North Korean army will support the “just cause” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, dictator Kim Jong Un said in the first admission of its army’s support to the invasion.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that North Korean soldiers have been “brought in again” to fight at the frontline in the Kursk region after reports that foreign soldiers were withdrawn following their mounting losses.
North Korean army will “invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army and people to defend their sovereignty, security and territorial integrity in keeping with the spirit of the treaty on the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia, Mr Kim said in latest comments.
Mr Zelensky said a “significant number” of opposing forces had been eliminated, adding that “we’re talking hundreds of Russian and North Korean servicemen”.
It comes as Ukraine launched a new assault inside Russia’s Kursk oblast, expanding its incursion into Russian territory by as much as three miles.
Next week, Donald Trump is likely to meet Mr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine‘s war to repel Russian invaders.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy said the conflict in Ukraine is unlikely to end soon, despite Donald Trump’s assurances of negotiating a rapid resolution.
‘External impact’ damages Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable – report
An underwater Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable was damaged by an “external impact”, Russia’s TASS news agency cited the country’s state-owned Rostelecom company as saying on Saturday.
“Rostelecom’s submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea as a result of an external impact some time ago,” TASS cited Rostelecom as saying.
Restoration work is underway and the incident has had no impact on subscribers so far, Rostelecom added.
Rostelecom did not provide further details and it was unclear when the damage occurred. Finland’s coast guard said earlier on Saturday on platform X that it was monitoring a Russian vessel repairing a broken Russian cable in the Gulf of Finland.
The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert after a string of outages affecting power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines between the Baltics and Sweden or Finland, leading to increased surveillance operations by Nato members.
All were believed to have been caused by ships dragging anchors along the seabed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has denied any involvement.
Shweta Sharma9 February 2025 08:30
What happened to the North Korean troops fighting Ukraine on the frontline?
Jabed Ahmed9 February 2025 08:00
Watch | Rapper leads Ukraine’s drone war against Russia
Jabed Ahmed9 February 2025 07:00
Russia says it destroys 35 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.
About half of the drones were destroyed over the Kursk region that borders Ukraine, while the rest were intercepted over various other regions in Russia’s west and south, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Shweta Sharma9 February 2025 05:57
What is Russia’s strategic partnership with North Korea?
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact in Pyongyang on 19 June 2024, including a mutual defence clause in case of aggression against either country.
Kim expressed “unconditional support” for “all of Russia’s policies”, including “a full support and firm alliance” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin has said Russia would help North Korea build satellites.
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use in the war. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
Ukraine, South Korea and the US say Kim has sent more than 11,000 troops to fight for Russia in its western Kursk region, part of which has been held by Ukraine since August. Ukraine says many North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded. Moscow has never confirmed or denied their presence.
Shweta Sharma9 February 2025 05:31
Special Dispatch | Ukraine’s leading rapper is now leading drone warfare against Russia
Ukraine’s $1.3 billion drone war is now being led by a rap artist who has been fighting on the front line – and in his music – since the start of the war, Sam Kiley reports
Jabed Ahmed9 February 2025 05:00
‘External impact’ damages Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable – report
An underwater Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable was damaged by an “external impact”, Russia’s TASS news agency cited the country’s state-owned Rostelecom company as saying on Saturday.
“Rostelecom’s submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea as a result of an external impact some time ago,” TASS cited Rostelecom as saying.
Restoration work is under way and the incident has had no impact on subscribers so far, Rostelecom added.
Rostelecom did not provide further details and it was unclear when the damage occurred. Finland’s coast guard said earlier on Saturday on platform X that it was monitoring a Russian vessel repairing a broken Russian cable in the Gulf of Finland.
The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert after a string of outages affecting power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines between the Baltics and Sweden or Finland, leading to increased surveillance operations by Nato members.
All were believed to have been caused by ships dragging anchors along the seabed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has denied any involvement.
Shweta Sharma9 February 2025 04:33
Ukrainian music band Ziferblat to perform in 2025 Eurovision
Ukrainian music band Ziferblat has secured their place in 2025 Eurovision after winning the selection contest with the song “Birds of Prey”.
The band will represent the war-torn nation with their song “Bird of Pray” at the 13-17 May competition in Basel, Switzerland.
Russia, however, remains banned from the world’s largest song contest organised by the European Broadcasting Union.
Shweta Sharma9 February 2025 04:20
Baltic nations cut ties to Russian power grid as they prepare to link with EU
The three Baltic states disconnected their electricity systems from Russia’s power grid on Saturday, the region’s operators said, part of a plan designed to integrate the countries more closely with the European Union and boost security.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from the IPS/UPS joint network and, subject to last-minute tests, they will synchronise with the EU’s grid at 1200 GMT on Sunday after operating on their own in the meantime.
“We’ve reached the goal we for strived for, for so long. We are now in control,” Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas told a press conference.
Plans for the Baltics to decouple from the grid of their former Soviet imperial overlord, debated for decades, gained momentum following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The grid was the final remaining link to Russia for the three countries, which reemerged as independent nations in the early 1990s at the fall of the Soviet Union, and joined the European Union and Nato in 2004.
Jabed Ahmed9 February 2025 04:00
