Ukraine-Russia live: North Koreans in Putin’s ‘meat grinder’ war legitimate military target, says Blinken
Around 8,000 North Korean troops expected to enter battlefield in coming days, says US
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Your support makes all the difference.North Korea’s soldiers fighting on behalf of Russia inside Vladimir Putin’s ‘meat grinder’ war will be a legitimate military target, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
The top US diplomat said that the North Korean soldiers will enter the war in Ukraine “in coming days” as he confirmed there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region.
The US and South Korea have ramped up their pitch calling on North Korea to withdraw their troops already inside Ukraine and fighting alongside Russia.
“Should DPRK’s troops enter Ukraine in support of Russia, they will surely return in body bags. So I would advise Chairman Kim to think twice about engaging in such reckless and dangerous behaviour,” Robert Wood, US envoy to the UN, said.
On the war front, at least three, including a 12-year-old boy and a teenager, were killed in a Russian-guided bomb strike on Kharkiv. A child aged 12 was among the dead in the Wednesday evening strike, and thirty-six people were injured.
Ukraine starts paying out anti-corruption whistleblowers
When he was asked to approach Ukrainian investigators with a $5 million bribe on behalf of a former top official in 2020, businessman Yevhen Shevchenko would have been entitled to a cut as the middleman.
He finally received his money - but from the Ukrainian government, in exchange for reporting the kickback to anti-corruption police and setting up a sting operation.
Shevchenko is one of Ukraine’s first two whistleblowers to receive a state payout for their role in helping bring a crooked official to justice, part of a corruption crackdown that has taken on greater importance during the war with Russia.
Shevchenko, who had previously worked with Ukraine’s anti-corruption police as an informant, received the equivalent of around $320,000.
“There is a very large number of people who can help uncover crimes but don’t because they’re afraid, or for some other reasons,” he said.
More than 4,000 reports have been submitted since last year, though so far only a small fraction - 47 - were found to have involved concrete criminal or administrative violations.
Lavrov to meet China envoy over Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs and point person for Ukraine, later on Thursday on the sidelines of a security conference in Minsk, the state RIA news agency reported.
The meeting will take place as Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to have taken a dangerous new turn, with NATO and South Korea expressing alarm that North Korean troops could soon be joining Moscow’s side.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed Beijing’s strong ties with Moscow at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko
‘Good morning from the occupation' Mayor’s advisor reports blast at Russian held Berdyansk
A large explosion has been reported in the port area of Russian-occupied Berdyansk.
Petro Andriushchenko, Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram: “Our drones have been attacking Berdyansk since six in the morning.
“The main one hits in the port area. Smoke from a large fire is visible above the port with a large number of ambulances and firemen.
“In addition, the local occupation administration, almost for the first time, acknowledged the hit, reporting an attack on the premises of the administration itself in the city
“In addition, the electricity supply has disappeared in some areas, and the work of official budget bodies has been canceled.
“Finally, good morning from the occupation.”
Viktor Dudukalov, deputy chairman of the Berdiansk District Council, told Espreso TV that at least six hits were counted in the city.
“Since 6am today, we [in Berdiansk] have been facing a very tense situation with Russian air defense. At least six hits have been counted, primarily in the port area.
“There is smoke, ambulances are on the scene, and certain streets in the city center leading to the port are blocked.
“The occupiers claim that everything is fine and under control, yet they have decided to take today off and are urging everyone to stay at home, despite ‘everything being under control’.”
One killed in Russian airstrikes in Kherson
One person was killed and six were injured after Russian strikes on buildings, buses and cars in Kherson over the past 24 hours.
Chief of the Kherson Regional State Administration Oleksandr Prokudin said on Facebook on Thursday: “Russian military targeted library and office premises and populated areas of the region, including damage to multi-storey buildings and 21 private buildings.
“The occupiers also [struck] garages, buses and private cars. Due to Russian aggression, one person died, six more got injured.”
Throughout the past day, Ukrainian Defense Forces said there were 145 recorded combat clashes at the frontline. They added their strikes had hit one Russian command post, two air defence systems, one artillery gun in firing position, two field ammunition depots, three clusters of enemy personnel and military equipment, and four enemy radar stations.
Ukraine military says Russia attacked key bridge in Odesa region
Russian troops attacked a strategic bridge across the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Estuary in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, launching two ballistic Iskander missiles and eight guided missiles, said the Ukrainian military on Thursday.
The bridge has been a target several times over the past two years, and is an important railway and car connection in the region.
The Ukrainian military added that Russia used two ballistic missiles to attack the eastern town of Kramatorsk.
The air force shot down 17 out of 43 drones and two guided missiles launched by Russia overnight, it said, adding that 23 drones were “locationally lost”, likely due to electronic warfare and three more left Ukraine-controlled airspace.
All drones threatening the capital Kyiv were disabled by air defence.
Ukrainian forces advance in Toretsk, US war think tank says
Ukrainian forces have pushed into Toretsk recently, a US war think tank has said.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have advanced near Kupyansk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and southwest of Donetsk City, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday.
BBC investigation finds Russia might be using drones to target civilians
An investigation by the BBC has found that Russia may be using drones to target civilians in the frontline city of Kherson.
Both Ukraine and Russia use drones to target military infrastructure.
Kherson’s military administration told the BBC that 30 civilians in the city have died due to Russian drone attacks since 1 July.
Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.
The Independent was not able to independently verify these claims.
The Russian military has not responded to the BBC’s questions on the allegations, but they have consistently denied that they target civilians.
BBC Verify claimed they have examined six videos shared on both Ukrainian and Russian social media where evidence of these apparent drone attacks on civilians is visible.
Ukraine names North Korean generals accompanying troops to Russia
Ukraine has named three North Korean generals who it claims have accompanied their troops to Russia.
In a statement to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Ukraine’s delegation said the generals are among at least 500 North Korean officers sent to Russia, reported Reuters.
The statement added that the troops will be formed into at least five formations of 2,000-3,000 soldiers each and integrated into Russian units to hide their presence.
Ukraine named Colonel General Kim Yong-bok, a senior general with command of special forces that South Korean intelligence claims have been deployed to Russia.
“This is a large and almost unprecedented deployment for the KPA,” said North Korea leadership expert with US-based Stimson Center Michael Madden, who believes General Kim Yong-bok is in Russia as a representative of Kim Jong Un.
The other generals are Colonel General Ri Changho, deputy chief of the general staff and head of the reconnaissance general bureau, and Major General Sin Kum-cheol, head of the main operational directorate.
US sanctions 398 firms in more than a dozen countries, accusing them of helping Russia's war effort
US sanctions 398 firms in more than a dozen countries, accusing them of helping Russia's war effort
The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 398 firms across Russia, India, China, and more than a dozen other nations — accusing them of providing products and services that enable Russia’s war effort and aid its ability to evade sanctions
In pictures: Russian drone strike hits apartment building in Kharkiv
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