The situation at a glance: USA: North Korea’s troops in Russia – billions for Ukraine

In light of new findings, international concerns are growing about the possible involvement of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The US government says it has reliable knowledge that North Korean troops are in Russia. “What exactly are they doing there? That remains to be seen,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of a visit to Rome. “If they intend to take part in this war on behalf of Russia, then that is a very, very serious problem.” Meanwhile, the G7 countries want to provide billions in financial aid for Ukraine. Russia is supposed to pay for this indirectly and is therefore angry.

North Korean soldiers “sign of weakness” for Russia?

Austin said the Russian military has suffered significant losses so far in the Ukraine war. With regard to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added that the cooperation with North Korean soldiers was an indication “that he may be in even more trouble than most people think.” Russia had rejected the reports that had been circulating in Ukraine and South Korea for days about soldiers being deployed against Ukraine.

National Security Council communications director John Kirby said the U.S. believed “North Korea deployed at least 3,000 troops to eastern Russia between early and mid-October.” According to the findings, they traveled to Russia by ship and are now accommodated in several Russian military training centers in eastern Russia, where they are currently being trained. “We don’t yet know whether these soldiers will fight alongside the Russian military.” But it is very likely.

The Foreign Office in Berlin found clear words in this case: “North Korea’s support of the Russian war of aggression also directly threatens Germany’s security and the European peace order.”

“If North Korean soldiers do enter the fight, this development would demonstrate Russia’s growing desperation in its war against Ukraine,” Kirby said. “Russia is suffering heavy losses on the battlefield every day, but President Putin appears determined to continue this war.” Cooperation with North Korea’s soldiers is “a sign of the Kremlin’s weakness and not its strength.”

Zelenskyj thanks G7 states for fresh billions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has been sounding the alarm for days about the risk of an escalation in the war due to North Korea’s intervention. But the news he was longing for came from the USA: new financial aid from the G7 worth billions.

Zelensky thanked his Western allies. The G7’s 50 billion US dollars (around 46 billion euros) will help Ukraine with its defense and resilience, as he said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. He wore a T-shirt with the inscription “make russia small again” (in German: Make Russia small again). Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a photo of it on Telegram and called Zelensky a “complete idiot.”

Zelensky emphasized that the money must flow this year to help Ukraine in its almost 1,000-day-long defensive battle against the Russian invaders. The group of seven major economic nations includes the USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain and Japan. $20 billion comes from the USA alone, around $20 billion from the EU states and $10 billion from Great Britain, Canada and Japan.

USA: Russia should pay costs for “illegal war”.

Russia is supposed to pay for this indirectly. The loan is secured by interest income from frozen Russian state assets. It’s about a package that the G7 states and representatives of the European Union decided on at a summit in June. Russia has described the freezing of its assets abroad and the skimming of interest income as robbery that “does not go unpunished.”

Shortly after the breakthrough in negotiations with the USA, the Council of the European Union approved the plans for the new billion-dollar loans. The adopted legal texts specifically regulate that interest income from Russian Central Bank assets frozen in the EU should be used to repay the loans.

Biden: “Tyrants” will be blamed

Regarding the new billions, US President Joe Biden said that in this way Ukraine could get the help it now needs – without burdening taxpayers. The message is: “Tyrants will be held responsible for the damage they cause.” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the G7 countries had committed to making the loan available to Ukraine by the end of the year. Federal Finance Minister Lindner called the agreement “a signal to Putin” that there could be no return to business as usual for him.

As a result of the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia, around 210 billion euros in assets of the Russian central bank have been frozen since February 2022. The extraordinary interest income from this is currently estimated at up to 2.5 to 3 billion euros per year. The majority of these assets are located in the EU.

Fighting in Ukraine continues

According to the Ukrainian Red Cross, an office of the aid organization was destroyed in a Russian attack in eastern Ukraine. It was in a cultural center in the city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, the Red Cross said. None of the staff or volunteers were injured.

Meanwhile, Russia claims to have fired a rocket over the port city of Sevastopol over the Black Sea. As the Russian news agency Tass quoted the city’s governor, citing the rescue service, no civilian objects were damaged.

The information could not be independently verified.

Putin wants to take questions from journalists

Kremlin boss Putin also wants to answer questions from the media this Thursday at the end of the Brics summit of emerging industrial nations in the Russian city of Kazan and is expected to once again comment on his war against Ukraine.