MEZIESBLOG

North Korean soldiers have actively joined fighting alongside Russian forces, according to the US State Department. 

“Over 10,000 DPRK (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” state department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

It’s the first time the US has said that North Korean troops are actively engaged in fighting against Ukraine. 

Reports suggest that Vladimir Putin is trying to recover the Kursk region from Ukraine before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January – effectively removing it from any potential negotiating table. 

Ukrainian troops launched an invasion of the area earlier this year and have successfully held parts of the Russian territory. 

US and European news outlets suggested that as many 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops had massed on the border of the region in the last few days. 

Ukraine claims attack on Russian oil depot

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for starting a large fire after striking an oil depot on Russian soil. 

The Russian governor of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, reported a drone attack on the depot in the Starooskolsky district in the early hours of the morning. 

“As a result of the explosion, one of the [fuel] tanks caught fire,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said. 

Ten fire crews worked until they extinguished the fire, he said. 

Now, the Ukrainian armed forces said members of its special forces, unmanned division and others carried out the attack

Russia reports drone attacks by Ukraine

Russia’s defence ministry claims that 13 Ukrainian drones have been downed over border regions in the past few hours. 

Two were shot down over Bryansk, while 11 were destroyed over Belgorod, according to the ministry. 

Border regions in both Russia and Ukraine have come under frequent drone attacks from the opposite side in recent months.

Ukraine has not responded to the claims by the Russian MoD. 

Moldova reports third drone in as many days

Moldovan police have reported a third drone to have landed on its soil in as many days.

“Police officers from Criuleni were alerted about the detection of a drone in the outskirts of the locality of Cosernita,” police said.

Two more drones were found in different parts of the country on Sunday.

Those two were found in the northern village of Borosenii Noi and the southern village of Firladeni, local police said, after a Russian drone attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

They could have been decoy drones – deployed by Russia to use up valuable Ukrainian air defence munitions. 

At the time, the foreign ministry said Chisinau strongly condemned their landing on Moldova’s territory.