news comes as US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican City on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral to discuss a potential ceasefire deal.

Russia and Israel will be represented at Pope Francis’ funeral — but China is likely to stay absent.

Senior US officials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine if Moscow and Kyiv do not come to an agreement.

Trump’s frustration is growing as a US-led effort to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia made little progress.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy ruled out the idea of Kyiv ceding territory to Moscow in any deal before talks in London, saying ‘It is our land.’

Disagreements between Brussels and Washington continue to deepen amid growing US pressure to strike a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In a wide-ranging speech to the lower house of the Polish parliament, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski crticised Russia’s “fantasies of dominance”.

The leadership in Washington is said to have been angered by Ukraine’s refusal to cede territory to Russia, as Kyiv reiterated evvel again that there are no peace talks before a complete ceasefire.

Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.