No new limits on Kyiv's use of US arms if North Korea joins fight - Pentagon; Croatia to buy Leopard tanks from Germany

Croatia will buy up to 50 Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany to replace Soviet-era tanks that it will in turn send to Ukraine, said Croatia’s defence minister after meeting with his German counterpart in Berlin on Monday.

Britain on Monday imposed sanctions on three Russian agencies and three senior figures at the agencies who it said were trying to use disinformation to “undermine and destabilise Ukraine and its democracy”.

No new limits on Ukraine’s use of US arms if North Korea joins fight - Pentagon

The US would not impose new limits on Ukraine’s use of US weapons if North Korea entered the fight, said the Pentagon on Monday, as Nato said North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region.

The North Korea deployment is fanning Western concerns that the 2½-year conflict in Ukraine could widen, even as attention shifts to the Middle East.

It could be a sign of how Russia hopes to offset mounting battlefield losses and continue making slow, steady gains in eastern Ukraine.

“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters after talks with a South Korean delegation about the North Korean deployments.

US President Joe Biden said the development was “very dangerous”.

The Pentagon estimated 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to eastern Russia for training, up from an estimate of 3,000 troops last Wednesday.

“A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, using a term for a Russian region.

Ukrainian military intelligence said on Thursday that the first North Korean units had been recorded in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian troops have been operating since staging a major incursion in August.

The Pentagon declined to confirm that North Korean forces were already in Kursk.

“It is likely that they are moving in that direction towards Kursk. But I don’t have more details just yet,” said Singh.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had been warning about the deployment for weeks, and accused allies of failing to deliver a strong response.

“The bottom line: listen to Ukraine. The solution: lift restrictions on our long-range strikes against Russia now,” he said on X.

The Kremlin had initially dismissed reports about a North Korean deployment as “fake news”. But Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday did not deny North Korean troops were in Russia and said that it was Moscow’s business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.

A North Korean foreign ministry official did not confirm media reports about a troop deployment to Russia but said if Pyongyang had taken such action, he believed it would be in line with international norms.

The deployment of North Korean troops was a sign of “growing desperation” on Putin’s part, said Rutte.

“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support,” said Rutte.

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said sanctions alone would not be a sufficient response to North Korean involvement.

He added that Kyiv needed “weapons and a clear plan to prevent North Korea’s expanded involvement”.

“The enemy understands strength. Our allies have this strength,” said Yermak on X.

Croatia to buy Leopard tanks from Germany in swap for Ukraine

Croatia will buy up to 50 Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany to replace Soviet-era tanks that it will in turn send to Ukraine, said Croatia’s defence minister after meeting with his German counterpart in Berlin on Monday.

By acquiring the Leopard 2A8 tanks, Croatia could then deliver 30 battle tanks and 30 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine by the end of 2024, said Defence Minister Ivan Anusic.

In a letter of intent signed by Anusic and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, both countries also agreed to send spare parts and ammunition from Croatian stocks to Ukraine, with financial support from Germany to be used for the Leopards.

“The fact that Croatia is working with us on the joint procurement of Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks strengthens Germany as an industrial location and ensures common standards within Nato,” said Pistorius in a defence ministry statement.

UK sanctions Russian ‘disinformation agencies’

Britain on Monday imposed sanctions on three Russian agencies and three senior figures at the agencies who it said were trying to use disinformation to “undermine and destabilise Ukraine and its democracy”.

Britain’s foreign ministry said the Social Design Agency (SDA) and its partner company Structura had attempted to deliver a series of “interference operations” designed to weaken international support for Ukraine. The third company named was the public relations firm Ano Dialog.

“Today’s sanctions send a clear message; we will not tolerate your lies and interference, and we are coming after you,” said British Foreign Minister David Lammy.

The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Britain also said the SDA had tried to incite protests in half a dozen European countries this year and considered buying social media views. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans.

The US, which has warned of Moscow’s efforts to sow disinformation and instability in democratic countries, also imposed sanctions on the two companies in March.

North Korean troops’ Ukraine deployment ‘may come soon’

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday that the actual deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines of the war in Ukraine may come sooner than expected.

Yoon’s remarks came in a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said Yoon’s office.

Yoon shared information on North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia, saying the troops’ actual deployment to Ukraine was a severe situation that could take place faster than expected.

Yoon said South Korea hoped to seek “practical countermeasures” with the EU and member states and would redouble efforts to monitor and block “illegal exchanges” between Russia and North Korea.

Hungary’s PM visits Georgia after disputed election

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid a surprise visit to Georgia on Monday, two days after the ruling party declared victory in an election that the opposition said was marred by voting violations.

Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54% of the vote, but opposition parties disputed the results and called for protests.

The election results are a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the vote as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe.

Orbán, who holds the European Council’s rotating presidency, congratulated Georgian Dream on Saturday on its election victory.

“Georgia is a conservative, Christian and pro-Europe state,” he wrote on social media platform X after his arrival on Monday. “Instead of useless lecturing, they need our support on their European path.”

Georgian Dream has faced strong criticism from the EU and the US over some of its policies, and it has also forged cordial ties with Russia, but the party says it still fully supports the country’s bid to join the EU.

The EU, the US and Nato have all called for a full investigation of alleged irregularities in the Georgian election. Georgian Dream and the electoral commission said the vote was free and fair.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called the result a “Russian special operation”, accused the ruling party on Monday of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda, and called for Georgians to take to the streets on Monday evening.

The Kremlin on Monday denied any Russian interference in the vote, saying it was the West, not Moscow, that was trying to destabilise the situation.

Norway buys US-made air defence missiles

Norway has agreed with US authorities to buy air defence missiles for more than four billion Norwegian crowns ($363-million), said the Norwegian military on Monday.

The contract agreed between the Norwegian and US governments covers the AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, made by RTX Corporation, said a spokesperson for the Norwegian Defence Material Agency.

“With more and newer missiles, the Norwegian Armed Forces will have a better ability to protect Norway against air attacks,” said Norway’s defence minister, Bjoern Arild Gram.

Ukraine drones target ethanol plants in Russia

Ukrainian drones targeted ethanol plants in Russia’s southern region of Voronezh, said Russian channels on the Telegram app, while the regional governor said the attack injured two people, sparked a fire and damaged two industrial enterprises.

Firefighters doused the fire in the region’s Anninsky district that injured two workers, said Alexander Gusev, the regional governor, on the Telegram messaging app.

About 10 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted over the region late on Sunday, he added, with debris damaging several buildings in the district, as well as in the Novokhopersky district.

The Russian defence ministry said only one Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the Voronezh region, however, from a total of 21 downed over its territory overnight.

Explosions were heard near an ethanol spirit plant in the village of Krasnoye in the Novokhopersky district, said the Baza news channel on Telegram, which is close to Russia’s security services, as well as several other news channels on the app.

The Shot breaking news channel said the fire broke out at a distillery in the village of Anna in Anninsky. Videos on social media showed a large blaze at a building lighting up the dark. DM