The diplomatic intervention from Moscow arrived as the long-simmering border dispute reached a breaking point Friday morning. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif declared that the country had run out of "patience" following repeated cross-border attacks and stated on social media that it is now an open war between the two nations.

A Russian official praised Moscow-Pyongyang relations, saying they are "safeguarding" world justice against an enemy at a banquet in Pyongyang hosted by the Russian Embassy, a North Korean newspaper reported Tuesday.

Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine is a "triple failure for Russia", President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday to mark the four-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of the Western-backed country.

Many of the drones were intercepted over regions in central Russia. The ministry said 12 had targeted the Russian capital.

Many Russians try to ignore the war, which began four years ago this week—but that is getting harder. There is no sign of an impending breakdown, political or economic. But even Vladimir Putin’s repressive regime cannot paper over the many ways in which the war impinges on everyday life.

Russia launched a barrage of 420 drones and 39 missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, hours before U.S. and Ukrainian envoys held more talks in Geneva on ending the war that is now in its fifth year.