2 North Korea soldiers, captured in Russia’s Kursk region, in hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine

EA-War and Politics 24 Special: How Ukraine Defeated Putin’s “3-Day War”…and Is Donald Trump A Russian Asset?

Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky’s Middle East Tour Continues in Jordan

UPDATE 1025 GMT:

An international investigation establishes that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó maintained a hotline with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, giving Moscow highly sensitive information on European Union deliberations.

Szijjártó acted on behalf of the Kremlin, including efforts to remove sanctioned Russian oligarchs from EU blacklists. The Hungarian told Russia’s deputy energy minister that he was doing his best to block an EU sanctions package. He offered his services to save Russian entities from sanctions, adding that Slovakia’s government was also assisting.

Lavrov expressed his appreciation for Szijjártó’s “support and your fight for equality in all fields”.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister from 2020 to 2024, confirmed details of EU information relayed by Szijjártó to Lavrov.

It seems that all this time Putin had, and still has, a mole in all European and NATO official meetings. If the integrity of these meetings is to be maintained, it would be appropriate to ban Hungary from all of them.

Every generation has a Kim Philby [the Cold-War era British spy for the Soviet Union]. Apparently Péter Szijjártó is playing the role with enthusiasm.”

UPDATE 0855 GMT:

At least one civilian has been murdered and 39 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses intercepted 267 of 289 drones, but at least 20 struck 11 locations.

The fatality was in the Poltava region in south-central Ukraine. Four people, including two children, were injured.

Casualties were also recorded in the Sumy, Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

UPDATE 0840 GMT:

European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas and EU foreign ministers have arrived in Kyiv for discussions.

The delegation is also attending memorial ceremonies on the fifth anniversary of Russia’s killing of more than 400 civilians in Bucha near Kyiv.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s officials say they have identified 27,407 foreign nationals fighting in Russia’s 49-month full-scale invasion.

The number is up from more than 18,000 in November. The men have been recruited from at least 135 countries, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

North Korea sent around 12,000 troops in autumn 2024, helping Moscow push back a Ukrainian cross-border incursion into the Kursk region in western Russia. The Russian recruitment network spans countries across North Africa and the Middle East.

“Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Morocco, Jordan — this is far from a complete list of Arab countries whose citizens the Russian Federation is recruiting for the war against Ukraine,” the Headquarters said.

Men from Asian and African countries have testified about being deceived into fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine. They are lured to Russia with the promise of work and then tricked or forced into signing contracts with the military.

Recruits from European Union states, including Italy, have also been identified.

“In total, hundreds of foreigners are currently held in Ukrainian captivity, and their number continues to grow. Each week, Ukraine’s Defense Forces take captive one to three citizens of third countries, whom the Kremlin regime is effectively sending to certain death,” the Headquarters said.

Zelensky Hails “Landmark Agreements” With Gulf States

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed 10-year defense cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.

Zelensky toured the Gulf over the weekend, building upon Ukraine’s provision of anti-drone weapons and experts amid the US-Israel War on Iran and Iranian retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the Gulf.

He also signed an agreement with Bulgaria, meeting Prime Minister Andrey Gurov in Sofia before returning to Kyiv.

In the nightly address, Zelensky said:

For Ukraine, this is not only a matter of prestige and respect for our people; it is a very practical matter. We are exporting our system of protection, the skills of our warriors, the knowledge that our state possesses. And from these partner countries we expect reciprocal security engagement.

We have already agreed on opportunities to strengthen air defense, on the joint development of defense production, and on energy cooperation, including diesel and other critical supplies that we need right now.