War in Ukraine: preparation for a Russian assault, North Korean soldiers in combat, Blinken in Brussels… update on the situation

5 and a half years in prison for a pediatrician accused of criticizing the army during a consultation

Russian justice on Tuesday sentenced to five and a half years in prison a Moscow pediatrician accused by the mother of one of her patients of having criticized the Russian assault in Ukraine during a consultation, a new example of the repression against any opposition in Russia.

The court has “found guilty” Nadejda Bouïanova et la “sentenced to five and a half years” of prison, declared judge Olga Fedina, according to an AFP journalist present in the courtroom. “Shame on you!”launched supporters of the doctor when reading the verdict.

Thousands of North Korean troops in combat alongside Russian troops, Washington says

North Korean soldiers have begun taking part in combat operations in eastern Russia alongside Russian troops, the US State Department said on Tuesday, again expressing Washington's concerns that Moscow has asked Pyongyang for help in its war against Ukraine.

Speaking at a press briefing, a spokesperson for the US State Department said that “more than 10,000 (North Korean) troops were sent to eastern Russia”. “Most of them moved to the Kursk region (bordering Ukraine), where they began to take part in combat operations with Russian troops,” added Vedant Patel.

kyiv took Moscow by surprise last August by launching an incursion into the Kursk region, the first incursion into Russian territory since World War II. North Korea's official press reported earlier this week that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ratified the mutual defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June during a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

NATO chief calls for 'doing more than just allowing Ukraine to fight'

The new Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte called on the West to “do more than just allow Ukraine to fight“, against a backdrop of threats of an end to American support for kyiv after the re-election of Donald Trump.

“We must maintain the strength of our transatlantic alliance. The immediate challenge we face is support for Ukraine” while the country “preparing for its hardest winter” since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, he added after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Blinken's whirlwind visit to Brussels on Wednesday to talk about aid to Ukraine

The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken is going to Brussels on Tuesday for emergency talks with Europeans in order to accelerate aid to Ukraine in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, according to a press release from the Department of 'State.

The American Secretary of State will meet NATO and European Union officials there on Wednesday “in order to discuss support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression”declared his spokesperson Matthew Miller, an emergency trip while the president-elect threatened to stop aid from the United States to kyiv.

North Korea ratifies mutual defense pact with Russia

North Korea has ratified the mutual defense pact with Russia signed last June by the leaders of the two countries, the North Korean official press reported on Tuesday, amid increased criticism from Western countries over the of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The pact sealed in June by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin provides that each side will come to the aid of the other if it is attacked. According to the United States and South Korea, North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers as part of its cooperation with Russia to support it in its war against Ukraine.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported Tuesday that Kim Jong-un signed a decree on Monday ratifying the mutual defense pact with Moscow. Vladimir Putin had already promulgated a law to this effect in Russia.

Russia prepares assault on southern front, says kyiv

Russia has reinforced its military contingent and intensified its bombings in anticipation of an assault on the southern front, where positions have remained largely unchanged in recent months, a Ukrainian military spokesperson assured Tuesday.

A Russian offensive in the southern region of Zaporizhia would pose a challenge for the Ukrainian army, already struggling on the eastern front and which is still engaged in an incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, on the northern border.

“The Russians have been preparing for some time, for several weeks, to carry out assault operations in several directions, in particular in the direction of Zaporizhia”Vladyslav Volochyn, spokesperson for the Ukrainian army in the southern sector, told AFP. He specified that the Russian army was strengthening its troops, particularly in the sectors of Vremivka, Gulyaïpole and Robotyné.

“Every day, it carries out aerial and technical reconnaissance there, and restocks with ammunition. For several weeks, the enemy has been preparing to use armored vehicles”he continued.

Mr Voloshyn refused to give the number of Russian soldiers gathered in this sector of the front, but he said small groups were already launching several attacks every day. He assured that Ukrainian forces have strengthened their defense lines and are ready to repel a large-scale assault.

Last summer, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale offensive to reconquer the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in the south of the country, but failed to make significant advances.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned that Russia has prepared a force of some 50,000 soldiers, which he said includes several thousand North Korean troops, in order to reconquer areas of the Russian Kursk region still occupied by the Ukraine.