Russia Selenskyj: Need weapons against North Korean soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has lamented the lack of weapons to combat the North Korean soldiers in the service of the Russian army who are advancing towards the front. "We can see all the places where these North Korean soldiers are, every camp," he said in his evening video address. "We could strike in advance if we had the capability and range (of weapons)."
But this, in turn, would depend on Ukraine's partners. Even after months of requests, they have not given Kiev permission to use long-range weapons to attack military targets on Russian territory.
"Instead of giving us the decisive long-range capability, the USA, Great Britain and Germany are just watching," complained Selenskyj. "Everyone is waiting while North Korean units prepare to attack Ukrainians."
Selenskyj called on Ukraine's supporters to intervene. "Anyone in the world who really wants to prevent this war between Russia and Ukraine from spreading and spreading from Europe to other regions of the world must not just stand by and watch."
USA: 8,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk
Just the day before, the White House had spoken of up to 8,000 soldiers from North Korea stationed in the Kursk region of western Russia. Washington assumes that these units will soon be deployed in combat. More could follow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean soldiers in his own country and pointed out that Ukraine also relies on personnel from NATO countries.
Internationally isolated North Korea, under the leadership of dictatorial ruler Kim Jong Un, has been supplying Russia with missiles and artillery shells for some time now.
North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has now assured Moscow of Pyongyang's help until victory in the war against Ukraine. "Once again, we promise that we will always stand firmly by the side of our Russian comrades until the day of victory," said Choe at a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Lavrov emphasized the close cooperation between the military and security agencies of the two countries.
Russian missile attack on Kharkiv - drones against Sumy
According to official reports, at least one person was killed in a Russian missile attack on a police station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv this evening. 26 police officers and four civilians suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack, regional military administrator Oleh Synyehubov announced on the Telegram platform. "The doctors are now fighting for their lives."
According to initial investigations, the police station was hit by at least two rockets. Kharkiv has repeatedly been the target of Russian air and missile attacks in recent months. Other cities in Ukraine have also been attacked without any recognizable pattern. The aim of these often seemingly indiscriminate attacks is to put pressure on the Ukrainian civilian population.
Shortly afterwards, a Russian attack using combat drones was reported from the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy. One of these drones hit a multi-storey residential building, the authorities reported. Five people were seriously injured, including a pregnant woman.
USA pledges further military aid to Ukraine
The USA is providing Ukraine with additional military equipment to defend against the Russian war of aggression. The new package is worth around 425 million US dollars (around 392 million euros), the US Department of Defense announced. Among other things, it contains ammunition for Himars missile launcher systems and for the Nasams air defense system as well as 155 and 105 millimeter caliber artillery ammunition.
The USA is Ukraine's most important ally and largest arms supplier in its defensive campaign against Russia. According to the Pentagon, the USA has provided military aid worth more than 60.4 billion US dollars (around 55.7 billion euros) to Kiev since the start of the war.
The outcome of the US presidential election in a few days' time will have a significant influence on whether or not Kiev can continue to hope for large-scale support from the US in the future. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened not to continue with this if he wins the election.
Report: High losses for Ukraine
According to a report in the New York Times, which cites US military and intelligence sources, Ukraine has already suffered 57,000 casualties in the course of the war so far. This corresponds to just under half the losses of the Russian side, but is of great significance for the smaller Ukraine. In view of the recent territorial gains made by the Russian military in eastern Ukraine, a threatening situation has also arisen. US observers therefore doubt the Ukrainians' ability to stop the advance of Russian troops.
The "NYT" also sees the most important development for Kiev "not on the battlefield, but at the ballot box" in the presidential election in the USA. The different starting positions of ex-President Trump, who wants to end the war quickly, while his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris wants to continue supporting Ukraine, "weigh heavily on the Ukrainians".
US military experts do not see Ukraine's biggest current problem as being weapons and ammunition. Rather, Ukraine's biggest shortcoming is its troop strength. Kiev has hesitated too long to lower the conscription age of 25 years, so the country could run out of troops. According to the newspaper, the Pentagon therefore estimates that Ukraine still has enough soldiers available for six to twelve months.
SDA
