NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in November 2024, "If Trump surrenders Ukraine to Putin, I will personally expel the United States from the alliance.”

British defence minister John Healey said on Monday he expected the incoming Donald Trump administration to remain committed to NATO and to Ukraine in its conflict against Russia for as long as it takes.

North Korean troops have begun engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, expressing concern that Russia had turned to North Korea for soldiers to fight in its war with Ukraine.

The treaty underscores a strengthening of military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow while geopolitical tensions rise.

North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.