Ukraine-Russia live: North Korea ‘sends 3,000 troops’ to Putin’s rescue as Kyiv says Brics backfired on Russia
US defence chief says North Korea’s involvement alongside Russia would be ‘very, very serious’
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There’s evidence North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia in a potential escalation of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, American and South Korean officials have said.
This marks the first time a third country has put boots on the ground in the war if the soldiers fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops were being trained to use equipment including drones before being sent to fight in Ukraine. Lloyd Austin, US defence secretary, said "we are seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops" who have gone to Russia.
It would be “very, very serious” if they are preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged.
In Kyiv, the foreign ministry said the Brics summit has backfired on Moscow as Russian officials have failed to win support for its invasion of Ukraine as Putin faced direct calls to end the war.
“The Brics summit, which Russia planned to use to split the world, has once again demonstrated that the world majority remains on the side of Ukraine in its quest to guarantee a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace,” the ministry said.
North Korean troops in Russia would be sign of Putin’s ‘desperation’, says UK
North Korea sent 3,000 troops to Russia for Ukraine war, says Seoul
Officials say North Korea has sent troops to Russia. What would that mean for the war with Ukraine?
Who is going to Putin-hosted Brics summit in Russia – and why has Brazil’s Lula dropped out?
Germany summons North Korean charge d'affaires over support for Russia
Germany has summoned North Korea’s charge d’affaires over growing concerns that Pyongyang is building its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, the foreign ministry in Berlin said.
“Should reports be true on North Korean soldiers in Ukraine and should North Korea now be supporting the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine with troops, this would be serious and in violation of international law,” the foreign office said in a post on social media platform X. North Korean support for Russia threatens German security and European peace, the ministry added.
In pictures: Injured Ukrainian soldiers receive treatment in Lviv
South Korea may supply arms to Ukraine after ‘North troops in Russia’
Ukraine Russia war latest: Putin’s forces hit by drone attack in Crimea
Ukrainian intelligence suggests that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join Russian forces
Russian forces capture two villages in eastern Ukraine, state media reports
Russian forces have captured the villages of Serebrianka and Mykolaivka in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, the Tass news agency has cited Russia’s Defence Ministry as claiming.
The Independent could not verify these claims - and Moscow often says it controls towns prior to actually entering them.
North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for Ukraine war, South Korean lawmakers say
North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday after being briefed by the national intelligence agency, twice the amount of a previous estimate.
Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of around 10,000 troops, and their deployment was expected to be completed by December, the lawmakers told journalists.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied reports about North Korean soldiers heading to the battlefield which have also been made by Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies on Tuesday to respond to evidence of North Korean involvement in Russia’s war.
A top US diplomat said on Monday that Washington was consulting with its allies on the implications of North Korean involvement and added that such a development would be a “dangerous and highly concerning development” if true.
Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said on Friday the North had sent around 1,500 soldiers to Russia by ship.
Russia attacked at least four merchant vessels this month, says defence intelligence
At least four merchant vessels were struck by Russian munitions between 5 and 14 October, British defence intelligence has said.
These include:
05 October 2024 - Yuzhny port - MV PARESA (St Kitts and Nevis flagged) was almost certainly the target of the strike that damaged it. Following the attack, the Russian MoD released a video of what they say shows the vessel unloading containerised cargo which they likely perceive to be weapons.
07 October 2024 - Odesa port - MV OPTIMA (Palau flagged). There is a realistic possibility that the vessel was collateral damage as a result of a strike on port infrastructure and was not the direct target of the attack. MV OPTIMA was also likely further damaged in a strike on port infrastructure on 15 October 2024.
08 October 2024 - Chronomorsk port MV SHUI SPIRIT (Panama flagged).Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitalii Koval stated the MV SHUI SPIRIT was carrying sunflower oil as part of a UN shipment. However, the vessel was a containerised cargo carrier and noting the earlier strike on MV OPTIMA, there is a realistic possibility that this vessel was also the target of the strike as opposed to collateral damage.
14 October 2024 - Odesa port - NS MOON (Belize flagged) was likely damaged in strikes on port infrastructure. The vessel was likely collateral damage in strikes on port infrastructure.
In pictures: Testing drones on the frontline in eastern Ukraine
Starmer: Putin shows no respect for human life, including those who live in supposedly allied nations
Sir Keir Starmer has said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “shows no respect for human life” after a British intelligence update suggested his forces had bombed cargo ships destined for the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission.
“In doing so, he is harming millions of vulnerable people across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, to try and gain the upper hand in his barbaric war.
“Now they are intensifying attacks on areas of Ukraine that support the global south with much-needed food.
“Russia has no respect for the norms and laws that govern our international system. Not only was their illegal invasion a blatant attack on the principles of the UN Charter, but the way they have executed their war in Ukraine shows no respect for human life, or the consequences of their invasion across the world.”
Picture shows UN secretary general arriving in Russia
The first picture of United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres arriving in Kazan, Russia, has been published.
The UN chief has come under fire from Ukraine for attending the BRICS summit in Russia, where he is rumoured to be meeting Vladimir Putin.
Putin to discuss nuclear power plants and gas hub with Erdogan
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the construction of new power plants and a gas hub in Turkey during their meeting in Kazan.
Russia’s RIA news agency cited a diplomatic source saying that the talks held on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Russia may also include some concrete further instructions on the plans.
“It is quite possible that the leaders will give their instructions to the relevant departments to develop these projects,” RIA cited the source as saying.
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