KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia had begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region.
He spoke after Russian authorities said their firefighters were battling a blaze in the western Oryol region caused by a drone attack, with Ukraine saying it had hit a major oil terminal.
“Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” said Zelensky in his evening address.
“The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” he said.
While so far they had only been deployed there, they might also be sent to other parts of the frontline, he said, adding: “There are also already noticeable losses in this category.”
Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow, after Russia and North Korea signed a landmark defense pact this summer.
The two US foes have strengthened their military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelensky said last month that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia’s western Kursk region and had already sustained losses.
Taken by surprise by the Kursk incursion, Russia has since steadily clawed back territory, halting Ukraine’s advance and rushing reinforcements to the region.
A Ukrainian army source told AFP last month that Kyiv still controlled 800 square kilometers (300 square miles) of the Kursk region, down from previous claims it controlled almost 1,400 square kilometers.
Earlier Saturday, Russian officials said firefighters were battling a blaze caused by a drone attack in the western Oryol region.
Ukraine has been targeting fuel depots in Russia in retaliation for Moscow’s strikes wreaking havoc on its power-generation network.
The Ukrainian military said Saturday morning that its forces had attacked a major oil depot in Stalnoi Kon, about 165 kilometers (100 miles) into Russian territory.
One of the largest terminals in Russia, it served Russia’s “military industrial complex” supplying the army, the General Staff said.
The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram that a fire was blazing at “a fuel infrastructure facility” in Stalnoi Kon after a “massive drone attack.”
By Saturday evening, he said, firefighters appeared to be getting it under control, but local residents were advised to keep windows closed and not go out.
Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that the attack targeted a facility owned by Transneft-Druzhba, which operates the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key supply route for Russian oil heading to much of central Europe.
Russian media showed images, purportedly of the attack, with clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire.
Governor Klychkov said there were no casualties in the attack, during which air defenses had downed 11 drones.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, a drone attack killed a nine-year-old boy and wounded his mother and baby sister, said the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
He posted photos of the family’s home with a huge hole in the facade and the roof partially torn off.
Ukraine regularly attacks military and energy infrastructure in Russia, sometimes deep into its neighbor’s territory, in response to Russian attacks on its own infrastructure.
Kyiv’s General Staff said Russia had attacked overnight with 132 drones, claiming 130 of them were downed or failed to reach targets.
Russia’s military said Saturday that it had meanwhile downed 60 drones overnight.
Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky
https://arab.news/za3qe
Russia using North Korean troops in bid to reclaim Kursk: Zelensky
- “Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults,” said Zelensky
- “The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region“
Pro-Palestinian protesters target military and defense industry recruiters at UK universities
- Activists confront Royal Air Force recruiters at careers fairs in Newcastle, Glasgow, York and Cardiff
- About 20 defense companies reportedly forced to steer clear of events because of security risks
LONDON: The UK’s military and defense industries are being forced to avoid university careers fairs because of pro-Palestinian protesters.
Student activists have targeted representatives of the Royal Air Force in recent months during events at which they were attempting to recruit graduates, The Times newspaper reported.
Videos and images shared on social media show RAF recruiters shutting down display stands or leaving them while the protests take place.
About 20 defense companies have stopped attending university careers events because of security concerns about the protests, it was reported last week.
The demonstrations are part of the widespread activism in the UK in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza that have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and at least 250 taken hostage.
Protesters have also targeted the factories of UK defense companies that supply Israel, and called on the British government to halt arms deliveries.
One protest group, called “Newcastle Apartheid Off Campus,” claimed to have shut down a recruitment fair at Newcastle University at which the RAF and defense firm BAE Systems were represented.
And about 20 students surrounded the recruitment stands of GE Aerospace, the RAF and BAE Systems at Glasgow University in October.
“The students managed to kick out BAE Systems, RAF and (defense and intelligence company) CGI,” the Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society said in a message posted on Instagram.
“Shame on Glasgow University, we continue to demand divestment and cutting all ties with these genocidal companies.”
Similar disruptions took place at a recruitment fair at York University in October and during an RAF talk at Cardiff University the same month.
In a letter to ministers, Lord Walney, the UK government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, warned that the protests go beyond peaceful assembly and could “seriously undermine our nation’s security and technical edge.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told The Times: “We continue to engage widely with our industry partners to highlight the importance and significant benefits of a career in the defense sector.
“This government recognizes the vital role of the defense sector as an engine for growth, strengthening our security and economy.”
Los Angeles firefighters brace for threat of more powerful winds
- Local officials urged residents to stay vigilant throughout the day on Wednesday and be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice
- Some 6.5 million people remained under a critical fire threat
LOS ANGELES: The threat of powerful wind gusts combined with bone-dry humidity in Los Angeles on Wednesday could pose a severe test for firefighters who have been battling to keep monstrous fires in check since last week.
Local officials urged residents to stay vigilant throughout the day on Wednesday and be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice, even after tamer-than-expected winds over the last 24 hours.
“We want to reiterate the particularly dangerous situation today. Get ready now and be prepared to leave,” County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Some 6.5 million people remained under a critical fire threat as winds were forecast to be 20 to 40 miles (32-64 km) an hour with gusts up to 70 mph and humidity dropping into the single digits during the day, the National Weather Service said.
The combination of low humidity and strong winds has further dried out the brush, increasing the risk of fire, Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
“The danger has not yet passed,” she said, noting that firefighters have seen up to 40 mph winds on Wednesday.
The death toll from the fires stood at 25. The estimate of structures damaged or destroyed held steady at over 12,000, portending a Herculean rebuilding effort ahead. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, leaving smoldering ash and rubble. In many homes, only a chimney is left standing. Some 82,400 residents were still under evacuation orders with other 90,400 facing evacuation warnings, County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Winds were tamer than expected on Tuesday, letting firefighters extinguish or gain control of some small brush fires that ignited. No major wildfires erupted in the area, as had been feared.
During the day, the milder-than-expected conditions also allowed some 8,500 firefighters from at least seven states and two foreign countries to hold the line on the Palisades and Eaton fires for the second day running.
The Palisades Fire on the west edge of town held steady at 23,713 acres (96 square km) burned, and containment nudged up to 19 percent — a measurement of how much of the perimeter was under control. The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at 14,117 acres (57 sq km) with containment at 45 percent. The fires have consumed an area the size of Washington, D.C.
“In the past 24 hours, there has been little to no fire growth on both incidents,” Cal Fire Incident Commander Gerry Magaña said.
A fleet of aircraft dropped water and retardant into the rugged hills while ground crews with hand tools and hoses have worked around the clock since the fires broke out on Jan. 7, with the aircraft occasionally grounded by high winds.
Crowley and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fielded questions on Wednesday about a Los Angeles Times report that 1,000 firefighters were on standby but not quickly deployed after fire broke out on Jan. 7.
“We did everything in our capability to surge where we could,” Crowley said.
Southern California has lacked any appreciable rain since April, turning brush into tinder as Santa Ana winds originating from the deserts whipped over hilltops and rushed through canyons, sending embers flying up to two miles ahead of the fires.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimates total damage and economic loss between $250 billion and $275 billion, which would make it the costliest natural disaster in US history, surpassing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Danish PM tells Trump it is up to Greenland to decide on independence
- Trump said last week that US control of Greenland was an “absolute necessity“
- Frederiksen also emphasized the importance of strengthening security in the Arctic
COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday she had spoken on the phone with US President-elect Donald Trump and told him that it is up to Greenland itself to decide on any independence.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said last week that US control of Greenland was an “absolute necessity” and did not rule out using military or economic action such as tariffs against Denmark to make it happen.
“In the conversation, the prime minister referred to the statements of the Chairman of the Greenlandic Parliament, Mute B. Egede, that Greenland is not for sale,” Frederiksen’s office said in a statement.
“The prime minister emphasized that it is up to Greenland itself to make a decision on independence,” the statement said.
Frederiksen also emphasized the importance of strengthening security in the Arctic and that Denmark was open to taking a greater responsibility, it added.
Russia planned ‘acts of terrorism’ in the air, Polish PM says
- The explosions occurred in depots in Britain, Germany and Poland in July
- Russia has denied involvement in the incidents and Tusk did not mention them specifically
WARSAW: Russia planned ‘acts of terrorism’ in the air against Poland and other countries, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Warsaw.
Security officials have said that parcels that exploded at logistics depots in Europe were part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States. The explosions occurred in depots in Britain, Germany and Poland in July. Russia has denied involvement in the incidents and Tusk did not mention them specifically.
“The latest information can confirm the validity of fears that Russia was planning acts of terrorism in the air not only against Poland,” Tusk told a news conference. He did not say what acts he was referring to or elaborate on the contents of the information.
Moscow has regularly denied any involvement in the courier depot explosions, as well as break-ins, arson and attacks on individuals which Western officials say were carried out by operatives paid by Russia. The Russian embassy in Warsaw has not immediately replied to an emailed request for comment on Tusk’s statement.
US must not become complacent to a growing terrorism threat, a Counterterrorism Center official says
US must not become complacent to a growing terrorism threat, a Counterterrorism Center official says
- “We are in a period where we are facing an elevated threat environment,” Holmgren said
- He also points to mass migration from the Russia-Ukraine war that has sent central Asians to countries including Turkiye, Syria, Iraq and even the US
UNITED STATES: Brett Holmgren got woken up early on New Year’s Day by alerts that a driver had plowed into a crowd of revellers in New Orleans.
The rampage, which killed 14 people, was the deadliest attack on US soil in years and was inspired by the Daesh group.
The National Counterterrorism Center, which Holmgren leads, sprang into action to help the FBI run down information on the culprit from Texas and his plot.
It was a rare recent example of a mass attack motivated by religious extremism to hit the US homeland. But it didn’t occur in a vacuum, coming at a time when a terror threat that has waxed and waned in the two decades since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is decidedly on the rise around the world.
“We are in a period where we are facing an elevated threat environment,” Holmgren said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We faced that last year. We’re going to face it again in 2025.”
The NCTC emerged in the aftermath of 9/11 as a centralized US government hub to collect and analyze data and intelligence on the international terrorism threat, providing information to the White House and other agencies to shape policy decisions and protect against attacks.
A former counterterrorism analyst and assistant secretary of state, Holmgren was named its acting director last July and intends to step aside at the conclusion of the Biden administration.
At that point, new leadership under President-elect Donald Trump will grapple with managing some of the global hot spots like Syria that have vexed officials in recent months and that the NCTC has been tracking.
Holmgren cites multiple factors for why the threat is higher than before, including passions arising from the Israel-Hamas war — a conflict that he says has been a driving factor in some 45 attacks worldwide since October 2023. He also points to mass migration from the Russia-Ukraine war that has sent central Asians, some with ties to the Daesh group, to countries including Turkiye, Syria, Iraq and even the US
Around the world, officials are monitoring tensions in Africa, which Holmgren called potentially the greatest long-term threat to US security given that the Daesh group has a large footprint on the continent and is investing resources there.
He says the “most potent overseas threat facing the United States” right now is the group’s Afghanistan-based affiliate, known as Daesh-Khorasan, whose attacks include a March 2024 massacre at a Moscow theater and the August 2021 bombing that killed 13 US service members and about 170 Afghans in the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
One ongoing spot of concern is Syria, where an insurgent group named Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning offensive last month that toppled the government of President Bashar Assad.
HTS is a Sunni Islamist group that formerly had ties with Al-Qaeda, although its leader has preached religious coexistence since taking over in Damascus. The group has not plotted against US interests in recent years and has been “the most effective counterterrorism partner on the ground,” Holmgren said.
HTS has been designated by the State Department as a foreign terror organization, a label that carries severe sanctions.
Asked whether that designation would remain, Holmgren said that was a policy decision, though he noted: “They want to be perceived as being on the right side of the international community at this time when it comes to (counterterrorism). But we will continue to evaluate not just their words but also the actions that they’re undertaking.”
In an indication of Syria’s continued instability, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press last week that the US needs to keep troops there to prevent the Daesh group from reconstituting, and intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government already have thwarted a plan by Daesh to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in a Damascus suburb.
US officials, meanwhile, remain concerned about the possibility of Daesh gaining strength by taking over weapons left behind by Assad’s government or through a mass release of fighters who are now imprisoned.
“A large-scale prisoner release in Syria could provide a real boost in the arm for IS at a time where they have been under significant pressure,” Holmgren said.
The counterterrorism center’s focus is on international terrorism, which includes cases in the US like the New Orleans rampage in which the attacker was inspired by a group from abroad. The culprit, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, pledged his allegiance to Daesh in videos he recorded just before he drove his speeding pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street early on Jan. 1.
As of now, Holmgren said, there’s no evidence that Jabbar was communicating with any Daesh operatives overseas or guided by anyone, but given that he was a lone actor who was radicalized, “this symbolizes exactly the type of attack that we’ve warned about for some time.”
“And I think it illustrates that while we have been quite effective as a government and across administrations at disrupting plotting overseas and going after terrorist leaders, we have a lot more work to do when it comes to countering violent extremism at home, countering violent extremist propaganda abroad,” he added.
“That is ultimately what is going to be needed to prevent more attacks like the one in New Orleans,” Holmgren said.
By the same token, through vast intelligence collection, hardened defenses and overseas counterterrorism operations, the US has made the risk of another large-scale attack like Sept. 11 lower than it’s ever been.
“But if we get complacent as a country,” he warned, “it will come back to bite us.”
