Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky urges Trump to keep supporting Kyiv amid clashes with North Korea troops
Mr Zelensky calls on Mr Trump to help bring a ‘just peace’ for Ukraine if he gets into the White House
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Donald Trump, who has returned to the White House, and urged the Republican to keep supporting Kyiv against Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
With concerns rising that support for Ukraine could diminish under a second Trump administration, Mr Zelensky praised Mr Trump's "peace through strength" philosophy, calling it t a just peace for Ukraine. Mr Trump has said he would look to end the Ukraine war as soon as possible, with Kyiv wary that he will push for it to give up territory to Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has reported “small-scale” clashes with North Korean troops in Kursk, marking their first battlefield confrontation with Kim Jong Un’s soldiers, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said.
Mr Zelensky has said “the first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world”. US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments say up to 12,000 North Korean combat troops are being sent by Pyongyang to Russia for deployment on the frontline in Ukraine under a pact with Moscow.
Russian upper house of parliament ratifies North Korea partnership treaty
The upper house of Russia’s parliament, the Federation Council, has voted in favour of ratifying a treaty of partnership between Russia and North Korea.
Last month, Russian lawmakers in the lower house ratified the treaty of mutual defence with North Korea by voting 397-0 to endorse the “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty which obliges Russia and North Korea to immediately provide military assistance using “all means” if either is attacked.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed the treaty, which includes a mutual defence clause, during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June.
Russia and North Korea have deepened cooperation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with South Korea, Ukraine and the United States saying North Korean troops are on the ground in Russia and preparing to deploy in support of Russia.
Moscow has neither denied not confirmed that.
Ukraine claims to have shot down 71% of Russian drones
Russia has launched 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and other drones on Ukraine over the past three months, Ukraine has said.
Kyiv claims their air defence destroyed 71% of them but 5% made direct hits.
In addition, the Air Force’s daily reports mark some of them as “disappeared from radar”, which means some of the drones were either subject to countermeasures by electronic warfare units or failed to reach their targets
North Korean troops clashed with Ukrainian forces in Kursk
North Korean troops engaged in clashes against Ukrainian forces that are fighting in the Russian Kursk region, the New York Times reported late last night, citing an unnamed senior US official and an unnamed senior Ukrainian official.
The engagement was limited and likely meant to probe the Ukrainian lines for weaknesses, the Ukrainian official said. The Ukrainian official added that the North Korean troops fought together with Russia’s 810 Separate Naval Infantry Brigade.
The US official told the newspaper that a significant number of North Korean troops were killed.
The office of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian defence ministry, the Russian defence ministry, the Pentagon and the US Department of State have not issued a comment on the report.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov confirmed the first clash, describing it as a “small-scale” skirmish, had taken place between Ukrainian and North Korean troops.
“Yes, I think so. It is (an) engagement,” Mr Umerov told South Korea’s KBS television in an interview broadcast yesterday, when asked if a clash had occurred. He said the engagement was small for now, but more are expected as the number of North Koreans deployed grows.
Ukrainian troops launched an incursion into Russia’s border Kursk region on 6 August, taking a number of settlements under control in the first such deployment onto the Russian territory since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine destroys 38 Russian drones overnight
Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed 38 Russian drones overnight, its air force said this morning.
Another 22 Russian drones were lost over the Ukrainian territory and its airspace, the air force said on Telegram, without providing further details.
The air force has said before that lost drones are usually intercepted by electronic warfare. The air force also said that Russia launched two missiles on the southern Odesa region late last night.
Who does Putin actually want to win the election? As a Russian American, I know the answer
It’s not only the American public holding its breath in anticipation as the vote projections for the Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump presidential contest roll in. Russian president Vladimir Putin is among those watching closely, with much at stake in the outcome.
The Kremlin seems undecided about whom it would prefer to see as the next US president. Putin clearly understands that, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office, the US stance toward Russia is likely to remain unfriendly. In fact, some animosity between Trump and the Kremlin has been playing out over the past few months.
Regardless of who wins, the Kremlin has reportedly developed two alternative plans for resolving the military conflict with Ukraine — one in the event that Trump wins and another for if Harris becomes president.
Svetlana Satchkova writes:
Who does Putin want to win the election? As a Russian American, I know the answer
The Kremlin has reportedly developed two alternative plans for resolving the military conflict with Ukraine — one in the event that Trump wins and another for if Harris becomes president
In pictures: Life in Kyiv, Ukraine
Nato chief warns of ‘deeply dangerous’ moment for world
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has called North Korea’s troops fighting in Europe a “turning point”, warning the world of a “deeply dangerous” moment.
“This dangerous expansion of the conflict escalates the war and demonstrates that our security is not regional, it is global,” he wrote for Politico.
“These deepening military and economic ties between a reckless Russia and an emboldened North Korea don’t just threaten Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, they are deeply dangerous for global security,” the Nato chief said.
Calling the Russian invasion ill-judged, Mr Rutte said: “On every front, Putin is failing to achieve his strategic objectives through this illegal and ill-judged war of aggression. While we seek a just and lasting end to the conflict, he’s only prolonging and expanding it.
“President Vladimir Putin’s litany of failures since starting this senseless war has only made Russia more reliant on its authoritarian friends in Asia: China, Iran and North Korea,” he said.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s military say the hottest fighting along the roughly 640-mile frontline is taking place on the outskirts of the eastern city of Selydove
North Korea’s troops heading to Ukraine’s frontline as cannon fodder: ‘They will surely be killed’
The G7, involving some of the world’s richest nations, have made clear that they believe the reports of thousands of North Korean troops being used to bolster Russian forces in Ukraine show Vladimir Putin’s “desperation” to compensate for losses on the frontline.
Putin’s forces are believed to be losing hundreds of troops a day, with Ukrainian estimates going as high as 1,200 to 1,500, so the more than 10,000 troops South Korea believes are in Russia would last two weeks or so at that rate.
“In the big picture, even 12,000 soldiers don’t affect the general situation of the war significantly,” says Emil Kastehelmi, who runs the Black Bird Group, which tracks the war in Ukraine.
North Korea troops heading to Ukraine as cannon fodder: ‘They will surely be killed’
G7 nations say Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops is a sign of desperation as Vladimir Putin looks to plug troop losses
Putin shortening training of North Korean troops for frontline, says Ukrainian minister
The training period before North Korean soldiers join the fight in Vladimir Putin’s invasion has been cut short, Kyiv says.
North Korean troops were expected to undergo a month’s training, Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said, but that “is now being shortened to... two weeks or one week so that they could get engagement in the battlefield”.
North Korean personnel will finish deploying within a few weeks once they complete training in the Russian Far East, experts have said.
A total of 15,000 troops could be deployed along northeastern, eastern and southeastern parts of the 1,000km (600-mile) frontline in Ukraine, according to Mr Umerov.
Russia has declined to acknowledge that North Korean troops are operating in its territory, but Putin last week did not deny reports of their presence. He said it was up to Russia how to implement its defence pact with Pyongyang.
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