Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy says troops hold Kursk positions

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called for the international community to hold Moscow to account follow reports of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces.

In an online post, Sybiha described Russia' treatment of Ukrainian POWs as a "grave violation of international humanitarian law."

"International community must take immediate action. Issue ICC arrest warrants for Russian executioners and torturers," he said, while calling for increased sanctions on Moscow.

"Demand access for international monitors and medics to detention sites, facilitate release of POWs and all illegally detained persons," Sybiha said.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian media reported that nine Ukrainian soldiers were summarily executed by Russian forces after they surrendered in fighting in the Kursk region in western Russia.

Ukrainian forces have held parts of Kursk since an incursion in August.

Kyiv's prosecutor's offices has said it is aware of 90 cases of executions of Ukrainian POWs.

Ukrainian paratroopers said they succeeded at repelling an attack by Russian forces near the town of Kurakhove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

In a social media post, the paratrooper's command said a Russian column of around 25 infantry fighting vehicles and five tanks were spotted by Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance.

The statement said that Ukrainian forces destroyed seven infantry fighting vehicles and two tanks.

The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.

Ukraine's forces have said that they face a "difficult" situation on the eastern frontline in the face of steady Russian advances.

Earlier on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have captured the town of Mykhailivka in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly video address claimed North Korea was sending troops to join Russia's army.

"We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like in North Korea," he said.

"It is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about the transfer of people from North Korea to the occupier's military forces," Zelenskyy said, referring to the Russian military.

"Obviously, in such circumstances, our relations with our partners need to be developed. The frontline needs more support."

The comments come days after Zelenskyy visited Berlin, London and Paris last week to ask for increased military aid to help Kyiv fend off Russia's invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western partners on Sunday to provide swift military aid to help fight off Russia's invasion.

"Time must not be wasted  a clear signal of resolve must be sent," Zelenskyy posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Our partners have the ability to provide the necessary quantity and quality of air defense systems, make decisions for our sufficient long-range capabilities, and ensure the timely delivery of defensive aid to our troops," he added.

Zelenskyy said Russia had dropped around 900 glide bombs over Ukraine in the last week, in addition to attacks with 40 missiles and 400 strikes with drones of various types.

Last week, Zelenskyy visited Rome, Paris and London, and met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

Ukraine is demanding the delivery of long-range weapons from the West for strikes against military targets deep inside Russia.

Russia has captured another eastern Ukrainian village, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Citing the Russian Defense Ministry, it said Moscow's forces have now taken Mykhailivka, at the gates of the town of Selydove, and south of Pokrovsk.

The information has not been independently verified.

Selydove has been badly damaged by months of shelling and has seen most of its population flee.

Russia has been trying for weeks to capture Pokrovsk — a mining town that was home to some 60,000 people before Moscow launched its offensive.

Russian troops have moved westwards in the Donetsk region over the past few months, with Ukraine's military conceding this weekend that the situation was "very difficult."

Russia launched another massive drone attack on Ukraine late Saturday. 

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, several groups of drones were moving across central Ukraine, such as the Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kyiv regions.

The drones are constantly changing their course, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

Meanwhile, the Kyiv regional military administration said on social media that air defense is repelling the drone attack over the region and asked people to remain in shelters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv's forces were holding their ground in Russia's Kursk border region.

Ukrainian forces have held part of the region since an incursion in early August.

"Regarding the Kursk operation, there were attempts by Russia to push back our positions, but we are holding the lines," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

He also said that the situation for Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region and the southern Zaporizhzhia region was "very difficult."

Zelenskyy also said that, with the help of Western investment, he wants to significantly expand arms production in his country.

"Our industrial capacity allows us to produce far more drones, more shells, and military equipment than our country's financial capabilities allow," Zelenskyy said.

He thanked all the partners who have already invested in the Ukrainian defense industry. "Thanks to these investments, we have significantly increased production, particularly of drones," the Ukrainian president said.

Earlier this week, Russia announced its forces had recaptured two villages in the Kursk region.

Ukraine has said it aims to create a buffer zone in Kursk to stop the Russian shelling of Ukrainian border regions. Zelenskyy also said that Kyiv aims to draw Russian forces away from the eastern frontline in Ukraine's Donbas.

dh, sdi/wd (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)