North Korean soldiers will 'soon' fight Ukrainian army alongside Russians, Pentagon chief says
The United States anticipates that the thousands of North Korean troops stationed in Russia will “Soon” fight Ukrainian forces, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said this Saturday, November 23. The US Defense Secretary estimates that some 10,000 members of the North Korean army are in Russia's Kursk region, bordering Ukraine and partly occupied by Kyiv's forces, and are there “integrated into Russian formations”. “Based on what (the North Korean soldiers) have been trained to do, the way in which they have been integrated into Russian formations, I fully expect to see them engaged in combat soon”Lloyd Austin told reporters from the Fiji Islands, where he is visiting. Lloyd Austin said he did not “did not see any significant information” reporting North Korean soldiers “actively engaged in combat” to this day.
Ukraine asks its Western allies for air defense systems
Ukraine is asking its Western allies for the latest generation of air defense systems to protect itself after the strike of a hypersonic ballistic missile, which Vladimir Putin ordered on Friday to be mass-produced, promising new shots against Moscow's enemies. “The Ukrainian Defense Minister is already in discussions with our partners on new air defense systems – precisely the kind of systems that can protect lives in the face of new risks”declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message to his fellow citizens published Friday evening on social networks.
Ukraine is notably equipped with American Patriot systems – with which it claims to have already intercepted several Kinjal hypersonic missiles touted as “invincible” by the Kremlin – and their Franco-Italian equivalent Samp /T, but in too few numbers to protect all its cities.
The Russians advance slowly near Kurakhové
On the ground, the Russian army has been advancing little by little for months at the cost of heavy losses in eastern Ukraine. A highly placed source within the Ukrainian general staff indicated on Friday that Russian troops were advancing “200-300 meters per day” near Kourakhové, one of the localities which could soon fall.
Near Pokrovsk, a major logistical node for Ukrainian forces, the situation is more favorable and “has hardly changed in the last two months”according to this military source. The Ukrainian forces, which lack recruits and equipment, also have no intention of withdrawing from the Russian region of Kursk, further north, of which they still control «environ 800 km2» since their incursion in August, this source reported.
NATO chief met with Donald Trump
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met US President-elect Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, the spokesperson for the Atlantic Alliance announced this Saturday. “They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance”indicated this spokesperson, Farah Dakhlallah, in a short press release, without further details.
The former Dutch Prime Minister had indicated that he wanted to meet Donald Trump, two days after his election on November 5. He then said he wanted to discuss the «menace» what the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea represents. “I look forward to sitting down with President Trump and seeing how we will collectively ensure we address this threat”he declared on November 7, on the sidelines of a summit of European leaders in Budapest.
