[🇺🇦] Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russia vows action over ATACMS strike on Belgorod

Russia vowed on Saturday to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day.

www.newagebd.net

Russia vows action over ATACMS strike on Belgorod
Agence France-Presse . Moscow, Russia 04 January, 2025, 22:23

Russia vowed on Saturday to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day.

Outgoing US president Joe Biden authorised Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the nearly three-year conflict.

‘On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,’ the Russian defence ministry said.

‘These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,’ it added, saying all the missiles were shot down.

The ministry said earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in total, without saying when or where.

Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened last year to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons.

US president-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month he was ‘very vehemently’ opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were ‘escalating’ the conflict.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of fatal attacks on civilians since the year began.

A Russian strike on a village in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region earlier on Saturday killed a 74-year-old man, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday it had captured the Ukrainian village of Nadiia, one of the few settlements in the eastern Lugansk region still under Kyiv’s control.

Moscow advanced by almost 4,000 square kilometres in Ukraine in 2024, according to an AFP analysis, as Kyiv’s army struggled with chronic manpower shortages and exhaustion.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine launches counterattack in Kursk region: Russia

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a ‘counterattack’ in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

www.newagebd.net

Ukraine launches counterattack in Kursk region: Russia
Agence France-Presse . Moscow, Russia 06 January, 2025, 01:09

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a ‘counterattack’ in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

It was not immediately clear how much Ukraine had advanced in the region, but pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported earlier that a powerful new offensive was underway.

‘At about 9:00am Moscow time (0600 GMT), in order to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk direction, the enemy launched a counterattack,’ the Russian defence ministry said.

Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armoured vehicles and a demolition unit in the new assault, which was headed towards the village of Berdin — about 15 kilometres northeast of Sudzha, the ministry said.

‘The operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues.’

Sudzha was captured by Kyiv’s forces shortly after they launched their offensive in August 2024, and they have held on to it since.

Ukrainian officials offered limited information about the offensive.

‘Russia is getting what it deserves,’ Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.

The head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said on Telegram that ‘defence forces are working’ in the area.

‘In the Kursk region, the Russians are very worried because they were attacked from several directions, and it was a surprise for them,’ he said.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers admitted the Russian army was under pressure in the Kursk region.

‘The main events of the next attempted offensive by the Ukrainian army are clearly still ahead of us,’ influential pro-Russian blogger Rybar said.

Kyiv seized dozens of villages in the Kursk region shortly after its incursion started on August 6, 2024, but its advances stalled after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, including thousands of troops from its ally Pyongyang.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday evening that ‘up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian airborne troops’ had been lost in battles in the Kursk region on that day and the day before.

Kyiv’s apparent new offensive comes at a critical moment in the nearly three-year conflict, with US president-elect Donald Trump — who has promised a quick ceasefire — gearing up to take office on January 20.

Incumbent president Joe Biden’s administration has unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine ahead of the Republican’s inauguration.

Both Russia and Ukraine have exchanged regular attacks since the year began.

Russia said Sunday it downed dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight in a barrage that damaged homes and triggered air alerts, while Kyiv said Moscow fired 103 drones into its territory.

Four Russian airports briefly suspended traffic early Sunday for ‘safety’ reasons, forcing at least eight planes to divert course, a spokesperson for Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.​

 

[Saif]

Fighting rages inside Russia’s Kursk region

Russia said yesterday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.

www.thedailystar.net

Fighting rages inside Russia’s Kursk region
Moscow reports gains in Ukraine; Kyiv denies fall of Kurakhove

Russia said yesterday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32 km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russian forces have been advancing for months.

The ministry said taking Kurakhove, which had held out for many weeks, would enable Moscow's forces to step up the pace of their advance in Ukraine's Donetsk region. It also said it had captured Dachenske, a settlement within five miles of Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState, which tracks the front line using open sources, showed most of Kurakhove under Russian control. Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces said Russian forces continued to attack Kurakhove but Ukrainian forces were working to identify and repel Russian assault groups on that part of the front.

Both sides are fighting to improve their battlefield positions before US President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to bring a quick end to the nearly three-year-old war, takes office on January 20.

Ukraine's main achievement in the past five months of fighting has been to capture and hold on to a slice of territory inside Russia's Kursk region that could provide it with an important bargaining chip in possible peace talks.

Ukraine has not revealed details of the new offensive it launched in Kursk on Sunday, though a senior Ukrainian official has said Russia is "getting what it deserves".

Russian accounts said Moscow's forces had beaten back the initial Ukrainian assaults but further waves were expected.

"Of course, this is not the end. Now we are recording a concentration of enemy equipment in another direction and naturally we understand that he (Ukraine) will try to strike in this direction. Right now I won't say where," said Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of a Chechen unit fighting for Russia in Kursk.

Ukrainian and Western assessments suggest about 11,000 troops from Russian ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow's forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday more than 1,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded. Reacting to the new Ukrainian offensive, the United States, Britain and the European Union have reaffirmed their support for Kyiv.​

 

[Saif]

‘Dozens’ of Ukraine soldiers deserted while training in France

Several dozen Ukrainian soldiers have deserted while training in France, a French army official said on Monday.

www.newagebd.net

‘Dozens’ of Ukraine soldiers deserted while training in France
Agence France-Presse . Paris 07 January, 2025, 23:36

Several dozen Ukrainian soldiers have deserted while training in France, a French army official said on Monday.

‘There have been a certain number of desertions, but they remain very marginal given the volume of people who have undergone training,’ a French army official said.

‘They were in French barracks, they had the right to go out.’

According to the French army official, the Ukrainian soldiers who were trained in France were subject to a disciplinary regime ‘imposed by the Ukrainian command’.

‘We don’t criminalise desertion in France’, the official said.

‘If someone deserted, a French prosecutor had no authority to arrest that individual. And the right granted to the Ukrainian authorities on French soil is just a disciplinary right.’

The French army trained on French territory 2,300 soldiers from a brigade named ‘Anne of Kyiv’ after a Kyiv-born princess who married French King Henri I in the 11th century.

Most of the soldiers were conscripts with no combat experience. They were accompanied by 300 Ukrainian supervisors.

The other 2,200 soldiers in the brigade were trained in Ukraine.

Earlier Monday, Ukraine’s land forces commander admitted there were ‘problems’ with the army unit after reports that many of its soldiers had deserted.

The unit was one of several formed last year as Ukraine sought to boost preparations for possible new Russian offensives.

‘Yes, there are problems, we are aware of them,’ Land Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapaty said of the Anne of Kyiv unit, the informal name for the 155th Mechanised Brigade, in сomments to media including AFP.

Prominent Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov wrote in December that 1,700 soldiers had fled the brigade without going into combat, and that 50 had escaped while training in France.

Asked about Butusov’s report, Drapaty said: ‘I will not refute it.’

He said ‘a number of the facts that were presented did take place’, while ‘perhaps not on the scale and scope that was presented’.

‘I don’t really see what could be described as an abuse of power,’ said the French army official.

‘In any case, nothing has come to light about the Ukrainians being stationed in France or what happened during these training sessions.’

He insisted that the training had been in line with the Ukrainians’ wishes, in terms of ‘equipment’ and ‘training time’.​

 

[Saif]

Russia-Ukraine conflict and the shifting alliances in Central Asia

The war between Russia and Ukraine has become a major geopolitical crisis of the 21st century.

www.thedailystar.net

Russia-Ukraine conflict and the shifting alliances in Central Asia

File photo: AFP

The war between Russia and Ukraine has become a major geopolitical crisis of the 21st century. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, numerous countries, including the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and Japan, have imposed over 19,535 sanctions against Russia. Their primary focus has been on Russia's financial resources. Approximately half of its total reserves—amounting to $350 billion—were frozen, impacting its foreign currency reserves. According to the EU, approximately 70 percent of the assets of Russian banks were frozen by a high-speed messaging service for financial institutions.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has undoubtedly influenced the relationship between Moscow and its allies. Following the imposition of sanctions on Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a significant swing towards China, signing a series of agreements. The impact of this war was not only on Western and Russian relations but also on Russia's close allies. In this regard, Central Asian countries are now forced to strike a difficult balance between their long-standing relations with Russia and other large powers. While the region has historically relied on Russia for economic and security relationships, the protracted conflict has produced new challenges and possibilities, prompting these countries to pursue a more assertive but cautious foreign policy. At the same time, this upheaval and Russia's dependence on China create a golden opportunity for China to strengthen its ties with Central Asia.

Though, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five Central Asian countries have gained more political and economic independence. Historically, the Central Asian Republics (CARs)—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan—have always viewed Russia as a guarantor of security for internal stability and protection against foreign threats. Since their independence from the Soviet Union, Central Asian countries have faced a difficult transition from a common Soviet history to divergent nation-building and economic liberalisation pathways. The five Central Asian states are part of one or more Russian-led organisations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), and the Eurasian Economic Union. These institutions provide forums for regional security and economic partnership with Russia, allowing Russia to maintain a substantial influence in Central Asia's geopolitical landscape. For example, in 2021, when the Taliban reclaimed control in Afghanistan, Russia stationed military equipment on the Tajik-Afghan border as part of the CSTO and conducted joint military drills with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan within 20 kilometres from the Afghan border. This exhibition aims to demonstrate Russia's military readiness in its own backyard in the event of an attack on Central Asia by the Taliban or other terrorist outfits. Similarly, in January 2022, Moscow dispatched soldiers from the CSTO to quash unrest in Kazakhstan.

Economically, Central Asia also depended on Russia. Moscow's energy and trade participation in the region was intended to lock the governments into a vital dependency, giving the Kremlin control over their internal and foreign policy decisions. For example, Kazakhstan exports 80 percent of its oil through the Caspian oil pipeline, which passes through Russian territory. The number of economic migrants who go to Russia for work is relatively high compared to other migrant workers worldwide. For example, approximately nine million Central Asians live and work in Russia, and practically every major city relies on their labour. According to a June 2022 report by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM), remittances from Russia to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan accounted for 31 percent and 27 percent of GDP, respectively, in 2020. The majority of this money is expected to come from their employees in Russia. In 2021, remittances from Russia accounted for 55 percent of total transfers to Uzbekistan and 51 percent to Kazakhstan.

However, the CARs' internal unrest, Russia's actions in Ukraine, and growing concerns about sovereignty have forced Central Asian nations to look for new allies for long-term security cooperation and are diversifying their foreign policy in an effort to reduce Moscow's influence. Furthermore, Western sanctions on Russia led the CARs to seek alternate channels to sell commodities to the world market. Therefore, CARs have responded to the altering geopolitical landscape in a variety of ways, including preserving economic links with Russia, avoiding outright criticism of Moscow, and increasing partnerships with other global powers such as China, the West, and Turkey.

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine war, Central Asian leaders have also been at the forefront of the so-called "multi-vector" foreign policy approach, aiming for balanced relations with Russia as well as other countries such as China, the West, and Turkey. The states of the region refused to accept Russia's recently seized areas in Ukraine, and some issued public declarations in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity in the early days of the 2022 war.

Nonetheless, these powers did not openly condemn Vladimir Putin and his "special military operation." Various factors are at play here, including economic reliance, Central Asian immigration, and membership in Russia-led institutions.

Moreover, according to polls, the majority of Central Asians—70 percent in Kyrgyzstan, 55 percent in Kazakhstan, and 30 percent in Uzbekistan—ascribe the regions current economic difficulties to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The popularity of the Russian language is declining, entertainment venues are refusing to host Russian performers, and there have been multiple anti-war protests in Almaty and Bishkek. Russia has blocked Central Asian media sites for attempting to provide unbiased coverage of the conflict in Ukraine. The public conversation has returned to the topic of decolonisation.

On the other hand, Central Asia is a strategically important region for China due to its abundant resources, transit links, and shared border, which are vital for China's security. China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) underscores its interest in the region, leveraging growing unease and Russia's focus on Ukraine. Central Asian nations increasingly rely on China for both security and economic resources, potentially challenging Russian dominance and jeopardising Moscow's security interests. Despite a recent decline in historical hostility between the two sides, Russia believes that China's increasing economy might soon enable it to contest Moscow's geopolitical sway in Central Asia.

Notably, China is assisting the CARs in strengthening their security and law enforcement capabilities by capitalising on their worries about Russia. During his visit to Central Asia in September 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that he supported Kazakhstan's territorial integrity in light of these exceptional circumstances. When Xi called the China-Central Asia Summit to order in Xi'an in May 2023, he emphasised the significance of the security, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the CARs. In the midst of the intensifying powerplay among the world's strongest nations, Beijing is taking big measures to expand its regional influence in order to counter the US's encirclement of China.

China is still dedicated to its long-standing regional objectives. With over half of China's trade and investment going to Kazakhstan, Beijing sees the country as its main economic partner in Central Asia. China's economic interests are further supported by the transportation opportunities that have emerged since Russia's invasion.

Beijing is becoming increasingly interested in playing the role of a security supplier in the region due to its rising concerns about the unrest in Afghanistan and Central Asia. This development may cause future difficulties with Moscow. China-Central Asia's security cooperation has already been strengthened by BRI efforts. More robust security allies like China could undermine Russia's position as the principal security guarantor. China's growing influence in Central Asia after the invasion presents a challenge to Moscow's dominance, potentially altering the dynamics of security cooperation and posing future complications for Moscow.

Md Tariqul Islam Tanvir is Erasmus scholar in the International Master in Central & East European, Russian & Eurasian Studies programme at the University of Glasgow.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Looks like Irans sold its whole factory of its new AI Rizwan drone plant to imam Putin:

 

[Lulldapull]

This is very embarrassing gents, the realization that here is Iran exporting entire fukking factories of advanced AI drones to so many customers and here we are stuck talking about eff-sola and Jeff thunder?

Waqaee sharmindagi key baat hae.

Munira whiskey needs to go bhai…..

Hamaray paas kuchh ne hae to export to Russia or Ukraine except 155mm arty rounds and 122mm grad rockets.

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/ukraine-captures-two-north-korean-soldiers-in-kursk-zelenskiy-says

Ukraine captures two North Korean soldiers in Kursk, Zelenskiy says
REUTERS
Published :
Jan 11, 2025 23:17
Updated :
Jan 11, 2025 23:17

Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war last autumn.

North Korean regular troops entered the war on Russia's side in October, according to Kyiv and its western allies, who initially estimated their numbers at 10,000 or more.

In a post on X, Zelenskiy said that the soldiers had been brought to Kyiv and were communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country's domestic intelligence agency.

"As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance," Zelenskiy said. He said that journalists would be given access to speak to them.

Kyiv says that North Korean troops are fighting in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August. Kyiv says it still controls several hundred square kilometres of territory there.

Pyongyang has also been supplying Russia with vast quantities of artillery shells, according to Kyiv and its western allies.

Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, and there was no immediate reaction from Moscow or Pyongyang to the latest report.

Ukraine had previously said it captured North Korean soldiers in combat, but that they had been badly wounded and died shortly afterwards.

SPECIAL FORCES OPERATION

Zelenskiy said in a later video address that the troops had been captured by Ukraine's special forces working alongside paratroopers.

The special forces posted a video filmed from a drone claiming to show part of the operation. It showed five men in ghillie suits in a forested area, although other details were hard to make out.

A video posted by the SBU appeared to show the two captured men. One had his jaw bandaged due to an apparent wound, while the other was drinking through a straw.

A doctor interviewed for the SBU’s video, who was not named and had his face blurred, said one of the soldiers had a facial wound and would be treated by a dentist, while the other soldier had an open wound and a lower leg fracture.

The SBU said the North Koreans had been transferred to Kyiv for questioning, and that because they could not speak Ukrainian, Russian or English, their questioning was being done in Korean with the help of South Korea's NIS intelligence agency.

The SBU said one of the soldiers had been captured with a Russian military document with the name of another person registered in Russia, while the other did not have any documents.

The agency said the soldiers had been born in 2005 and 1999, and had been serving in the North Korean armed forces since 2021 and 2016 respectively.

The SBU said the two prisoners were being held in conditions that were in accordance with international law, and that a criminal investigation was being conducted to see if the men broke Ukraine's law against planning or conducting a war.​

 

[Saif]

Russia claims new villages in eastern Ukraine

Russia yesterday claimed the capture of two villages in eastern Ukraine where its forces have been steadily advancing for months.

www.thedailystar.net

Russia claims new villages in eastern Ukraine

Russia yesterday claimed the capture of two villages in eastern Ukraine where its forces have been steadily advancing for months.

The defence ministry said the southern group of forces had captured the village of Yantarne in the eastern Donetsk region, around 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of Kurakhove, a key logistics hub that Moscow claimed to have seized last week.

On Saturday, Russia's army said it had also taken new territory northwest of Kurakhove.

The defence ministry said Sunday that Russian troops had also captured the village of Kalinove in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The village is on the western bank of the Oskil River, which for a long time formed the front line between the two armies in the region.

But a Ukrainian official said Thursday that Russian forces had managed to establish a bridgehead on the western bank after crossing the river. Russia's army has spent months making attempts to cross the river, which also cuts through Kupiansk, a city recaptured by Ukraine.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Chinese and DPRK soldiers have performed very poorly in the Ukraine war and the same for their equipment such as North Korean missiles. Imam Putin has stopped purchasing any thing from North Korea.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Chinese and DPRK soldiers have performed very poorly in the Ukraine war and the same for their equipment such as North Korean missiles. Imam Putin has stopped purchasing any thing from North Korea.

What was he getting from the North Koreans earlier ? Small arms, the odd mortar hoga, I imagine

 

[Lulldapull]

What was he getting from the North Koreans earlier ? Small arms, the odd mortar hoga, I imagine

155mm and the 122mm Grad rockets and a few SRBMs for trials.

SRBMs performed sub par missed by hundreds of meters and vulnerable to PAC-3 systems and thousands of Chinese and DPRK mercenary are already dead.

Arty shells and grads are pretty standard Chinese norinco factory copycat in NK