Concerns that North Korea is preparing to join Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached a fever pitch on Saturday, with Ukraine’s military intelligence chief saying the 11,000 hermit kingdom troops stationed in the Kremlin were “ready to fight.” “There is,” he warned.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief Kirillo Budanov said up to 2,600 North Korean soldiers would be sent to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine occupies a significant amount of territory, by November 1 after a successful invasion that began in August. He said it was planned.
“It will be ready by November 1,” Budanov told defense industry news organization The War Zone.
North Korean forces are believed to be using Russian equipment and ammunition, but further information is unclear at this time.
A video released by Ukrainian authorities on Saturday purportedly shows dozens of North Korean soldiers lining up to receive bags, clothes and other clothing from Russian servicemen.
“We received this video from an independent source. Due to security concerns, we are unable to provide additional verification from the source who provided the information,” Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security said. Director Ihor Solovey said.
“This video clearly shows North Korean citizens being given Russian-made military uniforms under the direction of the Russian military.…For Ukraine, this video clearly shows that North Korea is participating in the war on the Russian side. It is important because it is the first video evidence showing that it now includes not only weapons and shells, but also personnel. ”
The foreign ministers of France and Ukraine said at a joint press conference in Kiev on Saturday that the involvement of North Korean troops was a “huge” escalation of the Eastern European conflict.
“It is serious and would push the conflict to a new level, to a further escalation,” France’s Jean-Noël Barrault said in Kiev, adding that such a move would show Russia was struggling in the war. He added that it would be.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha added: “This is a major threat of further escalation of Russian aggression in Ukraine.” There is significant risk of growth beyond our current size and borders. ”
This shocking potential escalation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced for the first time that about 10,000 North Korean troops were joining Moscow’s serious push to seize more land this fall. This happened just days after the alarm bells were sounded.
Russia denies accusations that North Korean troops were airlifted to the European country, and both countries deny claims that they were involved in arms transfers.
NATO chief Mark Rutte also said there was no evidence of North Korea’s presence at this stage.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) argued Friday that North Korea’s participation in Ukraine would cross a “red line” that, if true, would The troop movement “requires immediate action by the United States and its NATO allies to avoid conflict,” it said. “The conflict is escalating,” he said in a letter to the White House.
He also noted that lawmakers had not been briefed on the matter and asked for more information.
Separately, on Saturday Ukrainian drones attacked a Russian electronics factory used to make weapons, and on Friday 180 prisoners were suddenly exchanged, the Kiev Independent reported.
Kremny El, one of Russia’s largest microelectronics factories, caught fire on Friday night after a Ukrainian drone attack. The factory, located about 92 miles north of the Ukrainian border, produces weapons for the Kremlin, including air defense and missile systems. There were no casualties, and the Russian government claimed to have shot down 13 Ukrainian drones in other attacks during the night. Russia and Ukraine conducted their 58th prisoner exchange on Friday. Among the 190 detainees released was a Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist serving a 13-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to firing a grenade launcher into an apartment shortly after the war broke out. Activist Maxim Butkevich was also included. Ukraine repatriated 95 other prisoners, 20 of whom were given long prison sentences and a further 28 with life sentences.
with post wire
