Ukraine Russia latest war: North Koreans legitimate military target in Putin’s ‘meat grinder’ war, Blinken says

The US and South Korea have turned to China to use their influence over Russia and North Korea to prevent escalation after Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Beijing has remained quiet so far.

In a rare meeting earlier this week, three top US diplomats met with China’s ambassador to the United States to highlight US concerns and urge China to use its influence over North Korea to limit cooperation , a State Department official said. on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that the sides “had a robust conversation this week” and that China knows the US expects “to use the leverage they have to curb these activities.”

“But I think this is a demand signal that comes not just from us, but from countries around the world,” he said at a news conference in Washington with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a statement that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is “consistent and clear.”

Russia has trained North Korean soldiers in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearance, indicating their full intention to use these forces in front-line operations,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

North Korea’s efforts to tighten relations with Russia have raised concerns around the world about how it could expand the war in Ukraine and what Russian military aid will be provided in return.

It has become a hot topic as U.S. and South Korean leaders met in Washington this week, fueling concerns that the presence of these soldiers would further destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and widen Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Ukraine believes that around 12,000 North Korean soldiers are already involved in the Russian war against the country, which will soon last a thousand days.

Ukraine, along with South Korea, were the first officials to raise the alarm against North Korean soldiers entering the war from the Russian side.

The U.S. officials said they estimate there are about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. Seoul and its allies estimate the number has risen to 11,000.

Just over a week ago, reports began of North Korean troops arriving in Russia’s Kursk region to help Russian forces fight a Ukrainian border incursion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that North Korean officers and technical personnel have already been spotted in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. “I believe they first sent officers to assess the situation before deploying troops,” Zelensky said. He has warned that the participation of a third country could escalate the conflict into a world war.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said some North Korean soldiers had already moved closer to Ukraine and were believed to be heading towards the Kursk border area. Russian forces are facing difficulties in pushing back the cross-border incursion into Ukraine, which was launched on August 6.

This came within hours of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirming recent Ukrainian intelligence reports about the presence of North Korean military units deployed in Kursk, near the Ukrainian border.

Russian forces attacked a strategic bridge over the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi estuary in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, launching two Iskander ballistic missiles and eight guided missiles, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.

The bridge has been targeted several times in the past two years and is an important rail and car connection in the region.

The Ukrainian military added that Russia used two ballistic missiles to attack the eastern city of Kramatorsk.

The air force shot down 17 of 43 drones and two guided missiles that Russia launched overnight, the report said, adding that 23 drones were “locationally lost”, likely due to electronic warfare and that three more left Ukrainian-controlled airspace.

All drones threatening the capital Kiev were neutralized by air defenses.

A Russian court has fined Google $2.5 decillion for allegedly blocking pro-Kremlin propaganda on YouTube.

The fine, which is the equivalent of $2.5 trillion trillion, is the result of four years of accumulating fines, with the amount currently doubling every week under Russian law.

The original fine of 100,000 rubles was imposed on the US tech giant in 2020 after media outlets Tsargrad and RIA FAN won lawsuits regarding restrictions on their YouTube channels.

Anthony Cuthbertson reports:

The US expects North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region to battle Ukraine in the coming days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

There are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region, the top US diplomat said. Ukrainian forces continue to hold territory in Kursk after pushing their way into the Russian border area in August.

At a news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts, Mr. Blinken said Russia has trained North Korean soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, and basic infantry operations, signaling that they are “fully intent” to the armed forces in frontline operations.

They would become legitimate military targets if they entered the battlefield, he said.

“We have not yet seen these troops deployed in combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect this to happen in the coming days,” he said.

During their meeting, the US and South Korea discussed a range of options for responding, Mr Blinken added. He said Moscow’s use of North Korean soldiers in its “meat grinder” war against Ukraine was a “clear sign of weakness.”

At least three, including a child and a teenager, were killed in a Russian-led bomb attack on Kharkiv.

The death toll was confirmed yesterday after rescue teams completed recovery operations at a high-rise building in the northeastern Ukrainian city.

Emergency services said children aged 12 and 15 were among those killed during Wednesday night’s strike, and thirty-six people were injured.

Kharkiv Region Governor Oleh Syniehubov said earlier that one of the children was pulled from the rubble with head wounds and fractures, but doctors were unable to save him.

Mr Syniehubov said the strike had caused a fire and destroyed most of one entrance, leaving a huge hole in the building.

Kharkov remained in Ukrainian hands during the initially failed advance of Russian forces into the capital Kiev in the early days of the February 2022 invasion. It has since become a frequent target of Russian airstrikes.

The Kremlin rejects the report on talks between Russia and Ukraine on halting attacks on energy facilities

The Kremlin has dismissed a report that Russia and Ukraine are in the early stages of negotiations on a possible halt to air strikes on each other’s energy facilities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there were many reports “that have nothing to do with reality”.

The Financial timesciting sources that the report said included senior Ukrainian officials, reported that Ukraine wanted to resume talks that had come close to an agreement in August and were mediated by Qatar.