Ukraine struggle briefing: Kim Jong-un celebrates sharing ‘blood, life and demise’ with Russia

[ad_1] The North Korean chief, Kim Jong-un, has highlighted how his nation and Russia had shared “blood, life and demise” within the Ukraine struggle in a brand new yr’s greeting to Vladimir Putin. Within the message, revealed by the state-run KCNA information company, Kim mentioned 2025 was a “actually significant yr” for the bilateral alliance that was consolidated by “sharing blood, life and demise in the identical trench”. North Korea confirmed in April that it had deployed troops to help Russia’s army marketing campaign towards Ukraine and that its soldiers had been killed in combat . Earlier this month, Pyongyang acknowledged that it had despatched troops to clear mines in Russia’s Kursk area in August 2025.

A number of highly effective explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday as authorities warned that the Ukrainian capital was below menace of missile assault. “Explosions within the capital. Air defence forces are working. Keep in shelters!” Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, wrote on Telegram. Ukraine’s air pressure additionally introduced a national air alert within the early hours of Saturday and mentioned on social media that drones and missiles have been transferring over a number of Ukrainian areas, together with the capital. Agence France-Presse journalists in Kyiv heard a number of loud explosions, some accompanied by vivid flashes that lit the horizon orange. A army Telegram channel mentioned cruise and ballistic missiles have been being deployed within the metropolis.

Moscow has accused the EU of attempting to “torpedo” an settlement between Russia and Ukraine forward of a meeting between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. Russia’s deputy overseas minister, Sergei Ryabkov, mentioned the proposal drawn up with Zelenskyy’s enter “differs radically” from factors initially drawn up by US and Russian officers in contacts this month. “Our capability to make the ultimate push and attain an settlement will rely upon our personal work and the political will of the opposite occasion,” Ryabkov mentioned on Russian tv. “Particularly in a context the place Kyiv and its sponsors – notably throughout the European Union, who aren't in favour of an settlement – have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.” Ryabkov added: “With out an enough decision of the issues on the origin of this disaster, it will likely be fairly merely unattainable to achieve a definitive accord.” He mentioned any deal needed to “stay throughout the limits” mounted by Trump and Putin after they met in Alaska in August, or else “no accord may be reached”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of utilizing condo blocks in Belarus to assault Ukrainian targets. “We be aware that the Russians are attempting to bypass our defensive interceptor positions by way of the territory of neighbouring Belarus,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram. He mentioned Ukrainian intelligence had noticed that Belarus was deploying tools to hold out its assaults “in Belarusian settlements close to the border, together with on residential buildings”. “Antennae and different tools are situated on the roofs of odd five-storey condo buildings, which assist information Shaheds [drones] to targets in our western areas. That is an absolute disregard for human lives.”

Moscow could also be stationing new Oreshnik nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in japanese Belarus, two US researchers have claimed, after finding out satellite tv for pc imagery. Jeffrey Lewis and Decker Eveleth mentioned they primarily based their discovering on imagery from Planet Labs, a business satellite tv for pc agency, that confirmed options in line with a Russian strategic missile base. Lewis and Eveleth mentioned they have been 90% sure that cellular Oreshnik launchers could be stationed on the former airbase close to Krichev, 307km east of the Belarus capital, Minsk. The researchers mentioned opinions of the Planet Labs imagery revealed a hurried building venture that started between 4 and 12 August and confirmed options in line with these of a Russian strategic missile base. One “useless giveaway” in a 19 November picture is a “military-grade rail switch level” enclosed by a safety fence to which missiles, their cellular launchers and different parts may very well be delivered by practice, mentioned Eveleth.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Friday it had captured a brand new village within the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia area. The ministry wrote on Telegram it had seized the village of Kosivtseve, north of the city of Huliaipole, which has come below extreme Russian strain in latest weeks. It mentioned Russian troops had taken greater than 23 sq km of territory in securing the village, giving the “east” group of forces “a base for additional offensive actions”. The defence ministry mentioned its forces had deployed drones to stop recent Ukrainian troops from getting into Huliaipole.