kyiv said it had opened an investigation into the alleged execution of six Ukrainian soldiers who were captured in the east of the country by Russian forces. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of killing prisoners of war since the start of the Russian invasion launched in February 2022.
The upper house of the Russian Parliament is due to vote on Wednesday in favor of ratifying the mutual defense treaty between North Korea and Russia. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the first clashes between his country's forces and North Korean soldiers risk worsening the“instability in the world”.
We take stock of the events that have marked recent hours.
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Ukraine investigates alleged execution of six of its soldiers
Ukraine announced on Tuesday that it was investigating the alleged execution of six of its soldiers after their capture in the east of its territory by Russian forces, who have further advanced in recent weeks on this front.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office, three of these soldiers were shot dead on October 23 after being taken prisoner “during an offensive on the town of Selydové”the capture of which by the Russian army was announced on October 29.
Three more captured Ukrainian soldiers were executed on November 1 “during an assault on fortifications in the Pokrovsk sector”, said the Prosecutor’s Office on Telegram.
The Ukrainian authorities claimed at the end of October to have information on the execution by Russian soldiers of more than a hundred prisoners of war, in the majority of cases recently.
Zelensky: North Korean soldiers will create more 'instability'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that the first reported skirmishes between the Ukrainian army and North Korean soldiers risked worsening the“instability in the world”.
His Defense Minister, Roustem Oumerov, confirmed in an interview broadcast Tuesday by South Korean television that armed clashes had taken place against North Korean soldiers, the first since the start of the large-scale invasion of the Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.
“The first battles with North Korean soldiers opened a new chapter of instability in the world,” said Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address broadcast by video. “We must, with the world, do everything to ensure that this Russian initiative to widen the war with a real escalation fails. Let this initiative (by Russian President Vladimir Putin) be a loser, both for him and for North Korea,” he added.
Russia: the upper house must ratify the treaty with Pyongyang this Wednesday
The upper house of the Russian Parliament must ratify a mutual defense treaty with North Korea on Wednesday. Concluded during a rare visit by Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June, this treaty between two black beasts of the United States, provides “immediate military aid” reciprocal in the event of an attack against one of the two countries.
Read also: In Moscow, North Korea and Russia display their rapprochement
Like Iran, North Korea is accused by kyiv and the West of supplying shells and missiles to the Russian military. It is suspected of asking in particular in exchange for technologies that will help it strengthen its nuclear arsenal, particularly in the field of missiles. On Tuesday, the North Koreans carried out a new test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile, showing their determination to continue their program to develop their nuclear weapons.
During a several-day visit to Russia, during which she was received on Monday by Vladimir Putin, the head of North Korean diplomacy Choe Son-hui promised that her country would remain alongside its partner until“on Victory Day” a Ukraine.
