Zelensky Turns Up the Heat: Ukraine President Takes Aim at North Korean Troops

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia suffered heavy losses near Kursk. Ukraine is apparently attacking Russia’s energy infrastructure. All the information in the news blog.

1 am: The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is calling on Ukraine’s allies to act against the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. In a video posted on Telegram, the president said that North Korea has made progress in its military capabilities, missile development and weapons production. “There are thousands of North Korean soldiers near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainians will be forced to defend themselves against them. And the world will be watching again,” said Zelensky.

Ukraine has identified all locations where North Korean troops are stationed in Russia. But Kiev’s Western allies have not supplied the long-range weapons needed to attack them, he added. Anyone who really wants the war to expand should not just watch, but must act, the president said.

7:48 pm: According to the police, an officer was killed in a Russian rocket attack on a commissary in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian national police said on Friday that another 30 people were injured in the attack with two rockets. 26 of those injured in the attack in the center of Kharkiv were police officers, the head of the national police explained on the online service Facebook. The other four people injured were civilians. The police chief published photos on Facebook showing a large crater next to piles of rubble. In one photo, a policeman can be seen with a bandage on his head and blood on his face.

7:24 pm: The USA is supporting Ukraine with additional military aid worth 425 million dollars (392 million euros). The Defense Department in Washington said on Friday the money would help Ukraine meet urgent military needs in its war against Russia, including air defense interceptors, ammunition for missile and artillery systems, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.

The package also contained air-to-ground ammunition, medical equipment, explosive ammunition and spare parts. The United States continued to work to meet the battlefield needs of Ukraine “and defend against Russian aggression,” the Pentagon statement said. The United States is Ukraine’s biggest financial and military supporter in its defensive war against Russia.

5:14 pm: The judiciary in Russia has imposed several years of prison sentences on two men for allegedly acting as agents for Kiev on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, which was annexed by Russia in violation of international law. According to the judiciary, a 53-year-old man was found guilty of high treason on Friday and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony under “aggravating conditions”. According to the indictment, he is said to have sent photos and videos of Russian soldiers and military equipment in Sevastopol to the Ukrainian secret service SBU in July 2022.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the second convict is a Ukrainian citizen who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also under “aggravated conditions”. Accordingly, the 62-year-old was also acting on behalf of the SBU. He is accused of carrying out a failed car bomb attack on a Russian soldier in Dzhankoy in northern Crimea in September 2023.

4:46 pm: Two alleged Ukrainian army brigades only exist on social media, as Kiev has now confirmed. But what is the point of the fake units? Read more about this here.