Ukraine updates: Oil depots ablaze in Russia's Rostov region

Ukraine accused Russian forces of beheading one of its soldiers on Tuesday.

"While conducting aerial reconnaissance at one of the combat positions in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military discovered a damaged armored vehicle of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. It contained the severed head of a Ukrainian defender," the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said on Telegram.

The social media post included a photo of an armored military vehicle with a section of the photo blurred to indicate where the alleged severed head had been found.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin meanwhile claimed that Russian forces operating in the area had been ordered to kill Ukrainian soldiers "with inhuman cruelty — by beheading."

The allegations could not be independently verified.

Russia has lost more than 2,600 tanks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to open-source investigators.

In response to these losses, Russia has ramped up production of new tanks and has also refurbished a large number of older, World War II-era tanks that had been kept in storage.

However, some reports suggest that Russia may not be replenishing its tank fleet fast enough to overcome these losses on the battlefield.

"Tanks seem old-fashioned but they are critical for breaking through an enemy's front lines," DW's Ralph Martin said.

"If Russia loses too many, it will have to stick to and defend the existing front line without much hope of taking more territory. That might mean a stalemate on the ground after years of grinding conflict that has cost countless lives."

An Estonian court sentenced a former university professor to six years and three months in jail for spying on Tuesday.

Viacheslav Morozov, a Russian national who taught political theory at Estonia's prestigious University of Tartu, was arrested in January. The university terminated his contract after the arrest.

Morozov was accused of gathering information about Estonia's security policy as well as its relations with EU and NATO members, and passing this information on to the Russian special services.

At the time of the arrest, Estonia's internal security chief Margo Palloson said that it "illustrates the desire of the Russian intelligence services to infiltrate various areas of Estonian life, including the scientific sector."

China urged NATO to "stop shifting blame" over the war in Ukraine and slammed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for accusing Beijing of exacerbating the conflict by supporting Russia.

In a speech during a visit to the US on Monday, Stoltenberg called on China to face consequences for what US officials have called a major export push to rebuild Russia's defense industry.

"We advise (NATO) to stop shifting blame and sowing discord, not add fuel to the fire and instigate confrontation, but rather do something practical for the political settlement of the crisis," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.

China and Russia's strategic partnership has only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine. But Beijing has rejected Western accusations that it is aiding Moscow's war effort.

It has, however, provided a crucial lifeline to Russia's isolated economy. Trade has boomed since the conflict began.

A drone attack early has caused several oil storage tanks to catch fire near the town of Azov in Russia's southern Rostov region, which borders Ukraine.

"Oil product tanks caught fire in Azov as a result of a drone attack. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties," the governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry published videos showing smoke and flames emanating from what seemed to be several oil storage tanks. It also said some 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were at the site to combat the blaze.

 Ukraine did not immediately claim responsibility. However, it has often carried out similar attacks, with Kyiv saying that such targets are legitimate as they serve to fuel Russia's military during its invasion. 

President Vladimir Putin is heading to North Korea for his first visit to the reclusive communist country in 24 years.

En route to Pyongyang, where he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong UN, he stopped off in the Republic of Sakha in Russia's far east, holding talks with the regional leader, according to Russian media.

Ahead of the North Korea visit, Putin praised the country for its support of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"We highly appreciate that the DPRK (North Korea) is firmly supporting the special military operations of Russia being conducted in Ukraine," Putin wrote in an article published by Pyongyang's state media, using the Kremlin's favored term to refer to the unprovoked assault by Moscow.

Moscow and Pyongyang have long been close allies, and their relations have become even closer since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The US has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with arms to use in the invasion, allegations Pyongyang has dismissed as "absurd."

Both countries are the targets of heavy Western sanctions — Russia for its invasion and its 2014 annexation of Crimea, North Korea for its nuclear weapons program.