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The Sun
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
North Korea ‘offers 30,000 MORE troops' for Putin's meatgrinder war after tyrant Kim Jong-un wept over soldiers' coffins
NORTH Korea is reportedly planning to send 30,000 more troops to fight alongside the Russians against Ukraine. It comes just a day after tyrant Kim Jong-un wept over the coffins of his soldiers whom he sent to die in Vladimir Putin's meatgrinder war. 12 12 12 12 North Korea has so far sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, according to Ukrainian officials. And a new Ukrainian intelligence assessment says Pyongyang is preparing to dispatch 30,000 more soldiers in the coming months to join the fight with the Russians, CNN reports. According to the intel report, there is a high chance that troops from North Korea will soon enter Russian-occupied Ukraine 'to strengthen the Russian contingent, including during the large-scale offensive operations.' The document adds Russian Ministry of Defence is "capable of providing needed equipment, weapons and ammunition' with the aim of 'further integration to Russian combat units.' Ukrainian intelligence also reported that Russian military aircraft are being modified to carry thousands of military personnel. Last week, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that a dispatch of those 6,000 additional military personnel will likely come as early as July or August, North Korea has begun recruiting soldiers to be sent to Russia, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. He told reporters the NIS noted that North Korea's dispatch of combat troops last year came about one month after Shoigu visited North Korea and signed an agreement with Pyongyang officials. In return for North Korea's supply of troops and weapons, Russia is believed to have given North Korea military and economic assistance. South Korea, the US and their allies are concerned that Russia could even transfer sensitive technologies that can enhance North Korea's nuclear program. Watch moment North Korean quadbike troops WIPED OUT as Putin sends waves into meatgrinder to retake Kursk from Ukraine In April, Kim Jong-un confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops were sent to fight alongside the Russians against Ukraine. Pyongyang's state TV and Kim's propaganda machine KCNA reported that North Korean soldiers made an "important contribution" to help the Russians flush out Kyiv's troops from Kursk. It said Kim deployed "sub-units of our armed forces" to Russia as part of a treaty with Moscow. The troops "participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas," the report added. North Korea "regards it as an honor to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation," KCNA said. Just two days ago, Kim draped flags over at least six coffins, and could be seen resting his hands on them in reflection. Watching the scenes back, the dictator's eyes shone with emotion. Other members of the audience - which reportedly included North Korean and Russian soldiers - were also visibly moved. Kim hosted a ceremony which remembered the soldiers taken out by Zelensky's brave army - and things got emotional for the tyrant. Thousands of North Koreans stood to attention in the vast auditorium, with Kim in the front row. Images of Kim draping the North Korean flag over soldiers' coffins were broadcast on a giant screen at the front while a huge orchestra played emotional music. Women in long dresses sang passionately and there was even a harp player stationed on the stage. 12 12 12 In January, Ukraine claimed to have captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. They were among the first 11,000 of Kim's troops drafted into Putin's illegal war after the pariah pair sealed a pact to unite against the West. The military card of one of the captured men shows that the Russians gave the North Koreans fake identities with the pretence that they were from a remote region of Siberia. One of the captives was given a false Russian identity of Antonin Ayasovich Arankyn, born 03.10.1998 in the republic of Tuva. His document shows him to be single, with secondary higher education and the profession of a tailor. The ID was issued by the Military Commissariat of the Pyi-Khemsky district, of Tuva, a mountainous Russian republic bordering Mongolia. The other had no documents. The SBU believes the pair are North Koreans after saying that the captive soldiers do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian. The soldier with the Russian identity said this was issued to him when he was brought to fight in the war. Images have shown a line of dead North Korean troops laid out in the snow moments after they joined the fight on the front lines. Numerous reports have shown a disturbing pattern beginning to emerge of North Korean troops being sent out on suicide missions on behalf of Russia. Footage emerged recently of Kim Jong-un's fighters being sent to jog through snowy no-man's-land and fatally soak up Ukrainian ammo. 12 12 12 12
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says it has advanced in Sumy region and claims Moscow has lost 1 million troops
The Ukrainian military says it has begun pushing back Russian troops in the northeastern Sumy region, where it is preparing a counteroffensive following advances by Moscow. Fighting has intensified despite a return to direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in recent months. Russian forces have carved out a 200 square kilometre (77.22 square miles) chunk of Ukraine's Sumy region and first entered the Dnipropetrovsk region last month. 'Our troops maintain defenses along the designated border, conduct preparation and counter-offensive measures to repel the enemy,' the Ukrainian military's General Staff said on Facebook. 'Yes, as a result of the successful actions of Ukrainian soldiers, the settlement of Andriyivka was liberated. In addition, our units advanced in the area of Oleksíivka, pushing the opponent away from Sumy.' The General Staff also claimed on Monday that Russia has lost more than one million troops during its invasion of Ukraine after losing more than 1,000 in the past day alone. The figures from Kyiv have not been verified by independent sources - but the Center for Strategic & International Studies reported earlier this month that up to 250,000 soldiers have been killed with up to 950,000 casualties.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ukrainian commander says forces face new assault on city at eastern front
Ukraine 's top commander said on Saturday that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther southwest. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. READ MORE 'The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing,' Syrskyi said. 'The aggressor is trying to break through our defences and advance along three operating sectors.' [ 'It's much worse than a few months ago': Kyiv's sleepless nights under fire Opens in new window ] A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were 'the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions'. Syrskyi also said Ukrainian forces had in the past week withstood a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defence Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka – further southwest, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognising Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russia also controls the Crimean peninsula. [ Zelenskiy appoints new commander to tackle Ukraine's troop shortages Opens in new window ] Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the above four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. – Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russian Drone Strike Kills 2, Wounds 14 in Ukraine's Odesa
Two people were killed and at least 14 wounded when a Russian drone smashed into a residential high-rise in Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa, authorities said on Saturday. Three children were among the wounded in the overnight attack, with one in critical condition, said regional Governor Oleh Kiper. Footage posted by the State Emergency Service showed firefighters battling a blaze and rushing residents down a dark stairwell in the 21-storey building. Separately, authorities of Ukraine's southern Kherson region said one person was killed and three others were wounded in Russian strikes over the past day. "Russian troops targeted critical and social infrastructure and residential areas in the region," Kherson's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram early on Saturday. Russia has stepped up drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as diplomatic efforts to end the nearly three-and-a-half-year-old war have stalled.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Ukraine halts Russia's advance in northern Sumy region, commander says
Smoke rises from an explosion following a Russian drone strike on Sumy, Ukraine, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have halted Russia's recent advance into the northern Sumy region and have stabilized the front line near the border with Russia, Ukraine's top military commander said Thursday. Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the front line. His claim couldn't be independently verified, and Russian officials made no immediate comment. Russian forces have been slowly grinding forward at some points on the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line, though their incremental gains have been costly in terms of troop casualties and armor. The outnumbered Ukrainian army has relied heavily on drones to keep the Russians back. Months of U.S.-led international efforts to stop the more than three years of fighting have failed. Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000. It lies about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front line. Russia's push into the Sumy region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defenses there. A special defense group has been formed to improve security in Sumy and surrounding communities, Syrskyi said. It's focusing on improving fortifications and accelerating construction of defensive barriers. In March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from much of Russia's neighboring Kursk region, parts of which they had controlled after a surprise cross-border attack in August. That retreat enabled Russia to launch a counteroffensive that advanced between 2-12 kilometres (1-7 miles) into Ukrainian territory, according to different estimates. Ukrainian officials say fierce fighting is also taking place in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces have captured two villages, Novoserhiivka and Shevchenko, in Donetsk. Capturing Shevchenko marked an important stage in Russia's ongoing offensive that is trying to break into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, which borders Donetsk and is a major industrial center, according to the Defense Ministry. Meanwhile, the two sides continued to launch long-range strikes. Russia's Defense Ministry said that 50 Ukrainian drones were downed over nine regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region. Ukraine's air force said that Russia deployed 41 Shahed and decoy drones across the country overnight, wounding five people. It said that 24 drones were either intercepted or jammed. ___ Illia Novikov, The Associated Press
