Russia-Ukraine battle dwell: Putin praises North Korea’s ‘agency assist’ for battle forward of Pyongyang go to

The White Home mentioned on Monday that Washington is apprehensive over nearer ties between Russia and North Korea.

“We’re not involved in regards to the journey [by Putin],” nationwide safety council spokesperson, John Kirby, advised reporters Monday. “What we’re involved about is the deepening relationship between these two international locations.”

Kirby mentioned the concern was not simply that “North Korean ballistic missiles are nonetheless getting used to hit Ukrainian targets, however as a result of there could possibly be some reciprocity right here that would have an effect on safety on the Korean peninsula”.

Hey and welcome to the Guardian’s dwell protection of the battle in Ukraine. The time has simply gone previous 10:30am in Kyiv.

Vladimir Putin has praised North Korea for “firmly supporting” Moscow’s battle in Ukraine, in an article written for Korea’s Central information company (KCNA) forward of a uncommon diplomatic go to to Pyongyang on Tuesday.

“We extremely admire that the DPRK (North Korea) is firmly supporting the particular navy operations of Russia being carried out in Ukraine,” the Russian president wrote.

The 2 international locations are “now actively creating the many-sided partnership,” Putin wrote, pointing to, for instance, the truth that Moscow and Kim Jong-un’s regime have been “sustaining the widespread line and stand on the UN”.

The journey “will put bilateral cooperation on to a better degree with our joint efforts and this may contribute to creating reciprocal and equal cooperation between Russia and the DPRK,” the Russian chief wrote, in keeping with KCNA.

Putin is predicted to reach in North Korea this night (native time) for his first go to to the remoted nation in 24 years and can keep for a few day earlier than departing to Vietnam.

North Korean chief Kim Jong-un prolonged an invite to Putin throughout a go to to Russia’s far east final September.

North Korea has provided Russia with hundreds of thousands of rounds of Soviet-era artillery munitions as a vital lifeline to prop up the Russian navy marketing campaign in Ukraine. The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, final month advised lawmakers that the provides of munitions and missiles, in addition to Iranian drones, had helped the Russian navy “get again up on their ft”.

North Korea has additionally offered Russia with ballistic missiles and digital gear used within the battle effort. In return, Russia is believed to have offered help to North Korea’s satellite tv for pc programme, in addition to different arms, financial help and diplomatic assist (you’ll be able to learn extra on the story right here).

We’ll deliver you the most recent on Putin’s go to because it occurs. In different developments:

• An in a single day drone assault set a number of oil storage tanks ablaze close to the city of Azov in southern Russia on Tuesday, sparking a big hearth, native officers mentioned. “Oil product tanks caught hearth in Azov on account of a drone assault. In line with preliminary knowledge, there have been no casualties,” the governor of the native Rostov area, Vasily Golubev, wrote on Telegram.

• Hungary has dropped its opposition to Mark Rutte as the following Nato secretary-general, Dutch media reported on Tuesday, after the outgoing Dutch prime minister and his Hungarian counterpart met on the sidelines of a EU leaders assembly in Brussels. Citing sources, Dutch shops NOS and RTL reported that Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán didn’t reiterate his demand for an apology from Rutte for what Orban described final month as “problematic” opinions on Hungary. The apology had been one of many two circumstances Hungary had put ahead for approving Rutte because the successor to Jens Stoltenberg on the helm of Nato. The opposite – the assure that Hungary wouldn’t have to supply funding for Ukraine or ship personnel to the war-torn nation – was met final week by Stoltenberg, Reuters reported.

• A Russian occupation official mentioned on Monday that combating was gripping components of Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv area, with Ukraine’s navy pouring males and gear into the contested space. “There may be combating nonetheless happening within the Kharkiv sector. The fiercest clashes are in Vovchansk and close to Lyptsy,” Vitaly Ganchev advised Russian information businesses.

• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mentioned Ukrainian forces have been regularly pushing Russian troops out of components of Kharkiv they’ve fought over since Might. His prime commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, predicted the Russians would attempt to press ahead pending the arrival in Ukraine of refined western gear, together with US-made F-16 fighter jets. Syrskyi additionally mentioned Russian forces have been concentrating their firepower on the Donetsk area, significantly on the Pokrovsk entrance.