2024-12-16 11:11:00
► North Korea’s involvement represents a “dangerous broadening” of the conflict
The support “direct” from North Korea to Russia in the conflict against Ukraine represents “a dangerous enlargement” of war, the United States and its allies warned on Monday 16 December.
“We urge North Korea to immediately cease all assistance to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, including the withdrawal of its troops.”the heads of diplomacy of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the United States and the European Union declared in a statement.
Moscow and Pyongyang signed an official defense agreement in early December, sealing their rapprochement marked, according to Washington, by the dispatch of more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers to help Russia in the fight against Ukraine.
► It is Russia that “should be forced” to negotiate with Kiev and not the other way around
The head of Polish diplomacy believed it must be Russia “forced” start peace negotiations and not Kiev, while Europe fears pressure from the future Trump administration for an agreement to the detriment of Kiev.
Washington and the EU should help Ukraine “to reach a better position for possible future negotiations, in which it is the aggressor who should be encouraged and coerced, and not the victim”estimates Radoslaw Sikorski in Brussels.
► Trump wants to talk to Putin and Zelensky to stop the “carnage”
US President-elect Donald Trump wants to talk to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj to stop the “carnage” of the war in Ukraine, he said at a press conference.
“We will talk to President Putin and talk” ha “Zelensky and the representatives of Ukraine. We have to stop it, it’s carnage.”said Donald Trump from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
► Putin welcomes his army’s progress
Russian President Vladimir Putin took stock of the fighting in Ukraine for 2024, appreciating the pace of his troops’ advance and having «the initiative» all over the front at the end of this “crucial year”. The Russian president then claimed responsibility for the capture “of 189 locations” course 2024.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov, who spoke after Vladimir Putin, told him that Russia has conquered 4,500 km2 of Ukrainian territory this year and is currently advancing “30 km2 per day”.
Vladimir Putin also once again accused NATO countries of posing a threat to Russia. “NATO countries are increasing their military spending. Alliance strike groups formed and assembled near Russia’s borders »he charged, as the Alliance strengthened its presence in Eastern Europe due to the Russian assault on its neighbor.
► EU sanction Chinese entities accused of helping Russia
The European Union announced that it has adopted, for the first time, extensive sanctions against seven Chinese entities and personalities accused of aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine.
These extensive sanctions include a ban on travel to the EU, a freezing of assets in the EU, but also a ban on any European company from financing them, a statement from the 27 reads.
One person and two entities have been sanctioned for helping Moscow evade Western sanctions adopted against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Four companies were also sanctioned for supplying sensitive components for drone production, including motors to equip long-range drones and microprocessors used by Russia’s military industry.
► North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk
This was stated by the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR) on Monday 16 December.“at least 30 soldiers” North Koreans, fighting alongside the Russian army, were wounded or killed on Saturday and Sunday in Russia’s Kursk region, partially occupied by Kiev’s forces.
According to this source, these North Koreans were engaged in fighting near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorojba and Martynovka in Russia’s Kursk region, partially occupied by Ukrainian forces since August.
According to Westerners, several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian army. For its part, the Kremlin has each time evaded questions on the subject, not wanting to confirm this information. Pyongyang has neither confirmed nor denied this unprecedented deployment.
► The Russian army claims the capture of a new location in the East
The Russian army has claimed the conquest of a new location in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been retreating for months, facing a larger and more armed opponent.
“Thanks to the resolute action of the units of the Southern Group of Forces, the village of Yelyzavtivka (…) was liberated”the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The town is located about ten kilometers south of Kourakhové, an industrial city that Moscow has been trying to conquer for weeks.
The day before he had claimed responsibility for the capture of the village of Vessely Gaï, south of Kurakhové, and that of Pushkiné, south of Pokrovsk, a mining town in Donbass and an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army.
Despite heavy losses, but with numerical and weapons superiority, the Russians accelerated their advance into Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region, where Kurakhové and Pokrovsk are located.
► Zelenskiy offers grain deliveries to Syria
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Sunday that he would supply Syria with wheat and other agricultural products on a humanitarian basis, a week after the fall of Moscow’s ally Bashar Al Assad.
“Now we can help Syrians with our wheat, flour and oil: our products that are used globally to ensure food security”he declared in his daily speech.
Today I discussed with our government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food about food aid under the “Grain from Ukraine” program, in particular aid to Syria.
This humanitarian initiative has already done…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) December 15, 2024
“We are coordinating with our partners and the Syrian side to resolve logistical issues. We will support this region so that stability becomes the foundation of our movement towards real peace”and Volodymyr Zelenskyj added.
According to him, these possible deliveries will be part of the program «Ukrainian wheat»inaugurated in 2022 to provide food aid to the poorest countries.
Even at war, Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain producers, maintains immense production capabilities.
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