Ukraine updates: EU sanctions Iran over missiles to Russia – DW – 10/14/2024

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has arrived in Beijing on an official visit, Russian news agencies said, citing his ministry.

The visit came as China’s military launched a new round of war games near Taiwan on Monday, saying it was a warning to the “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces.” That measure drew condemnation from the Taipei and US governments.

“During the visit, the Russian Defence Minister will hold several talks with the country’s military and military-political leadership,” the ministry was quoted as saying.

Russian news agencies also reported on Monday that Russian and Chinese warships had  carried out anti-submarine firing exercises in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. That came as part of a joint patrol in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two countries declared a “no limits” partnership shortly before Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg have approved sanctions against Tehran for supplying missiles to Moscow’s forces in Ukraine.

The sanctions target businesses and people involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, as well as those involved in the delivery of military hardware to Russia.

Brussels has warned Iran several times against sending ballistic missiles to Russia and views the alleged development as breaching a new taboo.

Iran has strongly denied supplying Russia with the weapons.

Iran says that, although it has a strategic cooperation with Moscow, this is not related to the war in Ukraine. It maintains that the provision of military aid to warring parties is inhumane.

Ukraine says its agents have destroyed a Russian military transport plane stationed at an airfield deep inside Russian territory. 

The attack, over the weekend, is the latest Ukrainian claim of an attack behind Moscow’s lines.

Ukraine has increased its attacks inside Russia and Russian-held territory in recent months, targeting military sites and energy facilities, seeking to disrupt Russian military logistics.

Kyiv’s military intelligence agency says it destroyed the Tu-134 transport aircraft overnight between Saturday and Sunday. 

It said the attack was at a military airfield in the Orenburg region, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

“These Soviet-built airplanes are used mainly to transport leadership of the Russian defense ministry,” the agency said on social media on Monday.

The agency posted footage of what Ukraine said was an arson attack. Footage showed a fire inside an aircraft, but it did not provide details of how the alleged attack was carried out.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korea has sent soldiers as well as weapons to help Russia in its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

“We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea,” the Ukrainian leader said in his evening video address on Sunday.

“This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces.”

There has so far been no independent confirmation that North Korean soldiers are against Ukraine but, in recent days, there have been reports of the deployment of North Korean soldiers there.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US military think tank, has recently reported that several thousand North Korean soldiers had arrived in Russia and were being prepared for deployment in Ukraine.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has been supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, supporting the country with weapons and ammunition. South Korean intelligence says Pyongyang supplies artillery shells and short-range missiles.

rc/zc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)