November 29, 2024
Russia’s Belousov arrives in North Korea for military cooperation talks
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in Pyongyang for talks with North Korean officials and lauded expanding military cooperation between the two countries.
Belousov said that a strategic partnership signed between North Korea and Russia in June aimed to lower the risk of war by maintaining a “balance of power” in the region.
North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol called Russia’s war effort in Ukraine a “just struggle to protect the country’s sovereign rights and security interests.”
As Belousov arrived in Pyongyang, North Korean military officials were seen clapping under a banner that read: “Complete support and solidarity with the fighting Russian army and people.”
Belousov is a former economist and replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May.
The Russian official’s visit comes days after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul.
Earlier this month, Ukraine reported its forces’ first clash with North Korean troops who had been deployed to the Russian border region of Kursk.
https://p.dw.com/p/4nZCY
November 29, 2024
Ukraine says it struck Russian oil depot
The Ukrainian military said it struck an oil depot in the Rostov region in Russia’s northern Caucasus.
“Atlas is part of the Russian military-industrial complex that supplies petroleum products to the Russian army,” Ukraine’s military said on the Telegram messaging service.
According to the same statement, Kyiv also struck a radar station used in Russian air defense in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions Russia claimed to have annexed in September 2022.
https://p.dw.com/p/4nZFQ
November 29, 2024
Merkel says Kyiv could consider ‘diplomatic solutions’ to war
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for Ukraine and its allies to consider diplomatic solutions to end the war with Russia.
“Russia must not win this war,” Merkel stressed in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, adding that Moscow’s invasion was a “blatant violation of international law.”
Merkel said that she worked to prevent escalation of tensions with Moscow during her time as chancellor from 2005 to 2021.
It is “not only in the interest of Ukraine but also in our interest that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] does not win this war,” she said.
However, Merkel also stressed the need to “always consider diplomatic solutions in parallel” to continued military support.
She said Kyiv and its allies will have to decide together when “the right time” has come for negotiations.
Merkel said she supported the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s policies on Ukraine, stressing that Berlin is one of Kyiv’s biggest supporters.
“I support everything the international community is doing to put Ukraine in a good position,” she said, adding that it would not be easy for Kyiv to achieve military victory against Moscow.
sdi/zc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
