Ukraine war: Putin will achieve 'great victory', EU lifts sanctions, Russia drone wave attacks

North Korea's leader said Moscow will emerge victorious against its enemies, during an exceptional visit to Russia aimed at strengthening ties, especially military ones. 

Vladimir Putin is widely believed to want North Korean ammunition for his grinding invasion of Ukraine. 

However, any such arms deal has not been officially disclosed, at this stage. 

Pyongyang needs food to combat chronic shortages and wants Russian tech to build advanced weapons.

“We are confident that the Russian army and people will definitely achieve a great victory in the sacred struggle to punish the evil gathering that claims hegemony,” Kim Jong Un said.

He also praised the “heroic” Russian army, which has waged war in Ukraine since February 2022.

Putin, for his part, toasted the "strengthening of cooperation" with Pyongyang, adding there was a "prospect" of closer military ties.  

A stronger alliance between Pyongyang, Moscow and Beijing could have a significant impact on the conflict in Ukraine, said Kim Jong-dae, a visiting scholar at the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies.

"I believe that Russia has already tested North Korean shells on the battlefield and is now ready to expand their use. Western states do not understand the consequences of "such arms sales between Russia and the North," he added. 

Russia claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, plus several others in the annexed Crimean peninsula and western Russia.

It did not report any casualties from the wave of attacks.

Five Ukrainian drones launched at Moscow's Black Sea ship Sergei Kotov were intercepted, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The vessel has already been targetted by Kyiv twice this summer, it added. 

The