Ukraine-Russia war latest: Blasts heard in Kyiv as Seoul says more than 10,000 North Koreans now in Russia
Significant number of North Korean troops headed to the frontline areas, including Kursk, says Seoul
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukraine is repelling a second wave of overnight attacks on Kyiv by Russia as air defence units downed incoming drones, mayor Vitali Klitschko said this morning.
Blasts were heard in the capital as the Pentagon and South Korea both said their intelligence shows more than 10,000 North Korea soldiers have now arrived in Russia to support Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
A significant number of North Korean troops are headed to frontline areas, including Kursk, South Korea’s defence ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyou said today.
The Pentagon said that there were at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk, near the Ukraine border, but could not corroborate reports that they were engaged in combat.
Russia is handing out military kits to North Korean soldiers, including Russian uniforms, the Pentagon said, indicating these soldiers are expected to fight on the frontline.
Kyiv said yesterday that its forces had struck North Korean troops for the first time since they entered the war on Russia’s side.
Germany pledges €200m in winter aid for Ukraine
Germany will give Ukraine another €200 m (£167m) in aid to support the country during its third winter at war with Russia, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said during a visit to Kyiv yesterday.
Ms Baerbock has stressed Germany’s continued backing for Ukraine during the trip, which comes amid growing nerves over the impact today’s election in the United States will have on military support for the country.
Putin meets North Korean foreign minister in Moscow
Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly held a meeting in Russia’s capital with North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui, the state news agency TASS reported.
Another agency, Interfax, said the meeting in Moscow took place on Monday.
Choe travelled to Russia last week for her second trip in six weeks, at a time of mounting alarm in the West over military cooperation between the two countries.
Russian governor of region battered by drone strikes resigns
The governor of Rostov region, one of the southern Russian cities battered by massive Ukrainian drone strikes, has resigned “at his own request”, the Kremlin said.
Vasily Golubev’s resignation, termed sudden, was accepted by president Vladimir Putin on Monday.
He is one of Russia’s longest serving governors who headed the Rostov region that has been plagued by Ukrainian drones and where the Wagner Group forces started a short-lived mutiny. Mr Golubev said he decided to resign “due to a transfer to another job”, in a post on his Telegram channel.
The Rostov region, about 1,000km (622 miles) south of Moscow, borders Ukraine. Kyiv, which has launched a series of drone attacks on oil depots there, says Rostov is key in storing petroleum products for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
More than 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia for Ukraine war, says South Korea
More than 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia to support its war against Ukraine, with a “significant number” in the frontline areas including Kursk, South Korea’s defence ministry said today.
“We understand that more than 10,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, and a significant number of them have moved to the frontline areas including Kursk,” Jeon Ha-kyou, a spokesperson for Seoul’s defence ministry, told a briefing, citing intelligence authorities.
But Mr Jeon said he had no information when asked whether the North Koreans were engaged in combat, and about a South Korean media report citing an unnamed government official that as many as 40 North Korean troops had been killed on the battlefield.
The estimates from South Korea come just hours after the Pentagon said that there were at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk, near the Ukraine border, but could not corroborate reports that they were engaged in combat.
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.
The effort spearheaded by the Treasury and State Departments is aimed at punishing “third party countries” that are accused of providing material assistance to the Kremlin or assisting Russia in evading the thousands of sanctions that have been imposed on the country since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Among those sanctioned by the Treasury Department are 274 companies accused of supplying Russia with advanced technology, as well as Russia-based defense and manufacturing firms that produce or finish military products that maintain the weaponry used against Ukraine.
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
Zelensky voices solidarity with Moldova’s Sandu after her election win
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Moldova's Maia Sandu on her presidential election victory and reaffirmed Kyiv's commitment to jointly work on a common goal towards European Union membership.
Sandu, the pro-Western incumbent who has accelerated Moldova's push to leave Moscow's orbit, claimed victory in Sunday's closely-fought runoff, defeating Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was backed by the traditionally pro-Russian Socialist Party.
"On behalf of the Ukrainian people I expressed our solidarity with the European choice of the Moldovan people," Zelenskiy said on the social media platform X following a phone conversation with Sandu.
Zelenskiy said he had coordinated the "next steps" on the EU accession path with Sandu.
US conducts long-range bomber exercise with South Korea and Japan
The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland, South Korea’s military said.
North Korea on Thursday tested the newly developed Hwasong-19 ICBM, which flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other missile it has fired. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called it “an appropriate military action” to cope with external security threats posed by its rivals.
It comes as North Korean troops fight on the Ukrainian front line.
US conducts long-range bomber exercise with South Korea and Japan
South Korea says the US has flown a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland
Zelensky urges allies to take steps before North Korean troops reach the front
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield.
Mr Zelensky raised the prospect of a preemptive Ukrainian strike on camps where the North Korean troops are being trained, and said Kyiv knows their location. But he said Ukraine can’t do it without permission from allies to use Western-made long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.
“But instead … America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Mr Zelensky said.
Ukraine, Germany discuss need for 'decisive response' to N. Korean involvement in war
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he had discussed the “need for decisive action” in response to North Korean involvement in the war in Ukraine with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
“We urge Europe to realize that the DPRK troops are now carrying an aggressive war in Europe against a sovereign European state,” he told a briefing after meeting with Baerbock in Kyiv.
The United States says North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia and is poised to join the war in Ukraine on Moscow’s side. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Army chief says Ukraine facing ‘one of the most powerful’ Russian offensives
Ukraine is currently facing “one of the most powerful Russian offensives” since the beginning of the war in February 2022, its army chief has warned.
Russia has been steadily making gains in the Donbas region and capturing villages amid reports that North Korea has deployed about 10,000 troops to join Vladimir Putin’s war.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, said the situation on the front line “remains difficult” and certain areas “require constant renewal of resources of Ukrainian units”.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives from launching a full-scale invasion,” the top commander said over the weekend.
The war is entering what Russian analysts say is its most dangerous phase as Moscow’s forces advance, North Korea sends troops to Russia and the West ponders how the conflict will end.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has been traveling the world lobbying Nato countries to allow Kyiv the use of the long-range missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russia.
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