North Korean troops will be deployed into Ukraine to fight with Russian forces as early as this weekend, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Friday
This would be a major escalation in the war with geopolitical consequences now reaching the Indo-Pacific region, western officials warned, as the grinding conflict approaches three years.
Ukrainian intelligence had determined that “the first North Korean military will be used by Russia in combat zones” between Sunday and Monday, Zelensky said. He added that it was an “obvious escalating move by Russia”, but provided no further details on where North Korean troops might be sent.
Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine as he wrapped up the Brics summit in Kazan, heavily overshadowed by Ukraine war talks.
“Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” Mr Putin said on being asked about satellite photos of North Korean troops.
The US on Wednesday said that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations.
Key Points
- North Korean troops to be deployed within days, Zelensky says
- Putin neither confirms nor denies North Korean boots in Russia
- North Korean units already in Kursk region, says Kyiv intelligence
- Putin ends Brics summit overshadowed by Ukraine
- What we know about the North Korean troops in Ukraine
Ukraine denies claims Russia has surrounded troops in Kursk
07:28
Alex Croft
The Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief has refuted reports that Ukrainian troops are being surrounded in Russia’s Kursk region.
Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Telegram, according to Ukrainska Pravda: “This is blatant disinformation that does not reflect the real situation. Ukrainian forces continue active operations on the Kursk front, for the third consecutive month, depleting the enemy’s combat potential.
“Despite intense pressure from the enemy in this direction, the occupiers are sustaining significant losses in personnel and military equipment.”
Since August 8, Russian forces on the Kursk front have lost more than 17,000 killed, with 6,662 killed, 10,446 wounded and 711 captured, Syrskyi said.
Russian missile attack kills three in Ukraine's Dnipro; hits houses, medical building
07:15
Namita Singh
A Russian missile attack hit residences and a medical facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro yesterday evening, killing three people and injuring at least nine, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.
Mr Lysak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said an eight-year-old girl and a teenage boy and were among the injured.
News reports from the city said several strikes hit different areas there.
Mr Lysak said a two-storey building was partly destroyed and one person could still be under rubble. A medical facility and four apartment buildings suffered damage.
Pictures posted online showed residents and rescue teams outside shattered houses and damaged facilities at the medical building.
US says North Korean troops ‘fair game’ if deployed to fight in Ukraine
06:59
Shweta Sharma
The US has said for the first time it had evidence that 3,000 North Korean troops were receiving training in Russia for possible deployment against Ukraine in “a very serious” escalation that would make them “legitimate military targets”.
White House national security spokesman John F Kirby said North Korean troops were transported to Vladivostok in Russia by ship from the North Korean port city of Wonsan sometime earlier this month.
Ukraine and South Korea have also raised an alarm over North Korea allegedly sending soldiers to assist the Russian war effort.
Read the full report by The Independent’s Shweta Sharma:
Ukrainian official says full Russian withdrawal needed to establish peace
06:52
Namita Singh
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff yesterday said that a full withdrawal of Russian troops, and not just peace talks, were essential to ending the war.
The chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was addressing an international meeting devoted to implementing a peace plan, one of several gatherings staged as a follow-up to last June’s world “peace summit” hosted by Switzerland.
“Don’t expect this war to end when the warring sides begin to talk to each other,” Mr Yermak told the gathering, according to the president’s website.
“Don’t be deceived. This war will end when the last soldier of the occupying army returns home.”
The gathering was attended in person in Kyiv and online by representatives of 56 countries and organisations.
Mr Yermak told the meeting that concerted international pressure on Russia should set a precedent.
“This will prove to the entire world that the pursuit of international conquests in the 21st century is immoral and senseless. Whatever has been seized will have to be returned to the rightful owners,” he was quoted as saying.
The international community, he said, had to prove stronger than any aggressor, “however strong that aggressor might be”.
North Korean troops to be deployed within days, Zelensky says
06:34
Alex Croft
The Ukrainian military could be defending attacks by North Korean troops as soon as Sunday or Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukrainian intelligence had determined that the North Korean military was ready to be deployed by Putin’s forces within days, Zelensky said, in what he described as an “obvious escalating move by Russia”.
He did not provide any details on where the troops might be deployed.
It comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin was asked about satellite photos of North Korean troops in Russia during the Brics summit. “Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” he said.
The US said on Wednesday that Russia is training 3,000 North Korean troops to fight on Ukrainian soil.
Russian troops advancing towards key eastern town, says UK intel
05:31
Alex Croft
Russian troops are advancing towards the town of Selydove in the eastern Donetsk region, a UK Defence Intelligence report has found.
The town is en route to the vital Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, on a frontline which Putin’s forces are focussing much of their manpower.
Russian forces “almost certainly” advanced towards Selydove, the military report found.
“The town remains contested, with fighting likely continuing to take place within the town centre,” it added, according to European Pravda.
Since the beginning of October, Russia’s advance towards Pokrovsk has slowed significantly, the military added.
Report: Georgia prepares for a divisive election which could determine its future in Europe
04:29
Emma Burrows
When Vahan Agayan goes to the polling station in Georgia’s parliamentary election Saturday, he says he and his wife will vote as directed to by officials of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Agayan has a sheep farm near the border with Armenia and Turkey, 135 kilometers (83 miles) west of — and a world away from — the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. There, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in a pre-election demonstration in favor of joining the European Union.
But in the mountainous Javakheti region, what Agayan wants most is stability.
Kremlin denies WSJ report of Elon Musk’s contacts with Putin
03:30
Alex Croft
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report about regular contacts between Elon Musk and President Vladimir Putin.
“No, this is not true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said that Putin had one contact with Musk - the world’s richest man - and it was before 2022.
The Journal said Musk had been in regular contact with Putin since late 2022. Peskov said the report was absolutely false.
Watch: Vladimir Putin denies having any contact with Donald Trump
02:32
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin has denied having any contact with former US president Donald Trump.
Speaking after the BRICS summit in Kazan on Thursday (24 October), the Russian president said: “This is something that has been constantly discussed for more than one year.
“At one time, we were accused of this, and Trump himself of being somehow connected with Russia. Then, as a result of an investigation in the United States itself, everyone came to the conclusion, including in the Congress, as far as I know, that this was complete nonsense, that nothing like this had ever happened.
“It didn’t happen before, and it doesn’t happen now.”
The latest developments on the frontline in Ukraine
01:29
Alex Croft
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) October 25, 2024
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 25 October 2024. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/gsoJYhs7fx
Dutch defense minister says intelligence confirms Russia is deploying North Korea troops
Saturday 26 October 2024 00:31
Alex Croft
Dutch intelligence has confirmed that Russia has deployed at least 1,500 troops from North Korea to fight in the Ukraine war, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said Friday.
Moscow has not denied previous US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia, a move that the West is casting as a significant escalation of the war.
“We expect the troops will mainly be deployed in Kursk and consist of mainly special units from the North Korean army,” Brekelmans said, adding that the first deployment was a way for Russia to test the troops and to gauge international reaction.
Kursk is a Russian city near the Ukrainian border where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August.
Ukraine investigating North Korea’s support for Russia as possible crime of aggression
Friday 25 October 2024 23:29
Alex Croft
Ukrainian prosecutors on Friday said they had launched an investigation into North Korea’s support for Russia in the war as a possible crime of aggression.
By arming and supplying ground forces engaged in fighting against Ukraine, North Korean officials could face charges, the Prosecutor Generals told Reuters.
“We are documenting and collecting evidence of all possible aspects of such involvement as part of the core proceeding on the crime of aggression,” the office said in a statement.
In pictures: Kyiv under by Russian drone attack
Friday 25 October 2024 22:44
Alex Croft
Ukraine destroys 36 Russian drones in overnight attack, air force says
Friday 25 October 2024 21:59
Alex Croft
Ukraine destroyed 36 out of 63 drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force said on Friday.
The drones were downed over various parts of Ukraine while 16 were “locationally lost”, it added.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's posthumous memoir is a testament to resilience
Friday 25 October 2024 21:27
Alex Croft
In a memoir released eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his cause is worth suffering for while also acknowledging he wished he could have written a very different book.
“There is a mishmash of bits and pieces, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary,” Navalny writes in “Patriot,” which was published Tuesday, and is, indeed, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary.
“I so much do not want my book to be yet another prison diary. Personally I find them interesting to read, but as a genre — enough is surely enough.”
Read the full report:
Russia targets Kyiv in overnight drone attack
Friday 25 October 2024 20:47
Alex Croft
Russia sent two waves of drones at the Ukrainian capital overnight in its 15th air attack on Kyiv this month, city officials said on Friday morning.
More than a dozen drones were downed during the strike, which lasted around four hours, city military administrator Serhiy Popko said on Telegram.
He added that authorities had not received any reports of injuries and that debris had ignited a fire that was later extinguished.
Reuters correspondents reported hearing multiple explosions over the city early on Friday.
Russia making swift advance into east Ukraine’s Selydove
Friday 25 October 2024 20:12
Alex Croft
Russian forces have made a fast advance into the eastern Ukrainian coal mining town of Selydove, according to Russian media and war bloggers.
“The enemy’s defences crumbled suddenly,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. Other pro-Russian bloggers gave similar accounts, and said that Russia was now in control of part of Selydove.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper said that Russian forces were approaching the centre of Selydove, which had a population of over 20,000 before the war.
Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said the most intense Russian assaults along the entire front line were currently taking place in the vicinity of Selydove, and that Russia used both fighter and bomber aircraft to support its attack there.
The General Staff did not say whether or not the Russians were in the town or if Ukrainian forces had fallen back.
A Ukrainian frontline mapping project known as DeepState showed in its map Russian forces controlling the eastern outskirts of Selydove, while a significant chunk of its centre was assessed as a disputed “grey zone”.
Capturing Selydove would pave the way for a Russian advance on the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk, located about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Selydove.
Putin welcomes Trump’s offer to end conflict in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 19:37
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin was asked about former US president Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine at a news conference last might “What Mr Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”
If the United States was open to normal relations with Russia, Moscow would be as well, Mr Putin added.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Friday 25 October 2024 19:01
Tom Watling
Watch: Furious Vladimir Putin blasts BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg when challenged at press conference
Friday 25 October 2024 18:45
Alex Croft
North Korean units already in Kursk region, says Kyiv intelligence
Friday 25 October 2024 18:23
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s military intelligence service said the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August.
“The first units of the military from the DPRK, which were trained at the eastern Russian training grounds, have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, on 23 October, 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian intelligence agency said in a statement.
It said a total of around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.
Russian deputy defence minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was appointed responsible for overseeing the training of North Korean military, the agency said.
The Kremlin has previously dismissed reports about the North’s troop deployment as “fake news”. But Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it was Moscow’s business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.
Putin neither confirms nor denies North Korean boots in Russia
Friday 25 October 2024 17:39
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin was asked about whether any North Korean troops were in Russia, which he neither confirmed nor denied. The US on Wednesday said that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations.
“Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” he said when asked about satellite photos of troops.
Mr Putin noted that lawmakers in Moscow earlier in the day ratified a pact with North Korea on mutual military assistance as part of a “strategic partnership” with Pyongyang.
“We have never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. What and how we will do within the framework of this article (of the agreement) is our business,” he said.
Putin ends Brics summit overshadowed by Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 17:05
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin closed a summit of the Brics bloc of developing economies on Thursday night, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West’s “perverse methods.”
The three-day summit in the city of Kazan was attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, highlighting the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
The conflict came up repeatedly at the meeting, which saw the first visit to Russia from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years and drew an angry reaction from Kyiv.
Mr Guterres called for “a just peace” in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. He also urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.
At a news conference last night, Mr Putin was asked about former US president Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine.
“What Mr Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Mr Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”
G7 allies are moving ahead with a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds
Friday 25 October 2024 16:29
Alex Croft
Zelensky rejects visit by UN chief
Friday 25 October 2024 16:08
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected a visit by Antonio Guterres, following the UN chief’s participation in the BRICS summit in Russia, AFP have reported.
Although Guterres called for a “just peace”, images of him hugging Belarusian president and Russia-ally Alexander Lukashenko and shaking Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hand are believed to have gone down badly.
ICYMI: Russian attacks kill six in Ukraine’s east on Thursday
Friday 25 October 2024 15:56
Alex Croft
Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine killed at least six people and wounded 10 on Thursday, regional authorities said.
A thermobaric ammunition attack on the town of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region wounded 10 people, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. A woman who was admitted to hospital in a serious condition after the attack later died, he said.
“The enemy struck near a shop and the town market,” Mr Syniehubov said in an initial statement.
He later added that a two-storey retail building had been damaged, along with a dozen kiosks and windows of nearby homes. Russia occupied Kupiansk in the early days of its 2022 invasion but was pushed out by a lightning Ukrainian counter-offensive in September that year.
In recent months, Moscow’s forces have been advancing slowly back towards the town and are now less than 4km (2.5 miles) from its northern outskirts, according to open-source maps.
Russian shelling later in the day killed three people around the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Mr Filashkin said later on Facebook that a Russian strike on a branch of the Nova Poshta delivery service killed two people in Oleksiyevo-Druzhkiva, near the frontline towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostyantynivka.
Russian troops have been stepping up their advance towards Pokrovsk in recent months, moving as close as 8km from its outskirts.
Ukraine releases footage showing apparent destruction of Shahed drone
Friday 25 October 2024 15:26
Alex Croft
Ukrainian air defenders are destroying russian Shahed drones with a machine gun.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 25, 2024
: UA Land Forces pic.twitter.com/y5iebLJQ7B
Ukraine denies claims Russia has surrounded troops in Kursk
Friday 25 October 2024 15:01
Alex Croft
The Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief has refuted reports that Ukrainian troops are being surrounded in Russia’s Kursk region.
Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Telegram, according to Ukrainska Pravda: "This is blatant disinformation that does not reflect the real situation. Ukrainian forces continue active operations on the Kursk front, for the third consecutive month, depleting the enemy’s combat potential.
“Despite intense pressure from the enemy in this direction, the occupiers are sustaining significant losses in personnel and military equipment."
Since August 8, Russian forces on the Kursk front have lost more than 17,000 killed, with 6,662 killed, 10,446 wounded and 711 captured, Syrskyi said.
Russian troops advancing towards key eastern town, says UK intel
Friday 25 October 2024 14:34
Alex Croft
Russian troops are advancing towards the town of Selydove in the eastern Donetsk region, a UK Defence Intelligence report has found.
The town is en route to the vital Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, on a frontline which Putin’s forces are focussing much of their manpower.
Russian forces “almost certainly” advanced towards Selydove, the military report found.
“The town remains contested, with fighting likely continuing to take place within the town centre,” it added, according to European Pravda.
Since the beginning of October, Russia’s advance towards Pokrovsk has slowed significantly, the military added.
Friday 25 October 2024 14:07
Alex Croft
Weapons purchased from South Korea will not be transferred to Ukraine, the president of Poland Andrzej Duda has said.
Mr Duda was asked by reporters whether Poland would supply Kyiv with any arms it received from South Korea, if Seoul decides to supply Ukraine with weapons in future.
He said that Ukraine had requested the possible transfer of South Korean weapons to Kyiv - but Poland refused.
“There is no scenario in which we give someone the weapons we have recently bought for billions of zlotys from the pockets of our taxpayers. These weapons should serve the security and defence of the Republic of Poland,” he said.
North Korean troops to be deployed within days, Zelensky says
Friday 25 October 2024 13:40
Alex Croft
The Ukrainian military could be defending attacks by North Korean troops as soon as Sunday or Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukrainian intelligence had determined that the North Korean military was ready to be deployed by Putin’s forces within days, Zelensky said, in what he described as an “obvious escalating move by Russia”.
He did not provide any details on where the troops might be deployed.
It comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin was asked about satellite photos of North Korean troops in Russia during the Brics summit. “Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” he said.
The US said on Wednesday that Russia is training 3,000 North Korean troops to fight on Ukrainian soil.
Kremlin denies WSJ report of Elon Musk's contacts with Putin
Friday 25 October 2024 13:36
Tom Watling
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report about regular contacts between Elon Musk and President Vladimir Putin.
“No, this is not true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said that Putin had one contact with Musk - the world’s richest man - and it was before 2022.
The Journal said Musk had been in regular contact with Putin since late 2022. Peskov said the report was absolutely false.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy claims North Korean troops will be deployed by Russia in coming days
Friday 25 October 2024 13:18
Tom Watling
Georgia prepares for a divisive election which could determine its future in Europe
Friday 25 October 2024 12:43
Tom Watling
Zelensky says Russia to use North Korean troops in combat zones in coming days
Friday 25 October 2024 12:17
Tom Watling
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia plans to deploy North Korean troops to the battlefield starting 27 - 28 October, citing intelligence reports.
“According to intelligence reports, on October 27-28, the first North Korean military will be used by Russia in combat zones”, he said on the Telegram messenger after receiving reports from his top commander.
Mr Zelensky called on allies to respond to this “escalatory move” by applying “tangible pressure” on Moscow and Pyongyang.
Vladimir Putin denies having any contact with Donald Trump
Friday 25 October 2024 11:31
Tom Watling
A look at the latest developments on the frontline in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 11:07
Tom Watling
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) October 25, 2024
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 25 October 2024. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/gsoJYhs7fx
Dutch defense minister says intelligence confirms Russia is deploying North Korea troops
Friday 25 October 2024 10:44
Tom Watling
Dutch intelligence has confirmed that Russia has deployed at least 1,500 troops from North Korea to fight in the Ukraine war, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said Friday.
Moscow has not denied previous US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia, a move that the West is casting as a significant escalation of the war.
“We expect the troops will mainly be deployed in Kursk and consist of mainly special units from the North Korean army,” Brekelmans said, adding that the first deployment was a way for Russia to test the troops and to gauge international reaction.
Kursk is a Russian city near the Ukrainian border where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August.
Ukraine investigating North Korea's support for Russia as possible crime of aggression
Friday 25 October 2024 10:20
Tom Watling
Ukrainian prosecutors on Friday said they had launched an investigation into North Korea’s support for Russia in the war as a possible crime of aggression.
By arming and supplying ground forces engaged in fighting against Ukraine, North Korean officials could face charges, the Prosecutor Generals told Reuters.
“We are documenting and collecting evidence of all possible aspects of such involvement as part of the core proceeding on the crime of aggression,” the office said in a statement.
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region
Friday 25 October 2024 09:59
Tom Watling
US says North Korean troops ‘fair game’ if sent to fight in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 09:30
Tom Watling
In pictures: Kyiv attacked by Russian drone attack
Friday 25 October 2024 09:08
Tom Watling
South Korea vows response to North Korea bolstering Putin’s forces: ‘We won’t sit idle’
Friday 25 October 2024 08:53
Tom Watling
Ukraine destroys 36 Russian drones in overnight attack, air force says
Friday 25 October 2024 08:41
Tom Watling
Ukraine destroyed 36 out of 63 drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force said on Friday.
The drones were downed over various parts of Ukraine while 16 were “locationally lost”, it added.
Alexei Navalny’s posthumous memoir is a testament to resilience
Friday 25 October 2024 07:59
Arpan Rai
In a memoir released eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his cause is worth suffering for while also acknowledging he wished he could have written a very different book.
“There is a mishmash of bits and pieces, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary,” Navalny writes in “Patriot,” which was published Tuesday, and is, indeed, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary.
“I so much do not want my book to be yet another prison diary. Personally I find them interesting to read, but as a genre — enough is surely enough.”
Russia targets Kyiv in overnight drone attack
Friday 25 October 2024 07:11
Arpan Rai
Russia sent two waves of drones at the Ukrainian capital overnight in its 15th air attack on Kyiv this month, city officials said this morning.
More than a dozen drones were downed during the strike, which lasted around four hours, city military administrator Serhiy Popko said on Telegram.
He added that authorities had not received any reports of injuries and that debris had ignited a fire that was later extinguished.
Reuters correspondents reported hearing multiple explosions over the city early on Friday.
Russia making swift advance into east Ukraine's Selydove
Friday 25 October 2024 06:35
Arpan Rai
Russian forces have made a fast advance into the eastern Ukrainian coal mining town of Selydove, according to Russian media and war bloggers.
“The enemy’s defences crumbled suddenly,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. Other pro-Russian bloggers gave similar accounts, and said that Russia was now in control of part of Selydove.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper said that Russian forces were approaching the centre of Selydove, which had a population of over 20,000 before the war.
Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said the most intense Russian assaults along the entire front line were currently taking place in the vicinity of Selydove, and that Russia used both fighter and bomber aircraft to support its attack there.
The General Staff did not say whether or not the Russians were in the town or if Ukrainian forces had fallen back.
A Ukrainian frontline mapping project known as DeepState showed in its map Russian forces controlling the eastern outskirts of Selydove, while a significant chunk of its centre was assessed as a disputed “grey zone”.
Capturing Selydove would pave the way for a Russian advance on the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk, located about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Selydove.
Putin welcomes Trump’s offer to end conflict in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 06:14
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin was asked about former US president Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine at a news conference last might“What Mr Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”
If the United States was open to normal relations with Russia, Moscow would be as well, Mr Putin added.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Friday 25 October 2024 06:00
Tom Watling
Putin says ready to consider reality-based options to end conflict in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 05:36
Arpan Rai
Moscow was ready to consider any options to end conflict in Ukraine, but only proceeding from “reality on the ground”, Russian president Vladimir Putin said.
“We are prepared to consider any options for peace agreements based on the realities on the ground. And are not ready for anything else,” Mr Putin said.
What we know about North Korean troops joining Russia’s war in Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 05:00
Tom Watling
North Korean units already in Kursk region, says Kyiv intelligence
Friday 25 October 2024 04:56
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s military intelligence service said the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August.
“The first units of the military from the DPRK, which were trained at the eastern Russian training grounds, have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, on 23 October, 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian intelligence agency said in a statement.
It said a total of around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.
Russian deputy defence minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was appointed responsible for overseeing the training of North Korean military, the agency said.
The Kremlin has previously dismissed reports about the North’s troop deployment as “fake news”. But Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it was Moscow’s business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.
Putin neither confirms nor denies North Korean boots in Russia
Friday 25 October 2024 04:28
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin was asked about whether any North Korean troops were in Russia, which he neither confirmed nor denied. The US on Wednesday said that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations.
“Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” he said when asked about satellite photos of troops.
Mr Putin noted that lawmakers in Moscow earlier in the day ratified a pact with North Korea on mutual military assistance as part of a “strategic partnership” with Pyongyang.
“We have never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. What and how we will do within the framework of this article (of the agreement) is our business,” he said.
Putin ends Brics summit overshadowed by Ukraine
Friday 25 October 2024 04:09
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin closed a summit of the Brics bloc of developing economies last night, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West’s “perverse methods.”
The three-day summit in the city of Kazan was attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, highlighting the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
The conflict came up repeatedly at the meeting, which saw the first visit to Russia from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years and drew an angry reaction from Kyiv.
Mr Guterres called for “a just peace” in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. He also urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.
At a news conference last night, Mr Putin was asked about former US president Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine.
“What Mr Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Mr Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”