One White House spokesperson said North Korean soldiers training in Russia could become “legitimate targets” if they were to fight in Ukraine.
The day after the announcement of a loan of 20 billion dollars (around 18.5 billion euros) to Ukraine, the President of the United States Joe Biden warned that “the tyrants” will have to pay. This loan will be repaid thanks to the interest on Russian assets frozen by Western countries.
We take stock of the events that have marked recent hours.
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North Korean soldiers, “legitimate targets” for Washington
The North Korean soldiers currently training in Russia will be “legitimate targets” if they are deployed to Ukraine, a White House spokesperson warned Wednesday.
“We do not know today if these soldiers will fight alongside the Russian army,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, believing that it was a “very worrying possibility”.
Read also: North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia? Denials, confirmations… It’s the big blur
“Tyrants” will have to pay, warns Biden
Joe Biden warned Wednesday that “the tyrants” will have to pay after the United States announced a $20 billion loan to Ukraine that will be repaid with interest from frozen Russian assets, as part of a G7 action. “ Tyrants will be responsible for the damage they cause,” warned the American president.
The G7 agreed in June to use the interest generated by frozen Russian assets to guarantee a loan totaling $50 billion for Ukraine.
As part of this program, “the United States announces (Wednesday) that it will provide loans to Ukraine amounting to $20 billion which will be repaid by interest generated by tied up Russian sovereign assets”, said Joe Biden.
Thus, he greeted, “Ukraine can get the help it needs now, without taxpayers having to pay.” According to the Democratic president, this is“a new reminder to Vladimir Putin that the world has rallied behind Ukraine.”
Washington approves contract to modernize Polish F-16s
The United States announced on Wednesday a $7.3 billion contract to modernize the fleet of F-16 fighter jets in Poland, a NATO member country bordering Ukraine at war with Russia.
This sale project, which has been approved by the State Department but must still receive the approval of the American Congress, should make it possible to “strengthen the security of a NATO ally” in “ modifying and upgrading » the Polish F-16 fleet, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Washington.
The F-16 fighter plane is one of the flagships of the American Air Force and has been used in multiple conflicts since the 1990s. Ukraine announced in August that it had received its first F-16 from the West. 16, which the country had been demanding tirelessly for two years.
