Russian drones target Kyiv region

Officials successful Ukraine’s superior said Thursday that Russia attacked the portion with astir a twelve aerial drones overnight.

Serhii Popko, caput of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Ukraine’s aerial defenses changeable down each of the drones and that determination were nary reports of casualties oregon damage.

In the Mykolaiv portion successful confederate Ukraine, Governor Vitalii Kim said connected Telegram the subject changeable down 3 Russian drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 7 Ukrainian aerial drones, including 4 implicit the Kursk portion and 3 implicit the Black Sea.

Officials successful Russia’s Bryansk portion besides reported respective drones were changeable down determination overnight.

North Korean troops

The United States said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops were dispatched to Russia earlier this period and are being trained there, perchance to combat alongside Moscow’s troops successful their warfare against Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that what Pyongyang’s soldiers are doing successful Russia is “left to beryllium seen.” White House nationalist information spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is “working intimately with our allies and partners to summation a afloat knowing of the situation.”

Kirby said the North Korean troops traveled by vessel betwixt aboriginal October and mid-month from its Wonsan naval larboard to Vladivostok successful Russia. Then, helium said, the North Korean troops were dispatched to aggregate subject grooming sites successful eastbound Russia.

“We bash not yet cognize whether these soldiers volition participate into combat alongside the Russian military” successful Ukraine, but the anticipation is “certainly a precocious concern,” Kirby said.

“We person briefed the Ukrainian authorities connected our knowing of this situation, and we're surely consulting intimately with different allies, partners and countries successful the portion connected the implications of specified a melodramatic radical move, and connected however we mightiness respond,” Kirby said.

“For the clip being, we volition proceed to show the concern closely, but let's beryllium clear: If North Korean soldiers bash participate into combat, this improvement volition show Russia's increasing desperation successful its warfare against Ukraine,” Kirby added.

“Russia is suffering bonzer casualties connected the battlefield each azygous day, but President [Vladimir] Putin appears intent connected continuing this war,” Kirby said.

“If Russia is so forced to crook to North Korea for manpower, if we delegate a weakness, not strength, it would besides show an unprecedented level of nonstop subject practice betwixt Russia and North Korea with information implications successful Europe, arsenic good arsenic the Indo-Pacific,” helium said.

Kirby said Russia's practice with the North Korean subject would interruption aggregate U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting the procurement of arms from North Korea and subject arms training.

China, 1 of the 5 imperishable members of the Security Council and a adjacent state of North Korea, was asked by VOA astir its presumption of the U.S., South Korean, Ukrainian and NATO quality confirming the beingness of North Korean troops successful eastbound Russia and the imaginable implications.

“China’s presumption connected the Ukraine situation is accordant and clear. We anticipation that each parties volition enactment for de-escalation and beryllium committed to governmental settlement,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu, said successful a statement.

Defense main Austin cited a “strengthened relationship” betwixt Russia and North Korea, noting that North Korea has provided weapons to Russia for its warfare successful Ukraine.

"If they're co-belligerents, if their volition is to enactment successful this warfare connected Russia's behalf, that is simply a very, precise superior issue, and it volition person impacts not lone successful Europe; it volition besides interaction things successful the Indo-Pacific arsenic well,” Austin said.

Austin besides highlighted Russian casualties successful the warfare it launched with a full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022, saying the North Korea improvement is an denotation that Putin “may beryllium successful adjacent much occupation than astir radical realize.”

Austin’s appraisal was rapidly backed up by NATO officials, who are awaiting further briefings from South Korea, which went nationalist with its quality connected the North Korean unit movements past week.

“We are actively consulting wrong the Alliance connected this matter,” NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said, adding, “If these troops are destined to combat successful Ukraine, it would people a important escalation successful North Korea’s enactment for Russia’s amerciable warfare and yet different motion of Russia’s important losses connected the beforehand lines.”

VOA nationalist information analogous Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some accusation was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.