A medical emergency team carry the body of a teenage girl killed by a Russian drone, Kyiv, Ukraine, October 26, 2024 (Alex Babenko/AP)

Sunday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy — “Ukraine Could Soon Be Forced to Fight North Korean Troops in Europe”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1410 GMT:

A Helsinki court, ruling in favor of Ukraine’s State oil and gas company Naftogaz, has ordered the seizure of Russia’s assets in Finland worth tens of millions of dollars.

In 2023, The Hague-based Permanent Arbitration Court has ordered Russia to pay $5 billion to Naftogaz Group as compensation for assets illegally taken during the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014.

The Finnish court ordered the seizure of “real estate and other assets,” Naftogaz said without providing further details.

“Since Russia refuses to voluntarily pay Naftogaz the funds stipulated by The Hague decision, we continue to use all available mechanisms to collect them. Today, we are one step closer to restoring justice,” Oleksii Chernyshov, head of the Naftogaz Group, said.

UPDATE 1258 GMT:

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says North Korea has sent troops to Russia.

After meeting South Korean defense and intelligence officials on Monday, Rutte said some of the North Koreans have been deployed to western Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion on August 6.

The South Korean delegation briefed the North Atlantic Council and representatives from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand on the North Korean involvement in Russia’s war.

UPDATE 1251 GMT:

At least five civilians have been killed and at least 38 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

At least 21 people, including five children, were injured overnight by Russian guided bombs on Kharkiv city in northeast Ukraine (see Original Entry).

In the Kherson region, Russian strikes killed five people and injured 13, including a child. Critical infrastructure facilities, a medical facility, and residential areas were targeted.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 66 Russian attack drones, and another 24 of them were lost to electronic counter-measures.

UPDATE 0611 GMT:

The European Union and US have called for an investigation of Georgia’s Parliamentary elections amid reports of widespread violations in Sunday’s ballot.

The ruling Georgian Dream Party was given 54.3% of the vote by the country’s Central Election Commission.

However, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe expressed serious doubts. They cited intimidation, coercion, and suppression of voters. Polls were not opened abroad, and voting was delayed in about 40% of stations in Georgia.

President Salome Zourabichvili said that she will not recognize the r,esults and called for mass protests.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy head, said in a statement:

We call on the Central Election Commission of Georgia and other relevant authorities to fulfill their duty to swiftly, transparently, and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations thereof.

We condemn all contraventions of international norms and join calls from international and local observers for a full investigation of all reports of election-related violations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged encouraged “Georgia’s political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together”.

While international and local observers agreed that Election Day was generally well administered, we note reports of irregularities and sporadic violence. International observers have not declared the result to be free and fair.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has fired around 1,700 missiles, drones, and guided bombs on Ukraine in just one week.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported the attacks in a post on Sunday: “We are working hard with our partners to stop the enemy, strengthen Ukraine, and provide maximum protection for our people so that this Russian terror becomes impossible.”

One of the Iran-type attack drones killed an elderly man in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Sunday. Four other civilians were slain by artillery fire.

Early Monday 21 civilians, including five children, were wounded by Russian guided bombs on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv.

The bombs landed near a nine-story residential building, causing significant damage to the upper floors and windows, destroying three apartments, and setting a fire.

“Several explosions were heard in Kharkiv. Stay cautious – the enemy may conduct repeated strikes,” posted Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov on Telegram.

Hours earlier, another guided bomb attack on the city’s Saltivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts injured six people. At least 21 private residences and four cars were damaged.

Russian forces also targeted the city of Chuhuiv. The extent of damage is still being assessed.