Vladimir Putin drives the Russian limousine that he gave to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang, June 19, 2024

Thursday’s Coverage: Kremlin on Defensive as Kyiv Submits Terms to End Russia’s Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1457 GMT:

Canada’s Globe and Mail posts an immersive article with maps and satellite images of “Russia’s modern-day gulags for Ukrainian children” — a network of 136 boarding schools, hotels, hospitals, and summer camps for tens of thousands of deported juveniles.

Mykola Kuleba, the head of Save Ukraine, summarizes:

There’s an Iron Curtain now over the occupied territories, and they can do what they want with the civilians, with the Ukrainians there, and the children. It’s very similar to the [Soviet] gulags, but with different goals. In the gulags, they massively killed Ukrainians who did not obey the regime. Today, they massively indoctrinate Ukrainian children to turn them into Russian children.

UPDATE 1100 GMT:

China has halted drone sales to Ukraine and other European countries but continues to supply Russia, say Ukrainian and European officials.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists, “[China] is open for Russians but is closed for Ukrainians. There are production lines on Russian territory where there are Chinese representatives.”

A European official said Zelensky’s remarks are in line with the European Union’s own assessments. China has restricted deliveries of certain drone components, including magnets used in drone motors, to Western buyers while increasing shipments to Russia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry insisted, “China’s stance on Ukraine issue has been consistent and clear: we have been committed to stopping the war and promoting peace talks.”

UPDATE 1035 GMT:

Donald Trump’s envoy to Kyiv, Keith Kellogg, has effectively accepted the Kremlin’s demand that Ukraine and other countries in eastern Europe be barred from joining NATO.

Kellogg told US outlet ABC News that Moscow’s ultimatum for a written pledge against any NATO enlargement is “a fair concern”.

We’ve said that, to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we’re not the only country that says that. I could probably give you four other countries in NATO, and it takes 32 of the 32 to allow you to come into NATO.

That’s one of the issues that Russia will bring up….They’re not just talking Ukraine. They’re talking the country of Georgia, they’re talking Moldova.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský sharply responded, “Where Russia borders NATO countries, there is no war. War happens elsewhere.”

UPDATE 0725 GMT:

In his nightly video address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called out Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage with efforts to end Russia’s 39-month invasion.

Russia is dragging out the war and doing everything it can simply to deceive the countries that are still trying to influence Moscow with words rather than pressure.

Words do not work with Moscow. Even the so-called “memorandum”, which they promised and allegedly spent over a week preparing — no one has seen it yet. It has not been shared with Ukraine. It has not been shared with our partners. They haven’t even shared the new agenda with Turkey – the country that hosted the first meeting.

Zelensky emphasized “another Russian deception” after they had promised “to the United States, to President Trump” to table proposals.

He concluded, “They are doing everything to ensure the meetings are meaningless. And that is yet another reason why there should be sufficient sanctions, sufficient pressure on Russia.”

After Trump criticized Vladimir Putin — “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little differently” — and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Kremlin declared a Russian team “is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June”.

However, there is still no sign of the memorandum.

Acting US Ambassador to the UN, John Kelley, said in a Security Council session on Thursday, “We will judge Russia’s seriousness towards ending the war, not only by the contents of that term sheet, but more importantly, by Russia’s actions….Additional sanctions on Russia are still on the table.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has used weapons from North Korea to “terrorize” Ukraine’s cities, including missile attacks on civilian infrastructure, reports the UN.

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team concluded that the two countries have pursued “myriad unlawful activities” prohibited by the UN’s sanctions resolutions.

Pyongyang has supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers of munitions since September 2023. Up to nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition have been shipped, as well as at least 100 ballistic missiles, self-propelled artillery guns, and long-range multiple rocket launchers.

The deliveries, propping up Russia as it expended its frontline shells and missiles, began soon after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Far East. In June 2024, the two men bolstered the arranagements with a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team has experts from 11 countries including Japan, European Union states, the UK, and the US. It summarized, “At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

The Team added that North Korea had “contributed to Moscow’s ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure” which “terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia”.

In autumn 2024, Pyongyang despatched around 12,000 troops to the Russian military, helping Moscow push back a cross-border Ukrainian incursion that took over part of the Kursk region in western Russia.

In return, Moscow is helping North Korea with its ballistic missile program, fostering “improvements in missile guidance performance”, and spy satellite development. Russia has provided air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, and electronic warfare systems.