Archive for the ‘Ukraine’ Category

A New Concern on the Ukrainian Battlefield: North Korea’s Latest Missiles – Yahoo News

BERLIN When Russia turned to Kim Jong Un of North Korea to help it through its war with Ukraine, it came with a big shopping list that included 1 million rounds of artillery to shoot at Ukrainian troops dug into trenches across the south and east, and dozens of North Koreas newest, barely tested missiles.

Now those weapons are beginning to show up, deeply worrying U.S. and European officials who say they fear the Norths ammunition could prove important on the battlefield at a huge moment of vulnerability for Ukraine.

While many of the North Korean artillery rounds are proving to be duds some appear to have been manufactured decades ago they are giving the Russians something to fire at Ukrainian forces, who are rationing their own dwindling supply. European nations promised Ukraine a huge resupply, but for now seem to have been able to scrounge up only 300,000 or so artillery shells.

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But it is the missiles that raise the most concern, from the Pentagon to NATOs headquarters in Brussels. In interviews, a range of officials said they fear the Russians hope to use missiles to overwhelm Western air defenses. While so far the number of missiles transferred is small, likely fewer than 50, U.S. and European officials believe there could be far more to come.

And unlike with the artillery rounds, North Korea is not shipping its older equipment. An analysis by Conflict Armament Research, an organization that has documented the arms used in Russias war in Ukraine, showed the missiles being provided to Russia are more recent in their design. And U.S. officials say the missiles are proving as accurate as Russias home-built equipment. Three barrages of North Korean-made missiles targeted Ukrainian positions around the new year, U.S. officials say, and they believe more were used on the battlefield Sunday.

In South Korea, officials and analysts say the Ukraine war is giving the North something it desperately needs: a testing ground to see how its new missile arsenal, designed for a conflict with South Korea and the United States, fares against Western-designed air defenses.

The turn to North Korea, as the war approaches its second anniversary, reflects Russias own struggle to keep up with the pace at which both sides are burning through their stocks of arms. Russia has also turned to Iran for drones, and is reportedly seeking Iranian missiles as well though there is no evidence it has yet gotten them.

The bulk of the missiles being fired at Ukraine are still produced in Russia. But if North Korea steps up its supply, Ukraine could be forced to shoot off precious rounds of air defenses, a development that could be devastating to Ukraine if additional military funding is not approved by Congress, U.S. officials said. The imports have especially alarmed leading members of NATO, who have declined to speak publicly but say they worry the infusion of the North Korean arms could prove particularly troublesome at a time when Ukraine is uncertain about when, or from whom, it will receive its next supplies.

For now, the air defenses are holding. Last Tuesday, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that he believed the Ukrainian military had enough air defenses to survive the winter, two senior U.S. officials said.

But if North Korea increases its missile shipments, and Congress fails to pass additional aid, that calculation could change.

Russia has already obtained several dozen North Korean missiles and is hoping to acquire more. President Vladimir Putin of Russia said he planned to visit North Korea soon, according to North Korean state media. Russia has fired North Korean missiles against Ukraine at least three times since late December, including attacks on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6.

The missiles come on top of a steady stream of artillery shells, as many as 1 million rounds, that North Korea has agreed to ship to Russia. But the quality of those rounds is poor. Some have exploded inside Russian guns, and many of the rest have fallen harmlessly in underpopulated areas.

Quantity itself, however, matters on the battlefield. Last summer, Ukraine was firing as many as 7,000 artillery shells a day and had managed to damage Russias ammunition supplies to the point that Russia was firing about 5,000 rounds a day, according to U.S. and other Western analysts. Now the Ukrainians are struggling to fire 2,000 rounds daily, while Russian artillery, augmented by the North Korean shells, is reaching about 10,000 a day, analysts said.

Still, U.S. officials are far more worried about North Korean missiles.

After the first barrage, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, began working on an intensified effort to gather international support condemning the weapons transfer, and trying to increase pressure on North Korea to stop providing the missiles.

U.S. officials believe that at times since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, U.S. disclosures of North Korean shipments have caused North Korea to halt or delay further transfers.

The Russian transfers are coming at a critical time in the war in Ukraine, as further U.S. support hangs in the balance, subject to intense political debates on Capitol Hill. Ukraines ammunition needs will be a main focus of a virtual meeting of the countrys allies on Tuesday, to be led by Austin.

The United States has provided myriad air defense systems and ammunition to Ukraine. And U.S. officials have said those systems including Patriot batteries have proved capable of blunting the damage of Russian missile attacks.

But U.S. officials said that in order to provide more air defense systems and ammunition, Congress needs to approve an additional aid package.

U.S. officials say Ukrainian air defenses are a critical area of concern. After initial setbacks because of Western sanctions, Russia has rebuilt its industrial capacity and stockpiled missiles. But if Russia can get even more North Korean missiles, it will be able to more easily overcome Ukrainian defenses.

The Ukrainians continue to get attacked, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said Wednesday. They continue to come under artillery shell, air attacks, ballistic and cruise missile, as well as drone attacks from the Russians.

It will be difficult for the United States to stop those additional shipments. North Korea has been taking a more belligerent position in its foreign policy in recent days. It has declared that it would no longer seek reconciliation with the South, prompting some experts to speculate that the country may be seeking to provoke a new conflict although the evidence for that is fragmentary at best. Without question, though, it has focused on strengthening its ties with Russia.

Yet the nature of the renewed relationship is not clear. Russia is promising an array of technology in return for the Norths ballistic missiles, including aircraft and advanced technological know-how. But U.S. officials do not believe Russia has yet provided the weaponry or additional ballistic missile technology.

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A New Concern on the Ukrainian Battlefield: North Korea's Latest Missiles - Yahoo News

Zelensky signs decree recognizing some Russian territories as historically inhabited by Ukrainians – Kyiv Independent

Ukraine will take steps to research, publicize, and protect the histories of Ukrainians living in parts of modern-day Russia that have been historically inhabited by Ukrainians, according to a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 22.

Zelensky announced he had signed the decree during his address on Unity Day, a national holiday celebrated on Jan. 22 that marks the unification of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic in 1919 into one independent country.

The decree "On the Territories of the Russian Federation Historically Inhabited by Ukrainians" stipulates that the government should cooperate with international experts to create a plan "to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians" in specific territories of what is now Russia.

The decree listed the regions of Kuban, a historical region to the east of the Crimean Peninsula, Starodubshchyna, to the north of Chernihiv, and northern and eastern Slobozhanshchyna.

Also known as Sloboda Ukraine, Slobozhanshchyna was a significant and semi-autonomous region under Tsarist rule that extended across what is now northeastern Ukraine, predominantly Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts, and southwestern Russia.

Krasnodar Krai covers most of what was once Kuban, while Starodubshchyna now lies predominantly in Bryansk Oblast.

The decree also declares that the government should preserve the history of Ukrainians in these regions. Their testimonies on the forced Russification, political repression, and deportations they suffered should be recorded, according to the decree.

More work should also be done to counter "disinformation and propaganda of the Russian Federation regarding the history and present of Ukrainians in Russia" and to develop relations between Ukrainians and other "peoples enslaved by Russia," the decree says.

The government should work with the National Academy of Sciences to develop materials about the "more than a thousand-year history of Ukrainian state formation, the historical connections of lands inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians, and Ukrainian national state formations in various historical periods."

The "true history of ethnic Ukrainians in the lands historically inhabited by them within the borders of the Russian Federation" should also be included in educational textbooks, according to the decree.

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Zelensky signs decree recognizing some Russian territories as historically inhabited by Ukrainians - Kyiv Independent

Poland’s new PM Tusk criticizes neutrality in Russia’s war on Ukraine – Yahoo News

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed support for Ukraine and condemned those who choose to remain neutral in the Russian-Ukrainian war in a statement during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Jan. 22.

You are not alone; not least in the sense that this fight is happening in every country in Europe, Tusk said.

Read also: No tolerance for anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Tusks government

Today, anyone in the free world who claims neutrality, equal distance, or offers it to Ukraine and Russia deserves the darkest place in political hell.

Tusk became Polands new Prime Minister on Dec. 11, ending the eight-year rule of the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party, led by Jarosaw Kaczyski and previous PM Mateusz Morawiecki.

During his speech, Tusk emphasized the importance of further aid to Ukraine and called for the Wests full mobilization. He said that Russias attack on Ukraine is an attack on us all, and should be discussed in unison to unite allies.

I will never allow anyone in my government to base their position on any anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Tusk said in an interview with Polish TVN24 on Jan. 12.

Tusk visited Kyiv for the first time since his appointment on Jan. 22.

Read also: Zelenskyy meets Polish President Duda in Davos to discuss policy of support

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Poland's new PM Tusk criticizes neutrality in Russia's war on Ukraine - Yahoo News

Ukraine Targets Russian Oil Plants, Aiming to Disrupt Military Operations – The New York Times

Ukraine hit an oil depot in Russia in a drone attack on Friday, officials on both sides said, the latest in a series of recent assaults targeting Russian oil facilities as Kyiv increasingly seeks to strike critical infrastructure behind Russian lines.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, said oil tanks in the town of Klintsy had caught fire after a drone dropped munitions on the depot. The drone, he added, was brought down by electronic jamming. A Ukrainian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukraine was behind the assault.

Fridays attack was the fourth on a Russian oil facility in the past three weeks, in what experts say is an effort by Ukraine to deliver setbacks to Russias military capabilities by targeting the facilities that supply fuel to tanks, fighter jets and other critical military equipment.

Strikes on oil depots and oil storage facilities disrupt logistics routes and slow down combat operations, said Olena Lapenko, an energy security expert at DiXi Group, a Ukrainian think tank. Disruption of these supplies, which are like blood for the human body, is part of a wider strategy to counter Russia on the battlefield.

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Ukraine Targets Russian Oil Plants, Aiming to Disrupt Military Operations - The New York Times

Poland’s Tusk Arrives in Ukraine to Reset Frayed Ties – TIME

KYIV, Ukraine Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Ukraine's capital Monday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on how Poland can keep supporting the country's almost two-year war with Russia and resolve a dispute between the neighboring nations over grain shipments and trucking.

Tusk, who returned to power in Poland last month and is keen to show that a change in government won't bring a change in Ukraine policy, was also due to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

There are some conflicts of interest, we know it well and we will talk about them, but not only in the spirit of friendship, which is obvious, but with the attitude to solve these problems as soon as possible, not to maintain or multiply them, Tusk said, according to comments posted on X, formerly Twitter, by his office.

For me, it is very important to build the feeling that Poland is the most reliable, most stable ally of Ukraine in this deadly clash with evil, Tusk said.

His visit took place the day after Moscow-installed officials in eastern Ukraine reported that Ukrainian shellingkilled at least 27 peopleon the outskirts of a Russian-occupied city. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the shelling outside Donetsk a monstrous terrorist act, and the Russia-backed local authorities declared a day of mourning.

The Ukrainian military, however, denied it had anything to do with the attack.

It was not immediately possible to verify either side's claims.

Ukraines allies have in recent weeks sought to reassure the country that they are committed to its long-term defense against the Kremlins forces amidconcerns that Western supportcould be sagging.British Prime Minister Rishi SunakandFrances new foreign ministeralso traveled to Kyiv recently.

Located on NATOs eastern flank, Poland has been one of Ukraine's strongest allies in its fight to defeat Russia. The government in Warsaw has provided weapons and humanitarian aid, and opened its borders to Ukrainian refugees since Moscow's troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Butrelations soured last yearas economic competition from Ukrainian food producers and truckers angered Poles who said their livelihoods were under threat.

Polish farmers and truckers blockaded border crossings, causing backups and threatening theflow of some aidgoing into Ukraine.

Polish farmers complained that imports of Ukrainian foods had caused prices to fall, hurting their incomes, while truckers said they were being undercut by their Ukrainian counterparts. The issuesurfaced during the waras Ukrainian ports were blocked and food producers turned to road routes through Europe to get their products to market.

At one point, Poland and some other European nations banned Ukrainian grain imports because of the trade dispute.

Poland's farmers and trucks have ended their protests for now, but Tusk is seeking ways of addressing their concerns. He has said that his country wants to help Ukraine economically but not at the expense of Polish businesses. He has suggested that Ukraine needs to better regulate its trucking industry.

Tusk was also scheduled to honor Ukrainian fighters and attend observances of the Day of Ukraines Unity, which marks Ukraines long struggle to be independent from both its eastern and western neighbors.

In other war-related developments, Ukraines air force said it intercepted all eight Shahed drones that Russia launch overnight over southern and central regions of Ukraine.

Debris from three drones shot down over the central Dnipropetrovsk region started a fire at an unnamed business but no human casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, major Ukrainian digital banking platform Monobank said it came under a massive denial-of-service (DoS) attack by unidentified hackers.

The attack was successfully repelled, the bank said, with no major consequences. Monobank is one of Ukraine's biggest banks.

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This story has been corrected to show that Denys Shmyhal is Ukraine's prime minister, not defense minister.

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Monika Scislowska contributed from Warsaw, Poland.

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Poland's Tusk Arrives in Ukraine to Reset Frayed Ties - TIME