Russia warned the West and Ukraine on Friday of "disastrous consequences" if Kyiv moved against close Russian ally Belarus, making clear it would intervene to defend a country where it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons.

Russia has warned the West that aggressive actions and rhetoric from the US and its allies could dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cautioned about global consequences.

Putin ally warns of nuclear war if Kyiv uses long-range missiles - Speaker of Russia’s Duma says Moscow ‘will give a tough response using more powerful weapons’

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia's forces would restore control of its Kursk region "in a timely manner", declining to say how soon this could be achieved.

Russia has taken two villages in the western Kursk region, a senior commander said, as Russian forces advance against thousands of Ukrainian forces who smashed through the Russian border last month. Ukraine on Aug.

The United States has blacklisted a network accused of aiding financial payments between Russia and North Korea, two isolated countries that have grown financially and militarily closer amid the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on a network of five groups and one person, based in Russia and the Georgian region of South Ossetia, for enabling payments between Russia and North Korea,

The U.S. State and Treasury departments announced new sanctions Thursday on five groups and one person said to be involved in illicit payment mechanisms between Russia and North Korea. In a statement issued by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control,