Ukraine-Russia latest: North Korea soldiers in Russia targeted by Ukrainian fire for first time, Kyiv says
US says North Korea has deployed 10,000 troops in Russia, with more than half of them in the Kursk region
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Your support makes all the difference.North Korean troops have been hit by Ukraine’s army for the first time since they entered the war on Russia’s side, Kyiv has said.
Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s national security council, reported that the incident took place in Russia’s western Kursk region. Ukrainian forces have held parts of this area since their unexpected cross-border operation in August.
“The initial North Korean troops have already encountered fire in the Kursk region,” Kovalenko said, though he did not provide additional details.
His remarks are likely to heighten concerns that North Korea’s involvement could draw other nations into the conflict, which has already become Europe’s largest war since 1945.
Pyongyang has vowed to back Russia until it achieves victory over Ukraine. “Our traditional, historically friendly relations, which have traveled the tested path of history, today ... are rising to a new level of relations of invincible military comradeship,” the North’s foreign minister Choe Son Hui said during her trip to Moscow last week.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed there are 10,000 North Koreans already in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region.
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UN chief ‘very concerned’ about reports of North Korean soldiers in Russia
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres is “very concerned” about reports of North Korean troops on Russia’s soil and fears the “escalation of the war in Ukraine”, his spokesperson said.
Mr Guterres’s remarks come as American intelligence confirmed thousands of North Korean troops are already on their way to Russia’s Kursk border region where Ukraine’s incursion is underway.
“The Secretary-General is very concerned about reports of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea being sent to the Russian Federation, including their possible deployment to the conflict zone,” said Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief’s spokesperson.
Arpan Rai reports.
UN chief ‘very concerned’ about North Korean troops in Russia
UN chief says North Korean boots in Russia ‘represent a very dangerous escalation’
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.
Zelensky asks for more ‘long-range capabilities’ for Ukraine
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has asked his Western allies to provide “long-range capabilities for our security” as Russia continues to rain down missiles in the country’s biggest cities.
Mr Zelensky wrote on social media yesterday that “Russia terrorised Ukraine with over 50 strike drones” and in the past week it dropped “more than 900 bombs, around 30 missiles, and nearly 500 ‘Shaheds’ against various regions of Ukraine”.
“All of these attacks would have been impossible if we had sufficient support from the world in crucial areas,” he added.
He said this would include providing Ukraine long-range missiles and “truly effective” sanctions to prevent Russia from importing critical components for drone and missile production.
“Ukraine deserves the same strong security as all our partners in the free world.”
Moldova’s pro-EU president defeats pro-Russian rival
Moldova’s pro-EU president Maia Sandu secured victory a second time in a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent, in a race that was overshadowed by claims of Russian interference.
With nearly 99 per cent of votes counted in the second round of the presidential election held yesterday, Ms Sandu had 55 per cent of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, compared to 45 per cent for Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general backed by pro-Russia Party of Socialists.
The result will be a major relief for the pro-Western government, which strongly backed Ms Sandu’s candidacy, and her push for closer Western ties on Moldova’s path toward the EU.
“Moldova, you are victorious! Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books. Today, you have saved Moldova!” Ms Sandu said after claiming victory after midnight.
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 claimed on Sunday.
This would be the third village they have captured in two days, if Russia’s claims, reported by the RIA state news agency, 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.
US-funded air defences shot down 200 Russian drones, says envoy
American-funded mobile anti-aircraft units have shot down over 200 Russian drones since January this year, US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said.
“Mobile Fire Teams are saving lives with their successful work protecting people and critical infrastructure being attacked by Russia,” she said in a post on X.
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.
More here.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges allies to take steps before North Korean troops reach the front
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Koreans troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield
Russian drone attack sparks fire in Kyiv park
Debris from destroyed Russian drones sparked park and grass fires in Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said today, in what was Moscow’s third drone attack on the city in as many nights.
“Emergency crews have been dispatched,” mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
The drone wreckage caused a fire in Muromets park in the Desnianskyi district in Kyiv’s northeast and set some grass ablaze on the embankment of the Dnipro River across from the park.
Russia destroys Kharkiv supermarket
Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s second-largest city and the surrounding region, injuring at least five people, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Mr Syniehubov said a Russian guided bomb hit a supermarket in Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, near the city centre.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the supermarket was located next to residences. An earlier strike had hit a forested area of the city, he said.
ICYMI: 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.
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