Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) welcomes North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui, Moscow, Russia, November 1, 2024

Friday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy — “Zero” Response By Partners To North Korea’s Deployment

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1701 GMT:

Five people were killed and 68 wounded by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

The toll includes slain police officer Andrii Matvienko and 46 injured — 36 police officers, nine civilians, and one rescuer — from a Russian missile strike on a police station in Kharkiv city (see 0748 GMT).

Four civilians were killed in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in a series of Russian attacks.

UPDATE 1659 GMT:

At least five civilians, including two children, have been injured by Russian attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine.

An explosion was reported near the city of Dnipro soon after an air raid alert went off in the region. The attack damaged infrastructure.

UPDATE 1256 GMT:

Ukrainian military intelligence says Russia has armed North Korean troops with 60 mm mortars, AK-12 assault rifles, RPK/PKM machine guns, SVD/SVCh sniper rifles, Feniks anti-tank guided missiles, and RPG-7 shoulder-launched anti-tank rocket launchers.

The Ukrainians said the North Koreans are in the Kursk region in western Russia, part of which is controlled by Ukraine after an August 6 cross-border offensive.

UPDATE 0819 GMT:

The US has announced another $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine.

The aid includes Stryker armored personnel carriers; munitions for NASAMS missile systems; Stinger missiles; air-to-ground munitions; ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems; 105mm and 155mm artillery ammunition; TOW missiles; and Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems.

UPDATE 0815 GMT:

A Russian drone strike on Kyiv early Saturday set fires in a 16-story residential and office building, injuring at least two people including an 82-year-old woman.

The attack damaged several apartments on the building’s 15th and 16th floors.

Air defenses downed 39 of 71 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 21 were lost to electronic counter-measures, and five more flew back towards Russia.

UPDATE 0748 GMT:

A police officer has been killed and 46 people wounded by a Russian missile strike on a police station in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv.

Two S-400 missiles injured 36 police officers, nine civilians, and 1 rescuer around 4 p.m. on Friday.

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The strikes damaged 20 residential buildings, heating and water supply networks, and 19 vehicles.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Amid its deployment of thousands to troops to Russia, North Korea has expressed full support for Vladimir Putin’s 32-month invasion of Ukraine.

Visiting Moscow on Friday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said her country will back Russia until it conquers Ukraine. She declared that there was no doubt that, under Putin’s “wise leadership”, Russia will “achieve a great victory in their sacred struggle to protect the sovereign rights and security interests”.

Choe did not refer to the deployment of around 10,000 North Korean troops, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hailed “very close contacts” between Russian and North Korean militaries. He was “deeply grateful to our Korean friends for their principled position regarding the events that have now unfolded in Ukraine”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv’s supporters must stop “watching” and take action over the presence of North Korean troops in Russia, before they arrive on the frontline in Ukraine. Alongside a video, he noted North Korea’s progress in its military capability, missile deployment and weapons production:

Now unfortunately they will learn modern warfare.

The first thousands of soldiers from North Korea are near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainians will be forced to defend themselves against them. And the world will watch again.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskiy repeated his appeal to allies for permission to strike with long-range missiles inside Russia: “We see every site where Russia is amassing these North Korean soldiers on its territory – all their camps. We could strike preventively, if we had the ability to strike long enough.”

China dismissed any concern about the ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

“North Korea and Russia are two independent sovereign states. How they develop bilateral relations is their own matter,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.