Russia’s Defence Ministry said Thursday that its air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian air-launched missiles over Crimea and 10 over the Russian city of Belgorod, as both sides in the war pounded each other with long-range aerial strikes continuing late into the night while fighting along the front line remained largely deadlocked.

The White House, meanwhile, said US intelligence officials have determined that Moscow has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and fired at least one of them into Ukraine on December 30. It also is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran, Washington said.