LIVE – War in Ukraine: Putin sees Zelensky’s comments on nuclear weapons as a “dangerous provocation”

As the winter season approaches, France is increasing its support for kyiv. “Ukraine is preparing to enter winter with two thirds of its energy and electricity production capacities having been destroyed by Russian strikes,” worries the Quai d’Orsay.

Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will visit the site on October 19 and 20. A trip which will also be devoted “to the fate of children in Ukraine and in particular children kidnapped and deported by Russia”, specifies the ministry.

Vladimir Putin denounces as a “dangerous provocation” the words of Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested yesterday in Brussels that Ukraine could seek to acquire nuclear weapons.

“This is a dangerous provocation. Any step in this direction will lead to a corresponding reaction,” warned the Russian president during a meeting with foreign journalists.

The increase in North Korea’s military support for Russia is “very worrying”, estimates Paris, at a time when South Korean intelligence services claim that Pyongyang has sent a contingent of 1,500 soldiers to Russia.

“North Korea’s increasing cross-cooperation and military support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine is very worrying,” says Christophe Lemoine, the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry.

Ukraine announces that it has repatriated 501 bodies of its soldiers killed during clashes with Russia, mainly in the east of the country, where Russian forces have been advancing for months.

“Thanks to repatriation measures, 501 bodies of fallen Ukrainian defenders have been returned to Ukraine,” the coordination center for the treatment of prisoners of war, a government agency, said on Telegram.

The alleged transfer of North Korean troops to Russia for deployment in Ukraine shows that Moscow is seeking a “bigger and longer war” in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian presidential official told AFP on Friday.

“This proves… that Moscow wants a bigger and longer war and is trying to drag its allies into it,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity shortly after the announcement. by South Korean intelligence of sending 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers to Russia. If they are deployed to Ukraine, “that can complicate the situation” on the battlefield, the official added.

NATO continues to support Ukraine “with all its strength” against the Russian invasion but care must be taken that it does not become a party to the conflict, warned Olaf Scholz, while kyiv is pushing for more support.

“We support Ukraine with all our strength and at the same time we ensure that NATO does not become a belligerent in the war, in order to prevent it from turning into an even greater catastrophe,” he said. declared the German Chancellor to the press alongside American President Joe Biden, on a one-day visit to Berlin.

China said it hoped “all parties would work to de-escalate the situation” after South Korean intelligence said North Korea had deployed 1,500 special forces troops to Russia.

“China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. We hope all parties will work to defuse the situation and commit to a political settlement,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. .

North Korea has deployed an initial contingent of 1,500 special forces troops to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East and will send more soon, South Korea’s intelligence service said in a statement, publishing detailed satellite images.

He adds that North Korean troops “will be deployed to the front” after training.

Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of civilians from the town of Kupiansk and three neighboring municipalities, due to the intensification of Russian strikes on this area recaptured two years ago from Moscow’s forces, said the regional governor.

In total, “around 10,000 people must be evacuated”, he added, calling on residents to leave as quickly as possible. “The enemy strikes insidiously and continuously,” Mr. Synegoubov said.

North Korea has decided to send “significant troops” to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Friday, citing the country’s intelligence.

“The National Intelligence Service said it had learned that the North recently decided to send four brigades of 12,000 troops, including special forces, to the war in Ukraine,” Yonhap said.

Growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, with the supply of weapons and soldiers to Russia, poses a “significant security threat” to South Korea and other countries, the country said on Friday. South Korean presidency.

Pyongyang’s growing support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, which goes “beyond the transfer of military equipment and translates into troop deployments”, represents “a significant threat to the security not only of our country but also of the international community,” said a statement from the South Korean presidential office.

The head of British diplomacy, David Lammy, will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday, with several sensitive issues on the table, including Ukraine, against a backdrop of diplomatic thaw between the two countries.

Mr Lammy is the first British minister to visit China since Labor’s Keir Starmer took office in July.

He is scheduled to meet Wang Yi after talks with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and other senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials.

The head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot will go to Ukraine to reiterate France’s support for the country at war with Russia for more than two and a half years, he announced on Friday on France Inter.

“I am going to Ukraine to carry the voice of France, to remind that France does not turn away from any crisis, to say that what is at stake in Ukraine is the security of our continent, including food security. and energy,” he said.

Hello everyone and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine.