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.
Key Points
- More than 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia for Ukraine war, says South Korea
- North Korea says it will back Russia until it ‘achieves a great victory’ in Ukraine
- Russian governor of region battered by drone strikes resigns
- Russia destroys Kharkiv supermarket
Putin issuing Russian uniforms to North Korean troops, says Pentagon
03:55
Arpan Rai
Russia is handing out military kits to North Korean soldiers, including Russian uniforms, the Pentagon has said, confirming that these soldiers will fight in Kursk.
“My understanding is that all of these forces are being issued Russian uniforms and Russian equipment,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a press briefing last night.
The North Korean soldiers will be legitimate military targets, he said. “...we fully expect, just based on what we’re seeing, that these forces will go to the Kursk region, that they will provide some kind of capability. All indications are that they will provide some type of combat or combat support capability. Again, remains to be seen exactly how they will be employed,” Gen Ryder said.
“...Should they be employed in combat, they will become legitimate military targets and we would fully expect that the Ukrainians would do what they need to do to defend themselves and their personnel,” he said.
Germany pledges €200m in winter aid for Ukraine
03:18
Arpan Rai
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
03:00
Rachel Hagan
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
02:58
Arpan Rai
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.
Vyacheslav 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
02:50
Arpan Rai
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
02:00
Rachel Hagan
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.
Zelensky voices solidarity with Moldova’s Sandu after her election win
00:30
Rachel Hagan
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
Monday 4 November 2024 23:30
Rachel Hagan
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.
Zelensky urges allies to take steps before North Korean troops reach the front
Monday 4 November 2024 23:00
Rachel Hagan
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
Monday 4 November 2024 22:30
Rachel Hagan
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
Monday 4 November 2024 21:50
Rachel Hagan
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.
In pics: Russia bombs Ukraine’s capital and Kharkiv
Monday 4 November 2024 21:15
Rachel Hagan
Russia sentences former US consulate worker to nearly 5 years in prison
Monday 4 November 2024 20:30
Rachel Hagan
A court in Russia's far-eastern city of Vladivostok on Friday convicted a former U.S. Consulate worker charged with cooperating with a foreign state and sentenced him to four years and 10 months in prison.
Robert Shonov, a Russian citizen and former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, was arrested in May 2023. Russia's top domestic security agency, the FSB, accused him of “gathering information about the special military operation" in Ukraine, a partial call-up in Russian regions and its influence on "protest activities of the population in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.”
The U.S. State Department last year condemned the arrest and said the allegations against Shonov “are wholly without merit.”
US is sending $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine
Monday 4 November 2024 20:00
Rachel Hagan
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.
Putin hosts North Korean foreign minister on Russia's 'unity day'
Monday 4 November 2024 19:30
Rachel Hagan
Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korea’s foreign minister in the Kremlin on Monday at a time of mounting concern in the West that North Korean soldiers are about to enter the Ukraine war on Moscow’s side.
Video of the meeting showed the pair shaking hands for a full minute as Putin greeted Choe Son Hui. Putin noted that they were meeting on Russia’s National Unity Day, a public holiday, and Choe conveyed “sincere, warm, comradely greetings” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The United States says North Korea has sent some 10,000 troops to Russia, including 8,000 to the western Kursk region where Russia is still battling to expel Ukrainian troops who broke across the border in August.
Putin, who signed a treaty with Kim in June that includes a mutual defence clause, has neither confirmed nor denied the North Korean troop presence. He has said that Russia is free to implement the pact as it sees fit.
Germany's top diplomat in Kyiv as Ukraine girds for impact of US election on the war
Monday 4 November 2024 18:50
Rachel Hagan
Germany’s top diplomat arrived Monday in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on an unannounced visit, in what appeared to be a show of European support for Ukraine on the eve of a U.S. presidential election that could bring far-reaching changes in Washington’s policy toward Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor.
Germany is Ukraine’s second biggest weapons supplier after the U.S., and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock vowed that Berlin’s backing would remain steadfast.
“Together with many partners around the world, Germany stands firmly by Ukraine’s side,” she said, German news agency dpa reported. “We will support the Ukrainians for as long as they need us so that they can continue on their path to a just peace.”
Russia downs four HIMARS, 42 Ukrainian drones, says defence ministry
Monday 4 November 2024 18:20
Rachel Hagan
Russia’s defence ministry said its armed forces had downed four US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 42 Ukrainian drones in the last 24 hours on Monday, Reuters has reported.
The ministry said four different troop groupings were improving their positions, including the southern group which it said was making advances deep into Ukrainian defences.
South Korea and EU condemn 'North Korean troops in Russia’
Monday 4 November 2024 17:45
Rachel Hagan
Top South Korean and European Union officials have condemned North Korea’s reported troop dispatch to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In a meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korean defense minister Kim Yong Hyun and the EU’s visiting foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed “serious concerns” about North Korea’s reported troop dispatch and “strongly condemned” it, according to a statement from the South Korean defense ministry.
The two agreed to work together with the international community to try to obstruct Russian-North Korean security cooperation, the statement said.
In a background briefing with local media on Monday, South Korea’s military said North Korea has built anti-tank, trench-like structures at two sites near the Korean border. According to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, North Korea was estimated to have moved about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia.
Medics urged to remove red cross on vehicles at risk of becoming targets
Monday 4 November 2024 17:15
Rachel Hagan
Medics in Ukraine are being urged to remove any markings on their vehicles that may set them apart otherwise they’ll be shot at “within 15 minutes”, the Economist has reported.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation reported that ambulance workers and other personnel servicing health transport face a risk of injury and death three times higher than that of other healthcare service workers.
A secret underground hospital’s chief medical officer told the Economist: “They don’t even know what it means” when asked about Russia following the Geneva conventions, which forbid targeting medical units.
He said: “If you put a red cross on a car, you’ll be fired on within 15 minutes.”
Why Moldova’s president Maia Sandu winning second term in office important for Ukraine
Monday 4 November 2024 16:34
Rachel Hagan
Moldova’s pro-western President Maia Sandu has won a second term in office in what was a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent.
The race was overshadowed by claims of Russian interference, voter fraud and intimidation in the European Union candidate country.
Like Georgia and neighboring Ukraine, Moldova aspires to join the EU but is caught in a constant geopolitical tug between Moscow and the West.
In a victory statement early Monday, Sandu told voters they had "given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books" and also noted the significant role the diaspora played in her reelection.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. It was granted candidate status in June of that year, and in summer 2024, Brussels agreed to start membership negotiations.
The sharp westward shift irked Moscow and significantly soured relations with Chisinau.
Putin meets North Korean foreign minister in Moscow
Monday 4 November 2024 15:09
Rachel Hagan
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.
UK becomes president of the UN Security Council
Monday 4 November 2024 14:40
Rachel Hagan
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 that 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 of 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.”
Ukraine says it tries to repel drone attack on Kyiv
Monday 4 November 2024 14:20
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine's air defence units were trying to repel a Russian drone attack on Kyiv, the military administration said on Monday.
"Stay in shelters!" Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence units in operation.
Ukraine facing ‘one of the most powerful Russian offensives' since the start of the war
Monday 4 November 2024 14:00
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine’s army chief has warned that his forces are up against “one of the most intense Russian offensives” since the war began, as Russia announced the capture of additional settlements along the eastern frontline.
Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation on the front line “remains difficult” and certain areas “require constant renewal of resources of Ukrainian units” in a statement on Telegram Saturday morning.
Kyiv’s forces, he said, are “holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.”
Abortion, Israel, crime: Where does Kamala Harris stand on key issues?
Monday 4 November 2024 13:24
Rachel Hagan
Vice President Kamala Harris has run a presidential campaign on policies intended to appeal to a broad scope of Americans, especially those looking for an alternative to Donald Trump.
Though Harris has spent the last four years in the White House, her role as VP has largely centred around supporting the Biden administration’s initiatives. Having only entered the race in July after President Joe Biden was pushed out, Harris has only had a few months to make her agenda clear.
Once known for progressive liberal policies, Harris has adopted more moderate ideas to appeal to a broader group of Americans. That includes a tougher position on immigration and championing the Second Amendment while still advocating for gun control legislation.
Here’s where she stands on the issues.
Russian drone attack sparks park fire in Ukraine's Kyiv, mayor says
Monday 4 November 2024 12:50
Rachel Hagan
Debris from destroyed Russian drones sparked park and grass fires in Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Monday.
The drone wreckage caused a fire in the 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.
There was no immediate information about potential injuries.
The strikes followed Russian attacks on Sunday that damaged buildings and power lines in Kyiv.
Ukraine's military says it shot down 50 Russian drones overnight
Monday 4 November 2024 12:35
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine‘s military said on Monday it shot down 50 out of 80 Russian drones during overnight attack.
The air force said 27 more drones were “locationally lost” in various regions, likely referring to the impact of electronic warfare.
Three killed after residential building in Kharkiv hit
Monday 4 November 2024 12:27
Rachel Hagan
Last night three people were killed after a residential building in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv was hit, regional police said on Monday.
Russian forces used an aerial bomb to carry out the attack, which damaged houses and a medical facility, the police said on the Telegram messenger app.
EU chief visits Seoul amid alarm over North Korean troops in Russia
Monday 4 November 2024 12:19
Rachel Hagan
The EU’s chief has visited South Korea as concern grows over the dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the reports signal the need for security cooperation between the European Union and South Korea.
The deployment “regrettably illustrates the importance of our shared security agenda,” he said before talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul. The EU and South Korea are holding their first Strategic Dialogue meeting after Washington and Seoul sounded the alarm about North Korea sending troops to help Russia.
Zelensky congratulates Moldova’s Sandu on election win
Monday 4 November 2024 12:24
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Moldova‘s Maia Sandu on her election win in a social media post on Monday.
“Moldovans have made a clear choice” they chose a path toward economic growth and social stability,” Zelensky wrote on X after pro-Western incumbent Sandu claimed victory at Sunday’s closely-fought presidential election.
Medics urged to remove red cross on vehicles at risk of becoming targets
Monday 4 November 2024 11:25
Rachel Hagan
Medics in Ukraine are being urged to remove any markings on their vehicles that may set them apart otherwise they’ll be shot at “within 15 minutes”, the Economist has reported.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation reported that ambulance workers and other personnel servicing health transport face a risk of injury and death three times higher than that of other healthcare service workers.
A secret underground hospital’s chief medical officer told the Economist: “They don’t even know what it means” when asked about Russia following the Geneva conventions, which forbid targeting medical units.
He said: “If you put a red cross on a car, you’ll be fired on within 15 minutes.”
South Korea and EU condemn 'North Korean troops in Russia’
Monday 4 November 2024 10:46
Rachel Hagan
Top South Korean and European Union officials have condemned North Korea’s reported troop dispatch to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine.In a meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korean defense minister Kim Yong Hyun and the EU’s visiting foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed “serious concerns” about North Korea’s reported troop dispatch and “strongly condemned” it, according to a statement from the South Korean defense ministry.The two agreed to work together with the international community to try to obstruct Russian-North Korean security cooperation, the statement said.
In a background briefing with local media on Monday, South Korea’s military said North Korea has built anti-tank, trench-like structures at two sites near the Korean border. According to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, North Korea was estimated to have moved about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia.
German foreign minister confirms continued support for Ukraine
Monday 4 November 2024 09:49
Rachel Hagan
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Kyiv and asserted her country’s continued backing for Ukraine, as the future of US aid hangs in the balance with the upcoming election.
Baerbock said Ukraine needs support to ensure its very survival as North Korea’s military involvement and Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure exacerbate the conflict.
She said: “We are countering this brutality with our humanity and support, so that Ukrainians can not only survive the winter, but so that their country can survive. Because they are also defending the freedom of all of us in Europe.”
Germany has emerged as Ukraine‘s top donor of military aid in Europe and has closely coordinated its support with Washington.
Russia downs four HIMARS, 42 Ukrainian drones, says defence ministry
Monday 4 November 2024 09:27
Rachel Hagan
Russia’s defence ministry said its armed forces had downed four US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 42 Ukrainian drones in the last 24 hours on Monday, Reuters has reported.
The ministry said four different troop groupings were improving their positions, including the southern group which it said was making advances deep into Ukrainian defences.
Moldova’s pro-EU president defeats pro-Russia rival
Monday 4 November 2024 08:00
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Moldovan president Maia Sandu secured a second term in office in a pivotal presidential runoff election marred by accusations of Russian interference and electoral manipulation.
Her victory, with 55 per cent of the votes, was confirmed by Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission, leaving her opponent, former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, with 45 per cent.
The re-election of the pro-European leader reinforces Moldova’s drive toward closer ties with the European Union.
Namita Singh reports.
In pics: Russia bombs Ukraine’s capital and Kharkiv
Monday 4 November 2024 07:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
UK becomes president of the UN Security Council
Monday 4 November 2024 07:00
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.”
“Putin will not stop at Ukraine.”
— UK at the UN (@UKUN_NewYork) November 1, 2024
“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.”
@BWoodward_UN on the UK’s Security Council Presidency. pic.twitter.com/Spfex83vS2
UN chief ‘very concerned’ about reports of North Korean soldiers in Russia
Monday 4 November 2024 06:32
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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.
Army chief says Ukraine facing ‘one of the most powerful’ Russian offensives
Monday 4 November 2024 06:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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
Monday 4 November 2024 06:00
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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
Monday 4 November 2024 05:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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
Monday 4 November 2024 05:01
Alex Croft
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
Monday 4 November 2024 04:49
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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
Monday 4 November 2024 04:12
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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.
Russian drone attack sparks fire in Kyiv park
Monday 4 November 2024 03:44
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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.