BRUSSELS: Russia is preparing to deploy 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the fight against Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, citing intelligence information.
Zelensky has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia’s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure.
An unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies,” Zelensky said, based on “information from our intelligence.”
“We know (of) about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send fight against us,” he added, speaking to reporters in Brussels after talks with EU leaders.
The Ukrainian leader was attending both an EU leaders’ summit and a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels as he presses for support for his “victory plan” to end the war against Russia.
Zelensky said the North Korean troops included “land forces” and “other tactical personnel.”
“This is the first step to a world war,” he warned, noting that Iran was also backing Russia with “drones and missiles,” a claim that Tehran has repeatedly denied.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “counting” on the North Korean soldiers because he was “afraid of mobilization.”
Zelensky conducted a whirlwind tour of Western capitals earlier this month including Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative.
Experts have long said North Korean missiles are being deployed in Ukraine by Russian forces, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied.
Putin made a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with leader Kim Jong Un.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II and have drawn closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine says Russia to deploy 10,000 North Korean troops
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Ukraine says Russia to deploy 10,000 North Korean troops
- Zelensky has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia’s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure
- An unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies“
More than 40 countries vow land mine help to Ukraine
- During a two-day conference in Switzerland, more than 40 countries backed the Lausanne Call for Action, committing to concrete actions toward humanitarian demining in Ukraine
- “Ukraine has become the most mined country in the world,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the conference
LAUSANNE: Dozens of countries committed Thursday to help clear war-torn Ukraine of massive amounts of mines and explosives, which contaminate nearly a quarter of its territory.
During a two-day conference in Switzerland, more than 40 countries backed the Lausanne Call for Action, committing to concrete actions toward humanitarian demining in Ukraine, the organizers said.
“Ukraine has become the most mined country in the world,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the conference.
He said that since Russia’s February 2022 invasion “about a quarter” of Ukraine had become covered with mines and unexploded bombs.
“The scale of this challenge is truly massive,” he said.
“We are talking about an area of approximately 140,000 square kilometers — nearly three times of size of Switzerland.”
He pointed to expert estimates that “up to 9,000 civilians could lose their lives” if action is not taken to clear away the mines.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis stressed the urgency. “Without humanitarian demining, you do not have agricultural production, you cannot feed people, you cannot let children play, you cannot build industry,” he told a press conference.
Representatives promised on the first day of the Lausanne conference to help provide “swift and safe rehabilitation of agricultural areas,” according to a Swiss statement.
They also vowed to support “the economic and social reintegration of victims with disabilities” and “the promotion of international cooperation between the various partners active on the ground.”
They committed to supporting local manufacturing of demining tools in Ukraine, as well as exchanging experience and knowledge to foster “innovative methods and technologies that increase the effectiveness of mine action” globally.
The World Bank has estimated that demining Ukraine will cost around $37 billion — a figure Shmyhal said was “likely to grow.”
He stressed the need for more demining machines, pointing out that they in a single day could carry out the equivalent of 100 days of manual labor.
Since a first Ukraine demining conference was held in Croatia last year, Kyiv has seen its number of demining machines swell from 32 to nearly 100, Shmyhal said. Several times that number were needed, he added.
Seven killed in suicide bombing in Somalia
- Islamist militant group Al-Shabab frequently orchestrates bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU: At least seven people died and six were wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in Somalia’s capital on Thursday, local police said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attacks, although Islamist militant group Al-Shabab frequently orchestrates bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the fragile Horn of Africa nation.
The restaurant, which was located opposite a police training station, was frequented by officers, according to a security source.
“My cousin and four of his colleagues died in the blast. We are rushing to the scene to take his body,” Hassan Osman, a relative of one of the victims, told Reuters.
The Al-Qaeda affiliate frequently attacks military outposts and state targets as part of a mission to overturn Somalia’s government and establish its own rule.
Saudi Arabia signs communications deal with Indian regulator
- Inked at global Information and Communications Technology standardization gathering
- World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly meeting in New Delhi from Oct. 15-24
NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia’s Communications, Space and Technology Commission has signed an agreement with India’s telecommunications authority during the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly in New Delhi.
The memorandum of understanding was signed on Wednesday by CST Gov. Dr. Mohammed Al-Tamimi and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti in the presence of Indian Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani.
The deal “aims to enhance cooperation between the two parties through several areas of mutual collaboration. This includes the application of regulatory technology use cases and conducting joint studies in areas such as infrastructure,” the CST said in a statement.
“CST and TRAI also aim to exchange information and transfer knowledge in the ICT sector, benefiting from the training programs provided by the Digital Regulations Academy.”
The statement added: “Additionally, they intend to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations and enhance cooperation in communications, space and technology to support mutual interests.”
The DRA is a specialized academy in digital regulations developing Saudi talent under Vision 2030 programs to support the Kingdom’s digital transformation.
The Indian regulator welcomed the agreement as a “landmark” move “strengthening collaboration in telecom regulation and advancing mutual goals in the sector.”
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly began in the Indian capital on Tuesday and ends Oct. 24. It is one of the three world conferences of the International Telecommunication Union, the UN agency responsible for matters related to information and communication technologies.
Held every four years, the assembly is the governing conference of the global Information and Communications Technology-standardization sector.
Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East
- Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East
- During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden took off Thursday on a swift farewell trip to Germany, for talks with allies to shore up Ukraine’s increasingly desperate fight against Russia.
Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East, as Israel said it was investigating whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar had been killed in a military operation in Gaza.
During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before they are both joined for talks by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Biden was originally due in Germany last week for a multi-day visit that would have included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a major summit of Kyiv’s allies, but he postponed it as Hurricane Milton barrelled toward Florida.
The White House said the shorter, rescheduled visit to the key NATO ally would “further strengthen the close bond the United States and Germany share as allies and friends and coordinate on geopolitical priorities, including Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression and events in the Middle East.”
Biden was also keen to make the visit to thank Scholz for facilitating a prisoner exchange deal with Russia earlier this year that freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, US officials said.
But the focus will be on Ukraine, with Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 White House race in July, keen to consolidate Western military aid for Kyiv in his final three months in office.
Allies are nervously watching the November 5 US presidential election to see if it brings a return of Donald Trump, who has opposed the current level of US support for Ukraine.
Trump has also repeatedly pledged to push through a peace deal if elected — even before taking office — that Kyiv fears would involve it giving up chunks of land to Moscow.
Zelensky told allies in Brussels on Thursday that Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he explained his “victory plan” to EU leaders and NATO defense chiefs.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy — which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
Biden announced a fresh $425 million arms package including air defense and armored vehicles for Ukraine in a call with Zelensky on Wednesday.
The United States is by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine’s battle against the 2022 Russian invasion, followed by Germany.
France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains
- Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties
- There have been no reports of deaths or injuries
PARIS: Six French departments were placed on red alert for flooding amid “exceptional rain” that the French weather agency said was as much as 630 mm (24.8 inches) in 48 hours in one area.
Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties.
The areas covered by the red alert include Lyon, the third-largest city in the country, as well as Cannes, famed for its film festival.
Authorities said they had closed roads, evacuated neighborhoods and asked residents to avoid placing themselves in danger by taking photos and videos.
There have been no reports of deaths or injuries and it is not yet clear what the level of damage is from the floodwaters.
The flooding in the southern part of France comes a week after remnants of Hurricane Kirk churned across western Europe and nearly a month after Cannes was hit by flash flooding.
Earlier in September, central Europe was battered by the worst floods in that area in at least two decades.
