Ukraine Severs Ties with NKorea after Pro-Russia Separatists Recognition

Servicemen from the Donetsk People's Republic walk past damaged apartment buildings near the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second-largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP)

Kyiv said Wednesday it was severing relations with North Korea, as Pyongyang confirmed it was formally recognizing two self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics in eastern Ukraine.

North Korea's recognition of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic came after another Russian ally, Syria, made the same move last month, AFP said.