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

Around 8,000 North Korean troops expected to enter battlefield in coming days, says US

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North Korea’s soldiers fighting on behalf of Russia inside Vladimir Putin’s ‘meat grinder’ war will be a legitimate military target, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

The top US diplomat said that the North Korean soldiers will enter the war in Ukraine “in coming days” as he confirmed there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region.

The US and South Korea have ramped up their pitch calling on North Korea to withdraw their troops already inside Ukraine and fighting alongside Russia.

“Should DPRK’s troops enter Ukraine in support of Russia, they will surely return in body bags. So I would advise Chairman Kim to think twice about engaging in such reckless and dangerous behaviour,” Robert Wood, US envoy to the UN, said.

On the war front, at least three, including a 12-year-old boy and a teenager, were killed in a Russian-guided bomb strike on Kharkiv. A child aged 12 was among the dead in the Wednesday evening strike, and thirty-six people were injured.

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

In a rare meeting earlier this week, three top US diplomats met with China’s ambassador to the United States to emphasise US concerns and urge China to use its sway with North Korea to try to curtail the cooperation, according to a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken said yesterday that the sides had “a robust conversation just this week” and that China knows US expectations are that “they’ll use the influence that they have to work to curb these activities.”

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

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

Russia has been training North Korean soldiers in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in front line operations,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

North Korea’s efforts to tighten its relationship with Russia has raised concerns around the world about how that may expand the war in Ukraine and what Russian military aid will be delivered in exchange.

It’s become a key topic as US and South Korean leaders met this week in Washington, fuelling concerns that the presence of those soldiers will further destabilise the Asia-Pacific region and broaden Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Ukraine believes around 12,000 North Korean soldiers are already involved in Russia’s war on the country which is going to clock 1,000 days soon.

Ukraine, alongside South Korea, were the first officials to alarm against North Korea’s soldiers entering the war from Russian side.

The US officials said they estimate there are about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. Seoul and its allies assess that the number has increased to 11,000.

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

The Pentagon has said that North Korea dispatched 10,000 troops to Russia, with some of them believed to be heading to the Kursk border to join Vladimir Putin’s forces in their invasion of Ukraine amid the biggest conflict Europe has seen since the Second World War.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said some North Korean soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine and were believed to be heading for the Kursk border region. The Russian forces are facing difficulty in pushing back Ukraine’s cross-border incursion launched on 6 August.

This came within hours of Nato secretary general Mark Rutte confirming recent Ukrainian intelligence reports of the presence of North Korean military units deployed to Kursk near the Ukrainian border.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh says North Korean soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine and were believed to be heading for Kursk

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

The bridge has been a target several times over the past two years, and is an important railway and car connection in the region.

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

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

All drones threatening the capital Kyiv were disabled by air defence.

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 trillion, is the result of four years of accumulated fines, with the figure currently doubling every week under Russian law.

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

Anthony Cuthbertson reports:

US tech giant receives $2.5 decillion penalty after taking action against Russian propaganda

The US expects North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region to enter the fight against 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 fighting their way into the Russian border area in August.

At a press conference with defence secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts, Mr Blinken said Russia has been training the North Korean soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and basic infantry operations, indicating they “fully intend” to use the forces in frontline operations.

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

“We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that 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, saying 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 on a Russian-guided bomb strike on Kharkiv.

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

Emergency services said children aged 12 and 15 were among the dead in the Wednesday evening strike, and thirty-six people were injured.

Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov earlier said that one of the children had been pulled from under rubble with head wounds and fractures, but medics were unable to save him.

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

Kharkiv remained in Ukrainian hands through the initial failed advance of Russian forces on the capital Kyiv in the early days of the February 2022 invasion. It has since become a frequent target of Russian air attacks.

Kremlin dismisses report about Russia-Ukraine talks on halting strikes on energy facilities

The Kremlin has dismissed a report that Russia and Ukraine are in the early stages of negotiations about potentially halting airstrikes on each other’s energy facilities.

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

The Financial Times, citing sources who it said included senior Ukrainian officials, reported that Ukraine was seeking to resume talks that had come close to an agreement in August and were mediated by Qatar.

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