Washington promises “firm” response to North Korean engagement in Ukraine | War in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday promised a “strong” response to North Korea’s involvement alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine. He also called on the Europeans to close ranks to speed up aid to kyiv, without however announcing any concrete progress.

Mr. Blinken made a lightning visit of less than 24 hours to Brussels against a backdrop of concerns from Ukraine and several countries of the Old Continent about the sustainability of support for kyiv after the re-election of Donald Trump, to which adds a political crisis in Germany.

North Korean forces engaged in battle and, now, literally in fighting: this new element demands a firm response and it will bedeclared the head of American diplomacy to the press, alongside the Secretary General of theI TAKE Mark Rutte.

This is a profoundly and incredibly dangerous developmenthe added, without however specifying how the United States and its allies intended to react.

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 beyondhe underlined, arguing that it was necessary increase European defense spending.

Accelerate aid delivery

Antony Blinken, whose days are numbered at the head of American diplomacy, also insisted that the outgoing Biden administration intended to spend every dollar at our disposal to accelerate the delivery of aid to Ukraine between now and the end of his mandate, and urged Europeans to share the burden.

We count on Europeans and others to strongly support Ukrainehe said, citing the dispatch of armored vehicles, ammunition for small arms and air defense.

After his visit to the headquarters of theI’LL TAKEAntony Blinken spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriï Sybiga, who encouraged the allies to accelerate certain crucial decision-makingparticularly in terms of air defense. Ukraine’s defense cannot be pausedhe insisted.

Mr. Blinken also met Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, and Kaja Kallas, who will succeed him in a few weeks.

Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, maintains doubt about what he will do regarding Ukraine. However, he questioned the tens of billions of dollars spent by Washington on Ukraine – more than $60 billion in military aid since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

As the next secretary of state, he has set his sights on Republican Senator Marco Rubio. The latter denounced the financing of a impasse in Ukraine and argued that it was time to end the war.

Passing the baton to the Europeans

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 for the Europeans to take over.

L’I’LL TAKE has already been entrusted with coordinating military aid to Ukraine, previously provided by the Americans.

Of the envelope voted in the spring by the American Congress, there remains approximately 9.2 billion dollars to be allocated, namely 7.1 billion to be drawn from American arms stocks and 2.1 billion to finance procurement contracts. arms purchases, according to the Pentagon.

Mr. Blinken, on the other hand, refrained from responding to a long-standing request from the Ukrainians, namely the possibility of using long-range missiles delivered by the allies to attack deep into Russian territory.

Basically, it’s about doing the same thing, but more aggressively during the remainder of Mr. Biden’s term.explained a diplomat from theI’LL TAKE at the end of the meeting.