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Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean troops for fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, after North Korea on Monday confirmed the deployment for the first time. In a statement Monday from the Kremlin, Putin hailed the heroism and dedication of the North Korean fighters, who he said shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own. Russia on Saturday said its troops have fully reclaimed the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last year. Ukrainian officials denied the claim. US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last fall in its first participation in a major armed conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. But North Korea hadn't confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to send the combat troops to Russia under a mutual defence treaty he
A Russian drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday, a day after US President Donald Trump rebuked Russia's leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington endeavours to stop the more than three-year war. Among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, were a child and a 76-year-old woman, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram. Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine's air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties. Russia pounded Kyiv in an hourslong barrage Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 87 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July. The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Puti
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will only agree to meet in-person with Russian leader Vladimir Putin after a common plan is negotiated with US President Trump. Zelenskyy believes Trump is the key to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelenskyy spoke Friday to the Munich Security Conference. Trump this week upended years of steadfast US support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy is expected to meet with US Vice President JD Vance later. Many observers, particularly in Europe, hope Vance will shed at least some light on Trump's ideas for a negotiated settlement to the war following a phone call between Trump and Putin this week.
Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia, which could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in future ceasefire talks. Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, according to soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials. Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, according to military commanders and soldiers. Some take medical leave and never return, haunted by the traumas of war and demoralized by bleak prospects for victory. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights. This problem is critical, said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Kyiv-based military analyst. This is the third year of war, and this problem will only grow. Although Moscow has also b
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he was immediately rushing badly needed weaponry to Ukraine as he signed into law a USD 95 billion war aid measure that also included assistance for Israel, Taiwan and other global hot spots. The announcement marked an end to the long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgently needed assistance for Ukraine, with Biden promising that US weapons shipment would begin making the way into Ukraine "in the next few hours". "We rose to the moment, we came together, and we got it done," Biden said at a White House event to announce the bill signing. "Now we need to move fast, and we are." But significant damage has been done to the Biden administration's effort to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion during the funding impasse that dates back to August, when the Democratic president made his first emergency spending request for Ukraine. Even with a burst of new weapons and ammunition, it is unlikely Ukraine will immediately recover .
Leaders of talks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace formula on Sunday said a growing number of countries are working to help set the groundwork for Russia to join one day, an admittedly distant goal as the nearly two-year war grinds on and with neither side willing to cede ground. The fourth such meeting of national security advisors was held in the Swiss town of Davos, where Zelenskyy is set to attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting starting Tuesday. He will endeavour to keep up international focus on Ukraine's defence amid eroding support for Kyiv in the West and swelling distractions like conflict in the Middle East. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, posted photos of the meeting's opening and hailed a "good sign" that the number of participants in a string of conferences on Zelenskyy's peace formula was growing -- nearly half from Europe, as well as 18 from Asia and 12 from Africa. "Countries from the Global South are increasingly
European Union leaders struggled at the start of a two-day summit Thursday to keep their two most elementary promises to Ukraine at war intact to give it the money and wherewithal to stave off the Russian invasion and maintain its hope that one day it will be able to join the wealthy bloc. And stunningly, the threat to that commitment does not come from outside, but from within, from its increasingly recalcitrant member Hungary. The vision of its prime minister, Viktor Orban, heartily shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin two months ago still hung heavy over the summit. Orban came into the summit vowing to both block the plans by his 26 fellow leaders to officially declare that membership negotiations with Ukraine can start, and more pressingly, deny Kyiv 50 billion Euros (USD 54 billion) in financial aid that the country dearly needs to stay afloat. The challenge comes at an especially dire time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, straight off a trip to ...
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Monday said that Nepali citizens are not only serving in the Russian Army but reportedly also serving in the Ukrainian Army. The Nepal government recently confirmed that six Nepalese nationals who fought for the Russian Army died in the war between Russia and Ukraine. There are reports about over 200 Nepalese serving in the Russian Army, the Prime Minister said while interacting with pro-Maoist journalists here. We have also learnt that Nepalese soldiers are serving in the Ukrainian Army too, he said. We are finding out the truth in this matter, Prachanda said while inaugurating a Press Centre Nepal central office bearers' meeting. The Press Centre Nepal is affiliated with the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist). "I have got reports that over 200 Nepalis are in Russian Amy and there are also reports about Nepalis working for the Ukraine army," Prachanda said. The Nepal government has, however, clarified that it has no pol
A gang of 12 people, allegedly involved in illegally sending Nepalese nationals to Russia for recruitment in the Russian Army, has been arrested, police said here on Wednesday. The gang used to charge Rs 700,000 to Rs 1,100,000 per person for arranging visit visas and other documents to get them recruited in the Russian Army, the District Police Circle, Kathmandu said. After six Nepalese lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war, Nepal Police have taken precautionary measures against possible incidents of human trafficking, sources said. The youths have either been sent to Russia via Dubai or through land route via India, to their destination. It is illegal to send labourers on a visit visa to a foreign country. It is also illegal to send Nepalese nationals for recruitment in foreign army except in case of those joining British Gorkha and Indian Gorkha regiments under special agreement. After six Nepalese were killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Nepal government has requested ..