Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.

Trump has appointed Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary. On a podcast last week, Hegseth said he didn't want US intervention forcing Putin's hand.

As secretary-general, Rutte does not have the authority to "personally expel" a country from the alliance. While he leads the alliance, according to NATO's website, "authority for taking decisions is invested only in the member governments themselves."

A NATO spokesperson said the claim is false. The secretary general congratulated the president-elect in a public statement.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country may have to send troops to Ukraine if Trump cuts U.S. military aid and funding.

Donald Trump reportedly told Vladimir Putin not to escalate the situation in Ukraine, only for Moscow to dismiss the reports as 'pure fiction'.

President-elect Trump has criticized the scale of U.S. military and financial support for Ukraine, vowing to end the war quickly, without saying how.