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Ukraine war briefing: Kim Jong-un strengthens military ties with Russia and hails soldiers who fought in Kursk | Russia

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3 hours ago

April 27, 2026

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed the troops from his country who fought alongside Russia in Kursk a year ago, state media KCNA said on Monday. Kim made his remarks after a Russian delegation arrived in Pyongyang to attend the opening ceremony of a memorial complex honouring those killed helping Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2024 Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the Kursk region, capturing more than 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of Russian land, but were ultimately pushed back.

During discussions in Pyongyang, Russia and North Korea agreed to “long-term” military cooperation. Moscow’s defence minister Andrey Belousov said “We agreed with the DPRK defence ministry to place our military cooperation on a stable, long-term footing,” The agreement will cover 2027-2031, he said. North Korea has sent thousands of troops – as well as missiles and munitions – to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. In return, analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy from Russia.

Kim said his government “would continue to fully support Russia’s policies of defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests”, KCNA reported. Kim has steadily moved to elevate the North Korean troops who fought for Russia in the Kursk region into symbols of sacrifice and loyalty, using state ceremonies and memorial projects to publicly honour their role. “The souls of the fallen will live forever with the great honour they defended,” Kim said in a handwritten message at the memorial on Sunday, according to state media.

Meanwhile, strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said. Russian drone and missile strikes on the city of Dnipro killed at least nine, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said. One man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the port city of Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism” as he marked the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl reactor disaster on Sunday. Zelensky said Russia was “again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster”. He said Russian drones regularly pass over Chornobyl and one had hit its protective shell last year.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), echoed Zelenskyy’s concerns over Chornobyl during a visit to Kyiv, saying repairs to the plant’s damaged outer protective shell must begin immediately. IAEA assessments show the damage sustained after a strike last year has already compromised a key safety function of the structure, he said. He warned years of inaction could heighten danger to the original sarcophagus beneath it. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said repairs would require at least 500 million euros ($586m).

Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday. The strikes sparked fires at the facility, which processes 15m tons of oil a year and produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the Russian military. Russia did not immediately comment. Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones, which can reach targets 1,500km (900 miles) inside Russia.

A Ukrainian drone attack also hit a fertiliser plant in Russia’s Vologda region, local governor Georgy Filimonov said on Sunday. Filimonov said a high-pressure sulphuric acid pipeline was damaged at a complex operated by Apatit, a subsidiary of PhosAgro, one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate-based fertilisers. The leak has been contained and there were no releases of hazardous chemicals, he said, adding that five people were injured.

Donald Trump said on Sunday he has had “good conversations” with Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy as he aims to settle the Ukraine war. “We’re working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we’re going to get it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. Ukrainian peace talks have stalled since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.

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Michael moonwalks to $217m opening weekend, shattering box office records for a biopic | Michael Jackson

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59 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

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Michael, the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, has shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with a $97m opening in North American theaters, contributing to its enormous $217m (£160m, A$303m) worldwide box office and shattering the record for the biggest biopic opening of all time.

The film, a highly authorised portrayal of the “king of pop” that was co-produced by the Jackson estate and stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, took $120.4m internationally and $97m domestic – combining to surpass Oppenheimer’s $180.4m worldwide opening weekend in 2023 and Bohemian Rhapsody’s $124m in 2018.

The film has now opened in most of the world – one notable exception being Japan, home to a huge Jackson fanbase, where it will open in June.

Michael’s $97m domestic debut also surpassed records set by previous biopics in North America, including Oppenheimer ($82m in 2023), Straight Outta Compton ($60.2m in 2015) and Bohemian Rhapsody ($51m in 2018).

Critics have criticised Michael for glossing over some of the less convenient aspects of Jackson’s life but audiences have been far more enthusiastic: on Rotten Tomatoes its critics score is 38%, compared with 97% from audiences. A few weeks back, estimates for Michael’s North American opening weekend were closer to $50m but this rose to $70m – which it wildly overperformed.

“From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible,” the Lionsgate chairman, Adam Fogelson, told Associated Press. “We were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify.”

Even in the lucrative market of music biopics, Michael was an audacious bet by Lionsgate on a controversial figure. The reputation of Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, has been repeatedly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children. Jackson and his estate have maintained his innocence, though the pop star acknowledged sharing a bedroom with other people’s children. He was acquitted in his sole criminal trial in 2005.

Some Jackson family members opposed the film: his sister Janet Jackson was uninvolved and doesn’t appear in it, while Jackson’s daughter, Paris, called it “fantasy land”.

The film also had an unusually rocky production. After shooting was completed, producers realised they had made a costly mistake. The third act focused on the accusations of Jordan Chandler, then 13 years old, whom Jackson paid $23m to in a 1994 settlement. The terms of that settlement barred the Jackson estate from ever mentioning Chandler in a movie.

A huge chunk of the film was cut and reshoots for as much as $50m were done at the estate’s expense. Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter John Logan reworked the movie to conclude in 1988, before any accusations were made.

“I would take issue with the idea that we as a studio or as film-makers were running around in a panic,” Fogelson told AP on Sunday, labelling it “a unique and challenging circumstance” instead.

Yet as bad as things once looked for Michael, the movie turned into a huge hit. The film’s total production cost came close to $200m. To defray costs, Lionsgate sold international distribution rights to Universal. A sequel is in development. A third film after that, Fogelson said, is “not inconceivable.”

Director Antoine Fuqua has said he would like to direct the sequel, telling Deadline on Sunday: “It would kill me if somebody else did it.”

Cut footage could be repurposed as the shoots went “pretty far”, Fuqua added: “We went through the Jordan allegations we couldn’t use. We went farther than that. Maybe a year or two after that (1995) when things turned against Michael.”

Plans for Michael were first announced in 2012, three years after the release of Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary about Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of children. The Leaving Neverland director, Dan Reed, recently told the Guardian: “It kind of fills me with horror, the degree to which everyone can turn a blind eye to the fact that this guy was a bit of a monster.”

Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic, remains the highest-grossing music biopic of all time after taking $910m at the global box office, while Oppenheimer holds the record for overall biopic with $975m.

Associated Press contributed to this report

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