► Air alert throughout Ukraine
The Ukrainian authorities triggered a country-wide air alert on Wednesday, November 13, faced, according to its presidency, with a Russian missile attack against its capital, kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir “Putin is launching a missile attack on kyiv”wrote on Telegram Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff of the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky.
► Aid to Ukraine: Blinken puts pressure on Europeans
Antony Blinken, whose days are numbered at the head of American diplomacy, meets NATO and European Union officials in Brussels on Wednesday in order to accelerate aid to Ukraine, potentially threatened by the return of Donald Trump.
Arriving late Tuesday evening for a visit of less than 24 hours, the Secretary of State is due to have meetings with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and with his Ukrainian counterparts Andriï Sybiga and the EU Josep Borrell as well as with Kaja Kallas who will succeed Josep Borrell in a few weeks.
The EU must support Ukraine “as long as necessary, with as much military, financial and humanitarian aid as necessary”launched the latter on Tuesday during her hearing before European parliamentarians.
Antony Blinken’s trip to the Belgian capital takes on an urgent character, against a backdrop of concerns from Ukraine and a number of capitals on the Old Continent regarding the sustainability of support for kyiv after the re-election of Donald Trump on November 5, to which is added a political crisis in Germany.
► North Koreans “engaged in combat operations” with Russia
The United States confirmed Tuesday that North Korean troops were “engaged in combat operations” alongside Russian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, a small part of which is occupied by Ukrainian forces, corroborating kyiv’s accusations.
“I can confirm that more than 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia, most of them arriving in the Kursk region, where they began engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”said US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel on Tuesday, emphasizing “worry” of the United States regarding this alliance.
According to kyiv, some 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already deployed in Russia and have started fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region where the latter have been on the offensive since August.
