Live: Oil tanks on fire after alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Temryuk port

25/12/2025 – 07:18

North Korea’s Kim visits nuclear subs as Putin hails ‘invincible’ bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a nuclear submarine factory and received a message from Russia’s Vladimir Putin hailing the countries’ “invincible friendship”, Pyongyang’s state media said.

North Korea and Russia have drawn closer since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, and Pyongyang has sent troops to fight for Russia.

In return, Russia is sending North Korea financial aid, military technology and food and energy supplies, analysts say.

The “heroic” efforts of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region “clearly proved the invincible friendship” between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in a message to Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. © KCNA via Reuters

25/12/2025 – 07:17

Oil tanks ablaze after Ukrainian drone attack at Russia’s Temryuk port

Two ‍oil ​product tanks ⁠caught fire at the ​southern ‍Russian port ​of Temryuk after what regional ​authorities in the Krasnodar region said was a Ukrainian drone ‍attack.

Flames covered ​an area of about 2,000 square ‌metres, authorities at the ‍Krasnodar operational headquarters said on the Telegram messaging app.

25/12/2025 – 07:16

Russian bombers carry out ‘scheduled’ flight north of Scandinavia

Russian nuclear-capable bombers conducted a “scheduled” flight over the Norwegian and Barents Seas, prompting “fighter jets of foreign countries” to escort them, Russia’s Defence Ministry said, according to Russian news agencies.

Neither the date of the Tu-95 flights nor the countries that deployed monitoring aircraft were specified. 

“Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers and missile carriers carried out a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas,” the ministry said, referring to bodies of water north of Scandinavia and northwest of Russia. 

“At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries,” it added.

25/12/2025 – 07:15

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