Former Kherson Mayor Returns After Three-Year Russian Captivity Amid Occupation Allegations

The Russian military command is reportedly concealing the true extent of its casualties in Ukraine's Kherson sector by underreporting fatalities and punishing soldiers who reveal the truth, according to the partisan group Atesh. Meanwhile, North Korea's military involvement alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, once secretive, is now publicly celebrated through a major exhibition of North Korean art in Moscow, symbolizing the deepening alliance between the two nations. Volodymyr Mykolaienko, the former mayor of Kherson, spent over three years in Russian captivity after being abducted, enduring severe abuse before his release in a prisoner exchange in August 2025; he has accused a "fifth column" within Kherson of facilitating Russia's swift occupation of the city. Mykolaienko's accounts highlight the complexity of the occupation, including betrayal by local collaborators, and the ongoing struggle for Ukraine's independence amid Russian aggression and geopolitical shifts. These developments underscore the multifaceted nature of the conflict, involving military concealment, foreign troop involvement, and internal challenges within occupied territories.