War in Ukraine: 10,000 North Korean soldiers preparing for combat, prisoner tortured… an update on the situation

magictr | October 17, 2024 | Health | No Comments

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday October 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

US, French, German and British leaders to meet Friday

US President Joe Biden will meet with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Berlin on Friday during a visit focused on Ukraine, the White House announced on Wednesday.

During the one-day transatlantic trip, which comes in the middle of the US election campaign, Biden will also meet separately with Olaf Scholz, according to the schedule for the presidential visit released by the White House.

Zelensky will present his "victory plan” to EU and NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his "plan on Thursday “victory” to the European Union (EU) and NATO at a summit of leaders of the Twenty-Seven and 39;a meeting of NATO defense ministers held in Brussels.

Volodymyr Zelensky presented on Wednesday a "< em>victory plan"five-point plan drawn up by Ukraine, which includes kyiv receiving an unconditional invitation to join NATO, before the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian leader assured that, if implemented now by Ukraine's allies, this plan could lead to the end of the war against Russia as early as next year.

He had already presented this plan, which includes three additional "secret" points, to some Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who took office earlier this month, said on Wednesday that the plan presented by the Ukrainian president was a “strong signal” but that he could not, as it stood, support all of the plan's points.

In addition to the invitation to join NATO and the deployment of a non-nuclear strategic deterrent in Ukraine, the plan envisages in the medium term the replacement of some American troops deployed in Europe by Ukrainian soldiers, as well as an agreement between kyiv and its allies on a common defense policy and the use of Ukrainian mineral resources.

“Our plan is to strengthen Ukraine, to be strong and to be ready for diplomacy,”, he said upon his arrival at a summit of the European Union bringing together the leaders of the 27 countries members.

American Hubbard, prisoner in Russia, was tortured

American national Stephen Hubbard, detained for two and a half years in Russia and convicted of "mercenary" for the benefit of Ukraine, was tortured in Russian prisons, a Ukrainian prisoner of war who says he was detained with the septuagenarian told AFP.

“They beat him with sticks, batons, kicks. They attacked him with dogs, they made him run, they didn't feed him, they made him crawl in the corridors,” said Igor Chychko, a prisoner released in a May 2024 exchange who says he was also tortured by his Russian guards, as were many other detainees.

Zelensky says 10,000 North Koreans are preparing to fight alongside Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Brussels on Thursday that 10,000 North Korean troops were preparing “in their country" to a possible deployment in Ukraine or Russia to fight alongside the Russian army.

“We have information that North Korea has sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine on temporarily occupied territories and that they are preparing 10,000 troops on their soil but have not yet deployed them to Ukraine or Russia,”, Zelensky said at a press conference at NATO headquarters, clarifying remarks made earlier at an EU summit.

The Ukrainian head of state came to defend to his European allies gathered in the Belgian capital his “victory plan” against Russia, which involves increased support for Westerners. "We have no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in the fighting, but we know that North Korea supports Russia", declared NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Information published over the past few days about the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the war in Ukraine has already been denied by the Kremlin. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin "is trying to involve" other parties "in this war" because of the "heavy losses" suffered by the Russian army and because he is "afraid of mobilization" which would be very unpopular. "This is the first step toward a world war,", he warned.

Western officials confirmed Thursday that they were aware of reports of North Korean soldiers but stressed that they were treating them cautiously for now.

“We are closely monitoring the possible deployment of North Korean troops in Russia,”, an official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “It is still a bit too early to make a judgment and get precise data on what is really happening,”, the official continued.

Without giving figures, the Ukrainian president had already said on October 13 that North Korea was providing Russia with soldiers for its offensive in Ukraine, in addition to delivering ammunition. A Ukrainian media outlet recently claimed that six North Korean officers had died in a Ukrainian missile strike near Donetsk in occupied eastern Ukraine.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said Seoul considered it “highly likely that there were casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine,” and even said he expected more troops to be sent to fight alongside the Russians.

North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, has strengthened military ties with Moscow and the Russian president in recent months. made a rare visit to Pyongyang in June to sign a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.