US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised in Brussels on Wednesday a “firm” response to North Korea’s involvement alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine.
• Also read: Ukraine: NATO agitates the North Korean threat to convince Trump
• Also read: Seoul does not rule out directly sending weapons to Ukraine
• Also read: 8,000 North Korean troops ready to fight Ukrainian forces “in the coming days”
“The North Korean forces engaged in battle and, now, literally in combat: this new element demands a firm response and it will be,” Mr. Blinken told the press, alongside the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The United States has confirmed that North Korean troops are engaged in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region, a small part of which is occupied by Ukrainian forces.
And it’s not just North Korea, said Mr. Rutte. China helps Russia in its “war effort” against Ukraine and Iran supplies it with weapons, paid for by Moscow, “which helps Iran continue its efforts to destabilize the Middle East and even beyond. beyond,” he stressed, calling for an increase in European defense spending.
Antony Blinken, whose days are numbered at the head of American diplomacy, is making a whirlwind visit to Brussels. His trip takes on an urgent nature, against a backdrop of concerns from Ukraine and many capitals on the Old Continent about the sustainability of support for kyiv after the re-election of Donald Trump, to which is added a political crisis in Germany.
After his visit to NATO headquarters, he must see his Ukrainian counterpart Andriï Sybiga. He will also meet with Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, and Kaja Kallas, who will succeed him in a few weeks.
The EU must support Ukraine “as long as necessary, with as much military, financial and humanitarian aid as necessary,” the latter said on Tuesday during her hearing before European parliamentarians.
“Ship whatever is available”
Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, maintains doubt about what he will do regarding Ukraine. But he questioned the tens of billions of dollars spent by Washington on Ukraine – more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
According to the American press, he has set his sights on Republican Senator Marco Rubio to be the next Secretary of State. The latter denounced the financing of a “dead end” in Ukraine and called for an end to the war.
In the meantime, outgoing President Joe Biden is seeking to accelerate the delivery of military aid to Ukraine and continue to put in place mechanisms so that the Europeans can take over.
Of the envelope voted in the spring, approximately 9.2 billion dollars remain to be allocated, namely 7.1 billion to be drawn from American arms stocks and 2.1 billion to finance arms purchase contracts. , according to the Pentagon.
Washington plans to spend this money every last penny.
“By the end of the (outgoing) administration, they are going to try to ship everything that is available,” such as armored vehicles and small arms ammunition, “that Ukraine needs and that the states “The United States has it in large quantities,” Mark Cancian of the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS) in the US capital told AFP.
It seems unlikely, however, that the Americans will lift their veto on the use of long-range missiles deep in Russian territory, despite Kyiv’s pleas.
Mr. Blinken’s visit comes after drone attacks on an unprecedented scale targeted Ukraine and the Moscow region last weekend.
