Ukraine-Russia latest: North Korea vows to back Putin’s war as US claims thousands of troops prepare for battle

It comes as Russia unleashes second overnight drone attack on Kyiv in as many days, say officials

Video from Ukraine claims to show North Korean soldiers lining up to collect Russia military gear

North Korea has vowed to back Russia until it achieves victory in its war against Ukraine.

“Our traditional, historically friendly relations, which have travelled the tested path of history, today ... are rising to a new level of relations of invincible military comradeship,” Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said on Friday at talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as she praised Vladimir Putin’s “wise leadership” in the invasion.

It came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned North Korean troops fighting inside the Russian President’s “meat grinder” war would be a legitimate military target.

The top US diplomat claimed that the North Korean soldiers will enter the war in Ukraine in the “coming days” as he confirmed there are 10,000 already in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region.

Meanwhile, Russia unleashed its second overnight drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in as many nights.

Buildings, roads and several power lines in the city have been damaged in the attack, which came in waves and approached Kyiv from different directions, the capital's military administration said early on Sunday.

Key Points

• Russian forces capture third village in two days, its defence ministry claims
• Moldova holds presidential runoff election amid claims of Russian meddling
• North Korea says it will back Russia until it ‘achieves a great victory’ in Ukraine
• North Koreans training in ‘basic infantry operations’ in Ukraine, says Blinken
• Russia’s second drone attack on Kyiv in as many nights damages buildings, Ukraine says

[3 November 2024 15:27 · Alex Croft]

Uncertainty in Kyiv over possible Trump re-election

A senior European diplomat based in Kyiv has told Reuters that Ukrainian officials are less worried about Donald Trump potentially re-entering the White House than some might expect, in part because Ukraine was losing territory even with the military and economic support it receives.

“At least Trump might shake things up a bit,” the diplomat said.

But the uncertainty over what Trump would do to try to end the war is causing considerable unease, with Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko saying: “The main problem is that Trump promises to initiate negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine immediately after his victory, but we do not know on what terms.”

[3 November 2024 14:29 · Alex Croft]

Europe will need to rethink Ukraine support in case of Trump victory, says Hungarian PM

Europe will be forced into rethinking its support for Ukraine if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States in Tuesday’s election, hard right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday.

Orban, who wants a Trump victory, is opposed to arming Ukraine.

"We (in Europe) need to realise that if there will be a pro-peace president in America, which I not only believe in but I also read the numbers that way, ... if what we expect happens and America becomes pro-peace, then Europe cannot remain pro-war," Orban said.

"Europe cannot bear the burden of [the war] alone, and if Americans switch to peace, then we also need to adapt, and this is what we will discuss in Budapest," he added.

Orban has angered Europe due to his lack of support for Ukraine and close ties to Russia.

[3 November 2024 13:33 · Alex Croft]

US is sending $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine

The Biden administration announced Friday it was sending an additional $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to face Russian forces augmented by more than 10,000 North Korean troops.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said more aid was coming, and soon, during his visit to Kyiv last week. This aid package includes weapons that will be pulled from existing U.S. stockpiles, including air defense interceptors for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155 mm artillery, and armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.

Read the full report:

[3 November 2024 12:41 · Alex Croft]

One killed by Ukrainian strike in Russia

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one man in Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

It comes as Kyiv came under attack by Russian drones for the second night running on Saturday night.

[3 November 2024 11:50 · Alex Croft]

Russian forces capture third village in two days, its defence ministry claims

Russian forces have taken control of Vyshneve in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, its defence ministry claims.

This would be the third village they have captured in two days, if Russia’s claims, reported by the RIA state news agency on Sunday, are correct.

Russia yesterday claimed to have captured the villages of Kurakhove and Kvartsytne - formerly called Pershotravneve - on Saturday.

The reports have not been independently verified. But if true, they represent major steps forward for Russia’s offensive on the eastern front.

[3 November 2024 10:58 · Alex Croft]

UK is now president of the UN Security Council

The UK has become the president of the UN’s Security Council.

It is a rotating position which the UK will hold until the end of November. It was held by Denmark in October, and will be taken over by the United States in December.

The UK’s permanent ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, spoke on the role as president.

“Putin will not stop at Ukraine. We can be sure that Iran and North Korea are exacting a heavy price from Russia for their support.

“Where there is death and chaos, President Putin's hand is rarely far behind.”

[3 November 2024 10:00 · Alex Croft]

Footage of Russian drone flying over Kyiv

A Kyiv official has shown footage of a Russian drone flying over residential buildings during Russia’s drone attack on the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Saturday.

“A Russian drone flying over Kyiv residential buildings this morning. They fly very low, so the danger for civilians is higher,” Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s internal affairs minister, wrote on X.

[3 November 2024 09:00 · Alex Croft]

Russian forces claim capture of two villages in eastern Ukraine

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have captured the villages of Kurakhove and Kvartsytne on Saturday.

It would be a significant step for Russian forces as they continue to advance on eastern territory in Ukraine. Russian forces appear to have accelerated in their offensive on the eastern front.

Kvartsytne was formerly called Pershotravneve, until it was renamed in September 2024 by the Ukrainian parliament.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his desire to control the entire Donbas region.

As the main point of assault towards Pokrovsk stalled, the Russian military widened across the eastern front, including towards Kurakove to the south.

[3 November 2024 08:00 · Alex Croft]

Kim Jong Un ‘taking a big gamble’, analyst says

Large North Korean troop casualties in Ukraine or Russia would be a major political blow for the country’s 40-year-old ruler, Kim Jong Un.

But experts say Mr Kim may see this as a way to get much needed foreign currency and security support from Russia in return for joining the war.

“Kim Jong Un is taking a big gamble. If there are no large casualty numbers, he will get what he wants to some extent. But things will change a lot if many of his soldiers die in battle,” Ahn Chan-il, a former North Korean army first lieutenant who leads the World Institute for North Korean Studies, told the Associated Press.

[3 November 2024 07:29 · Tara Cobham]

Russia’s second drone attack on Kyiv in as many nights damages buildings, Ukraine says

A Russian air attack on Kyiv damaged buildings, roads and several power lines in the city, the capital’s military administration said early on Sunday, after the military said air defences were trying to repel a drone attack.

There were no injuries in the attack, which came in waves and approached the city from different directions, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Popko said there was no fire, amending the administration’s earlier account that emergency crews had been dispatched to the site of a fire in the Shevchenkivskyi district that it said had been caused by the attack.

It was Russia’s second drone attack on Kyiv in as many nights. According to preliminary information, all of the attack drones were destroyed, Popko added. It was not immediately clear how many drones were launched at Kyiv.

Falling drone debris damaged an entrance and windows of at least five buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, including a hostel and windows in an office building, Popko said.

The military posted several photos on Telegram showing a blown-out entrance to a building, damaged windows in another and power lines lying on the road.

Reuters witnesses reported hearing blasts and seeing plumes of smoke rising from above residential buildings.

Shevchenkivskyi district near Kyiv’s centre is a busy area with a cluster of universities, restaurants and tourist attractions. Holosiivskyi district is home to a large national park. Both districts lie on the western bank of the Dnipro River.

Kyiv, its surrounding region and the vast majority of the eastern half of Ukraine were intermittently under air raid alerts for most of the night, according to alerts issued on social media by the Ukrainian military.