Ukraine-Russia live: Drone attack on Putin’s forces in Crimea as South Korea may now send arms to Kyiv
Ukrainian intelligence suggests that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join Russian forces
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Russian air defences destroyed 14 Ukrainian air drones overnight, including 10 drones over the Crimean Peninsula, the defence ministry said on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin welcomed two dozen world leaders to Kazan for the Brics summit.
Russia said it also destroyed four unmanned boats in the Black Sea heading towards the Peninsula.
The statement comes amid row over the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine to help Russia’s war efforts.
South Korea on Tuesday said Seoul was weighing the possibility of directly supplying weapons to Ukraine.
South Korea’s spy agency recently revealed that North Korea had deployed 1,500 soldiers to Russia’s far east for training, with plans to send a total of 12,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Both North Korea and Russia have denied the allegations, calling them “fake news”.
Meanwhile, British prime minister Keir Starmer has accused Vladimir Putin of “harming millions of vulnerable people” as new British intelligence suggests ships carrying food aid have been caught up in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ports.
Putin ‘harming millions’, Starmer claims amid Russian attacks on Black Sea ports
South Korea warns it could arm Ukraine amid fears of Putin Kim Jong Un weapon swap
Who is going to Putin-hosted Brics summit in Russia – and why has Brazil’s Lula dropped out?
North Korean troops in Ukraine: Everything we know about Kim Jong-un’s army joining Russian invasion
Ukraine's prosecutor general Andriy Kostin resigns
Ukraine‘s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said on Tuesday he had resigned.
The resignation follows the meeting of the national security and defence council, where officials discussed how to crack down on corruption and loopholes to get deferrals from mobilisation.
North Korean troops in Ukraine are a ‘shocking’ and ‘desperate’ development
North Korean troops supporting Russia on the ground in Ukraine is a "shocking" and "desperate" new development in the war, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.
Mr Healey gave a statement to the Commons where he updated MPs as to a £2.26 billion loan to help Ukraine that will be funded by profits on frozen Russian assets.
Mr Healey told MPs: "North Korean soldiers supporting Russia's war of aggression on European soil, it is as shocking as it is desperate.
"North Korea already sends significant munitions and arms to Russia in direct violation of multiple UN resolutions.
"This developing military co-operation between Russia and the DPRK has serious security implications for Europe and for the Indo-Pacific.
"It represents a wider, growing alliance of aggression which Nato and the G7 nations must confront.
"Despite this dangerous development, Ukraine remains determined to fight on their front line in the east and in the territory in Kursk."
He added: "This conflict is now at a really critical moment, and that is why the UK continues to step up support for Ukraine.
"Ukrainians are fighting to regain their sovereign territory, but they are also fighting to protect the peace, the democracy and the security for the rest of us in Europe.”
North Korea dismisses reports of troops in Ukraine as ‘groundless rumors’
North Korea has claimed reports it has sent soldiers to fight with Russia against Ukraine are “groundless rumors,” the South Korean Yonhap news agency has reported, citing a North Korean representative to the United Nations.
The statement is Pyongyang’s first public reaction to multiple reports of such a deployment from Kyiv and Seoul.
The representative said during a session of the U.N. General Assembly First Committee on disarmament and international security: “As for the so-called military cooperation with Russia, my delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly and cooperative relations between two sovereign states.”
UK says 'highly likely' that North Korea sending troops to help Russia
British defence minister John Healey said on Tuesday it was now highly likely that North Korea had begun sending hundreds of troops to help Russia in the Ukraine conflict.
“In a concerning new development, it is now highly likely that the transfer of hundreds of combat troops from North Korea to Russia has begun,” Healey told parliament.
“North Korean soldiers supporting Russia’s war of aggression on European soil - it is as shocking as it is desperate.”
British government urged to declare North Korea a combatant in Ukraine war
The British government has been urged to declare North Korea a combatant in the Ukraine war over allegations troops are supporting Russia.
Shadow foreign office minister Alicia Kearns told the Commons during oral questions: “In the last week, troops have arrived from North Korea in Russia. They are training in Russian fatigues based on videos we have seen.
“In addition, we know that Russia has procured multiple weapons to aid the murder of Ukrainians from North Korea. (Vladimir) Putin has seized the escalation ladder, so will the minister now not declare North Korea a combatant in the renewed illegal invasion of Ukraine...and confirm what unilateral, multilateral action he will be taking in response to this?”
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty replied: “We absolutely condemn what North Korea is reported to have been doing, and indeed, of course, you’ll have seen in the response to the Iranian transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia that we acted strongly, swiftly and firmly.
“And we are very closely monitoring what Russia is providing to the DPRK in return for its provision of arms and military personnel and we are deeply concerned about the potential for further transfers, including of ballistic missile related technology that would obviously jeopardise peace and stability, not only in Ukraine, but indeed across the world.”
India ‘ready to’ do ‘whatever’ is required for ‘peace'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan on Tuesday that his nation stands ready to play “whatever role is required for peace.”
Putin believes the pair have a strategic partnership.
Russian reports say Kremlin has taken control of Novosadove in Donetsk region
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the Novosadove settlement in eastern Ukraine, the state-run news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.
Ex-CIA chief calls for expanded tactical missile support for Ukraine
A former CIA chief has said that the US government’s latest package in support of Ukraine is not enough to prevent Russia from making advances.
The package, announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to Kyiv on 21 October 2024, includes armoured vehicles and anti-tank weapons for Ukrainian forces on the front lines.
General David Petraeus said on CNN: “It comes on top of tens of billions of dollars, of course, from the U.S. and from various European and other Western countries. Is it enough? I fear not.”
Petraeus recommended easing restrictions on tactical missile systems for Ukraine, which would enable strikes deeper into Russian territory. He also advocated for increased international attention to the Black Sea, citing Ukraine’s naval limitations.
He continued: “What we need to be doing, all of us together, is to try to enable Ukraine to stop the Russian advances on the front lines. They’re holding back very effectively, but the Russians are achieving incremental gains on a daily basis. And over time, that does accumulate.
“We have to help Ukraine change that dynamic and show Putin that he cannot continue to make advances and make gains and accept the costs because only when you change that dynamic will we see an opportunity for real, meaningful discussions about a ceasefire.
“Until then, Putin has every incentive to continue.”
Overnight: Ukraine drones hit Russian alcohol plants
Overnight drone attacks by Ukraine caused an explosion and a fire at an ethanol manufacturing plant and damaged two other alcohol-producing enterprises in Russia, the authorities said.
One explosion shook the Bio-Khim biochemical plant in Russia’s Tambov region, sparking a short-lived fire, Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said on Telegram.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Tula region, which borders Moscow to its north, said Ukrainian drones damaged two distilleries, in the town of Yefremov and the village of Luzhkovskyi. There were no reports of casualties.
Russia’s defence ministry said that its air defence units destroyed a total of 18 Ukrainian drones, but it did not mention Tambov in its tally.
South Korea may consider supplying weapons to Ukraine
South Korea may consider supplying weapons directly to Ukraine in response to growing military ties between North Korea and Russia, officials stated on Tuesday.
This follows ongoing accusations that Pyongyang has deployed troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
A senior official from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said the government is preparing diplomatic, economic, and military responses to various scenarios of North Korea-Russia military cooperation. These responses could include providing Ukraine with lethal weapons if the situation escalates.
“We are considering supplying defensive weapons as part of a phased approach, and if necessary, we may also consider offensive measures,” the official told reporters.
The remarks followed an emergency meeting of South Korea’s National Security Council (NSC) to discuss North Korea’s increasing military cooperation with Russia. The NSC condemned Pyongyang for sending troops to fight as “Russia’s mercenaries,” accusing the regime of neglecting its people’s well-being and human rights.
The senior official also mentioned that a team of intelligence and defence officials would visit NATO headquarters “within the coming days” after NATO chief Mark Rutte urged President Yoon in a Monday phone call to send a delegation to strengthen information-sharing efforts.
Both Russia and North Korea have denied any arms transfers but have committed to deepening military cooperation.
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