Putin’s War Russia-Ukraine September 2024-

Reuters: Ukraine and Russia at War
North Korea/Russia/South Korea June 2023-

April 23, 2025 Heather Cox Richardson points out another condition in the proposed plan.
“The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is Ukrainian: the Zaporizhzhia plant. It will be considered Ukrainian territory, but the United States will operate it and supply the electricity it produces to both Ukraine and Russia, although the agreement apparently doesn’t say anything about how payments would work. The plan also refers to a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine for minerals, with Ukraine essentially repaying the U.S. for its past support.”
US peace plan emerges as freezing of Ukraine frontlines with concessions to Putin
Andrew Roth in Washington and Pjotr Sauer
Russia said to have signalled it could halt war in return for US recognition of its control of Crimea and sanctions relief
The contours of the White House’s “final” peace proposal to halt the Russian invasion of Ukraine have come into focus with proposals to freeze the frontlines in exchange for terms that critics have termed a surrender to Russian interests in the the three-year-old conflict.
Three people with knowledge of the talks told the Guardian that Vladimir Putin had signalled a readiness to effectively freeze the frontlines of the conflict in exchange for numerous concessions, including US recognition of Russian control of Crimea and considerable US sanctions relief.
But reports of the US proposal do not include other Kremlin demands, including a limit on the future size of the Ukrainian military or a ban on foreign troops in the country. Russia had listed concerns over Ukraine’s military and foreign backing as among its “root causes” for launching its 2022 full-scale invasion.
A draft version of the White House proposal seen by Axios reported that Russia would receive de jure recognition of Moscow’s control of Crimea, de facto recognition of Russia’s occupation of much of eastern Ukraine, and a promise that Ukraine would not become a member of Nato (although it could join the EU).
Russia could also receive sanctions relief for its energy sector, enabling the Kremlin to increase vital revenue flows that have been impeded since the invasion.
Kremlin dragging its feet over Ukraine peace deal as impatient US takes anger out on Zelenskyy
Pjotr Sauer
Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio bail on negotiations in London, while Putin appears undecided about peace terms
(The Guardian) …in a dramatic turn of events, Witkoff, along with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, abruptly cancelled the trip – underscoring growing tensions between Trump’s inner circle and Ukraine and Europe. The two US officials were reportedly furious with Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Ukraine pushed back against a proposal from the Trump administration to recognise Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea.
For Moscow, it marked the latest symbolic victory in its efforts to pull the US closer to its side. Trump on Wednesday launched his latest tirade against Zelenskyy, placing sole blame for the lack of progress on the Ukrainian president.

19-21 April
Air raid alerts in Ukraine after Putin’s Easter ‘ceasefire’ ends
(The Guardian) Regions in eastern Ukraine were under air raid alerts starting minutes after midnight on Monday, with the alerts gradually extending west
Russia’s Easter truce marred by accusations of attacks in Ukraine
(Al Jazeera) Russia resumed its attacks on Ukraine’s cities after a fragile 30-hour Easter truce came to an end, with both sides accusing the other of attacking one another during that time.
Ukraine wary of Putin’s Easter truce and says it will reciprocate only a genuine ceasefire
(AP) — Ukraine said it would reciprocate any genuine ceasefire by Moscow, but voiced skepticism after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce in Ukraine starting Saturday.
The announcement from Kyiv came as Russia and Ukraine conducted their largest prisoner exchange since Moscow’s full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons. According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.

18 April
Trump’s 100 Days of Failure in Ukraine
Carl Bildt, former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden
Vladimir Putin and his negotiators have obviously succeeded in leading their US counterparts on, cynically voicing support for a peace process in Ukraine that they have no intention of pursuing. After many weeks of this, even the most dimwitted of negotiators should have realized what was going on.
(Project Syndicate) It has been nearly 100 days since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency and Russian missiles continue to rain down on Ukrainian civilians. Despite Trump’s pledge to end the war on “day one,” peace is nowhere in sight. When will the administration acknowledge that it is failing?
As Ukraine-Russia talks founder, Trump’s attention wanders
David Ignatius
Will the U.S. ‘take a pass’ on finding a just resolution to Putin’s war?
Frustrated with his inability to conjure a quick peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, President Donald Trump said he’s ready to “take a pass” if Russia and Ukraine can’t agree soon on a settlement — even though that retreat from diplomacy could have disastrous consequences for Ukraine and Europe.
Trump’s comments amplified a warning earlier Friday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the president might “move on” if he couldn’t get an agreement soon. “It is not our war. We didn’t start it,” Rubio told reporters in Paris on Friday. He said Trump would decide “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable,” and he stressed: “If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president’s probably at a point where he’s going to say, well, we’re done.”

17 April
The Russia That Putin Made
Moscow, the West, and Coexistence Without Illusion
By Alexander Gabuev
(Foreign Affairs May/June) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine changed the course of history. It did so most directly, of course, for the Ukrainians subjected to this brutal act of aggression. But the war also changed Russia itself far more than most outsiders grasp. No cease-fire, not even one brokered by a U.S. president fond of his Russian counterpart, can reverse the degree to which Putin has made confrontation with the West the organizing principle of Russian life. And no cessation of hostilities in Ukraine can roll back the extent to which he has deepened his country’s relationship with China.
As a result of the war, Putin’s Russia has become much more repressive, and anti-Westernism has only become more pervasive throughout Russian society. Since 2022, the Kremlin has conducted a sweeping campaign to quash political dissent, spread pro-war and anti-Western propaganda domestically, and create broad classes of Russians that benefit materially from the war. Tens of millions of Russians, including senior officials and many of the country’s wealthiest people, now view the West as a mortal enemy.

14 April
Will Russia agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine?
(GZERO World with Ian Bremmer) President Trump has made it clear: He wants a ceasefire in Ukraine. The White House has been engaging with Russia diplomatically, while making it clear to Kyiv that ongoing US military support isn’t a guarantee. The problem? Moscow has so far shown no interest in meaningful compromise. Instead, the Kremlin is slow walking negotiations and increasing demands for concessions, all the while advancing on the battlefield and targeting Ukraine’s population centers with drone strikes. The delay tactics are testing the patience of the friendliest White House it’s faced in years. But will the Trump administration actually start piling the pressure on Russia? And even if Putin makes a deal, can Kyiv trust him to honor it? On GZERO World, Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joins Ian Brmmer to discuss President Trump’s negotiation strategy, Russia’s goals, and Ukraine’s uncertain future.

9 April
Zelenskyy says at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia in Ukraine
China’s foreign ministry says it is ‘absolutely groundless’ to suggest many Chinese citizens were fighting in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian intelligence has information about 155 Chinese nationals fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine, and that the real number is likely to be much higher.
Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday that Russia was recruiting Chinese citizens via social media and that Chinese officials were aware of the efforts. He added that Ukraine was trying to assess whether the recruits were receiving instructions from Beijing.
“The ‘Chinese’ issue is serious. There are 155 people, with names and passport details, who are fighting against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “We believe that there are many more of them.”
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army on Ukrainian soil. It was the first time Ukraine had made such a claim about Chinese fighters in the war.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he was willing to exchange the two prisoners of war for Ukrainian soldiers held captive in Russia.

7 April
Ukraine to discuss minerals deal with US as Russia drags feet on ceasefire
Ukraine to send team to discuss the latest US proposal as Russia cites ‘unanswered questions’ in ceasefire plan.
Ukraine plans to send negotiators to the United States this week to discuss Washington’s latest proposed deal for access to its rare earth minerals deposits.
Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced on Monday that a team would visit the US “to move forward with negotiations” on the contentious deal, which President Donald Trump has made a condition for continued support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.

28 March
Putin calls to remove Zelensky, ‘finish off’ Ukrainian troops
(AFP via Yahoo!) Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday [28 March] for a “transitional administration” to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would “finish off” Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.
A rapprochement between Washington and Moscow since Trump’s return to office and the US leader’s threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putin’s confidence more than three years into an offensive that has killed tens of thousands on both sides.
The renewed call to essentially topple Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was the latest demonstration of the Kremlin leader’s long-standing desire to install a more Moscow-friendly regime in Kyiv.
Zelensky dismissed Putin’s call for a UN-run administration as the Russian leader’s latest ploy to delay a peace deal.

27 March
North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia, according to South’s assessment
(AP) — North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, South Korea’s military said Thursday in its latest assessment.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations.

15-19 March
Zelensky says lasting peace achievable this year after he and Trump hail ‘positive’ call
Much of the discussion was based on the conversation Trump had with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the US president says in a Truth Social post
Putin rejected a full ceasefire during that call, but the US says talks will continue on Sunday – we’ve broken down what each of the key players wants from a possible deal
Zelensky earlier said “Putin’s words are very much at odds with reality” as he hit out at fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine
He accuses Moscow of attacking energy facilities, as Russia’s defence ministry also accuses Kyiv of targeting one of its oil storage facilities

So bold are Putin’s ceasefire demands, it’s hard to believe he is entirely serious
Dan Sabbagh, Defence and security editor
The extraordinary demands of the Russian leader to weaken Ukraine would make a mockery of any peace deal
Donald Trump began his conversation with Vladimir Putin with a simple demand: a 30-day ceasefire on land, sea and air which Ukraine has already signed up to, as an initial measure on which to build towards a peace.
Instead, what the US president got from Putin were questions, half-offers and limited concessions – and, above all, an extraordinary demand from the Russian leader to weaken Ukraine that would make a mockery of any peace agreement.
The big question on Ukraine: is Trump ready to push Putin into peace?
Shaun Walker
Russian leader’s antagonism to Zelenskyy and lack of interest in a ceasefire leaves colossal task for US
(The Guardian) On paper, everyone is in agreement: Donald Trump says he wants a ­ceasefire; Kyiv’s ­negotiating team has already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire ­proposal at marathon talks with the Americans in Jeddah; and Vladimir Putin says he accepts the idea, albeit with a few “nuances”.
But Putin’s so-called nuances are bigger than mere wrinkles, and at the end of an intense week of diplomacy around Russia’s war in Ukraine, a ceasefire – never mind a sustainable peace – still looks to be something of a distant prospect.
While Trump has proved very willing to pile the pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, most ­visibly in their disastrous meeting in the White House two weeks ago, his ability or desire to force concessions out of Putin is less clear.
Indeed, the only ­concession Trump publicly demanded from Putin last week was for the Russian president to spare the lives of ­“thousands of Ukrainian troops” supposedly surrounded by the Russian army – a battlefield ­situation first claimed by Putin, but which the Ukrainian army and ­independent military analysts said did not actually exist.

13 March
Putin backs US ceasefire idea for Ukraine in principle, but says there’s a lot to clarify
Putin speaks in the Kremlin on ceasefire
Putin says Russia agrees with proposals for ceasefire
Putin says any ceasefire must lead to long peace
Says many details need to be sorted out
Putin says: Western companies are welcome to return
(Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia supported a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine in principle, but that any truce would have to address the root causes of the conflict and that many crucial details needed to be sorted out.
Putin’s heavily caveated support for the U.S. ceasefire proposal looked designed to signal goodwill to Washington and to open the door to further talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Such talks could offer a real chance to end the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two given Ukraine has already agreed to the proposal.

2 March
Europe Races to Repair a Split Between the U.S. and Ukraine
European leaders pledge to assemble a “coalition of the willing” to develop a plan for ending Ukraine’s war with Russia, which they hope could win the backing of a skeptical President Trump.

24 February
Putin’s Three Years of Humiliation
The Russian president can’t win his war against Ukraine unless he persuades its allies to betray it.
By Anne Applebaum
… At the current rate of advance, the Institute for the Study of War estimates, Russia would need 83 years to capture the remaining 80 percent of Ukraine.
Russia doesn’t have the resources to fight indefinitely against that kind of organization and determination. Putin’s military production is cannibalizing his country’s civilian economy. Inflation has skyrocketed. The only way Putin wins now—the only way he finally succeeds in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty—is by persuading Ukraine’s allies to be sick of the war.

19 February
Kyiv’s White House wooing implodes as Zelenskyy tells the truth about Trump
Julian Borger
All America’s allies know that Trump is trapped in a disinformation bubble, but Zelenskyy said it out loud
(The Guardian) All the effort Kyiv had expended in wooing the White House, combining flattery with bribery and a share of Ukraine’s mineral wealth, imploded in minutes when Volodymyr Zelenskyy broke the fundamental rule of the new global reality: he told the truth about Donald Trump.
All America’s allies, the great majority of Republican leaders who have bowed to him, and a good number of his own cabinet, know full well that Trump is trapped in a disinformation bubble, but Zelenskyy said it out loud at a press conference on Wednesday.
In this new world where the foreign policy of the most powerful country on Earth has been rapidly reorganised around the fragile ego of a sullen and resentful old man, you might as well launch missiles at America’s eastern seaboard as utter a few words of rebuke. …
Trump tells ‘dictator’ Zelenskiy to move fast or lose Ukraine
By Doina Chiacu and Olena Harmash
Trump calls Zelenskiy ‘a dictator without elections’
Trump speaks after Zelenskiy accuses him of being trapped in Russian disinformation bubble
‘We will defend our right to exist,’ Ukraine’s foreign minister says in response to Trump
Putin says US-Russia trust is key to any Ukraine peace deal
EU floats plan to boost weapons supplies to Ukraine
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator” on Wednesday and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.
The extraordinary attacks – a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion – heightened concerns among U.S. allies in Europe that Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.
Svitlana Morenets: Trump is making sure that Zelensky is re-elected
(The Spectator UK) Ukrainians don’t like it when foreign leaders tell them what to do – whether they are Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump. Last night, Trump blamed president Volodymyr Zelensky for ‘starting’ the war with Russia and demanded that elections take place in Ukraine if it wants to be involved in the peace negotiations. Trump also expressed his disappointment that Zelensky hadn’t struck a deal with Russia before now, and said that Zelensky only had a ‘4 per cent’ approval rating in Ukraine.
Trump may have been trying to put pressure on Ukraine to make peace faster, but his comments are actually only helping Zelensky secure a second presidential term.
Zelensky’s approval ratings have fallen from their peak of over 90 per cent in March 2022, with war fatigue and domestic missteps both playing their part. Yet, he remains a popular wartime leader. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology put his approval rating at 57 per cent this month.
Echoing Kremlin, Trump calls Zelensky a dictator, angering Ukrainians
Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has low approval ratings and that elections are needed, statements also made in the past week by the Kremlin.
(WaPo) Ukrainians from across the political spectrum rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, decrying President Donald Trump’s claims that he was failing, unpopular, illegitimate and to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions
In a post Wednesday on Truth Social, Trump went on to describe Zelensky as “a Dictator without Elections,” who was soon going to lose his country. The comment was immediately the top of the news in Russian media outlets.
Trump blames Ukraine over war with Russia, saying it could have made a deal
President hits back at Ukraine’s complaint that it has been left out of US-Russia talks, saying it had years to make a deal ‘without the loss of much land’

18 February
U.S., Russia hold first talks on Ukraine without NATO allies, Kyiv
While U.S. officials characterized the talks as the first step in a peace deal, the Russians are portraying them as a way to end Moscow’s isolation.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed Kyiv for starting the war between Russia and Ukraine as his top aides concluded initial talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the conflict that included Russia but excluded Ukrainian and European officials.

13 February
Amateur Hour
— Hegseth reins in demands on Ukraine amid allies’ outcries:
“Everything is on the table,” the Defense secretary said with no mention of concessions he demanded the day before.
(Politico) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today pulled back some of the peace deal concessions he demanded of Ukraine a day earlier, including no NATO membership for the embattled country or a return to its pre-war borders. He made no mention of any conditions today, hours after President Donald Trump and Russian Vladimir Putin spoke by phone about a potential peace deal. Hegseth’s initial comments and the phone call infuriated European allies, who took it as a sign the United States was sidelining Ukraine.
The Wednesday turn of events caused a firestorm of criticism from European allies attending the NATO defense ministers meeting, who one by one made a rare public show of disunity.
Trump Says Ukraine Will Not Be Sidelined in Peace Talks With Russia
(NYT) Asked whether Ukraine would be part of the negotiations, the president said on Thursday, “Of course they would.” A day earlier, he had suggested otherwise, and appeared ready to make concessions that Ukraine has flatly rejected.
A Carve-Up That Leaves Ukraine Sidelined
(Bloomberg) Even before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Munich Security Conference tomorrow to renew his case with the US for defending Ukraine’s independence, his country’s fate looks to have been sealed.
A sense of foreboding had been building. The day before Donald Trump got on the phone with Vladimir Putin, the US leader observed matter of factly that “Ukraine may be Russian some day.”
The full extent of what he meant became clear as the two presidents extended summit invitations to each other during yesterday’s 90-minute conversation. Forget about joining NATO or US boots on the ground. Ukraine would have to concede territory that Russia began seizing back in 2014.
Zelenskiy was notified almost as an FYI. His worst fear — that terms and conditions of a peace settlement were being agreed behind his back — was coming to pass.

12 February
Putin’s Ukraine – The End of War and the Price of Russian Occupation
Nataliya Gumenyuk
(Foreign Affairs) From afar, the situation Ukraine faces after three years of full-scale war with Russia seems clear. Over the past 12 months, Moscow has intensified its assault on civilian populations, sending drones, missiles, and bombs in almost daily attacks on cities across the country. Infrastructure and power stations have been relentlessly targeted. Millions of people have been displaced, and millions more who fled the country after 2022 have been unable to return. Even as Ukraine has struggled to hold the frontlines, its soldiers continue to be injured and killed.
Given these mounting costs, and that Ukraine has, against all odds, managed to defend 80 percent of its territory, one might expect its citizens to support any effort to end the war. That would be sensible in the eyes of many Western analysts. Just as Russia seems unlikely to make major new advances, it will also be very difficult for Ukrainian forces, contending with an enemy that is prepared to burn through huge quantities of ammunition and manpower, to recapture all the territory now controlled by Russia. In this view, securing a cease-fire and bringing relief to the bulk of the country should be a top priority.
Yet that is not how Ukrainians see it. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to quickly end the war—and even before that, the threat from the United States and its allies that they might reduce military aid in the future—Ukraine’s government and population have had to take seriously the discussion of a cease-fire. But such a scenario diverges sharply from the victory plan that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined in the fall of 2024. And many Ukrainians themselves are deeply skeptical of a settlement, saying that no deal is better than a bad deal. …

10-12 February
In Calls With Putin and Zelensky, Trump Pushes for Talks to End Ukraine War
(NYT) President Trump held a 90-minute phone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday that he characterized as the start of the negotiation to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he had his own call later with Mr. Trump about “charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace.”

Russia plays hardball on Ukraine peace discussions after Trump talks of Putin contact
Trump: US making progress in talks with Russia
Russia says Putin’s conditions must be met in full
Conditions include Ukraine dropping NATO ambitions
Kremlin: we can neither confirm nor deny contact
(Reuters) – Russia’s point man for relations with the United States said on Monday that all of President Vladimir Putin’s conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine can end, suggesting Moscow is playing hardball with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russia’s foreign minister drove the point home, saying that while Moscow was ready for talks with Ukraine, results could be achieved only if the “fundamental reasons” behind the nearly three-year-old conflict were resolved.
The View From Ukraine with The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov (video)
What you need to know about a “Trump Peace Plan”
Mark Leon Goldberg
On February 3rd, Donald Trump appointed retired General Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, making him the point person leading an effort to craft a much-anticipated “peace plan” for Ukraine. To that end, there’s been a flurry of activity ahead of the Munich Security Conference later this week, where elements of this plan may become clearer.
But can a peace deal actually come together in a way that upholds Ukraine’s determination to exist as an independent state, free from Russia’s yoke? And does Russia have any incentive to relent, given its slow but steady progress on the battlefield against war-weary Ukrainian soldiers?
Joining me to discuss these questions and more is Yaroslav Trofimov, a Ukrainian-born journalist and chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
Hear directly from one of the best journalists covering Ukraine today as he shares insights on the current state of the conflict, Zelenskyy’s domestic political challenges, and whether or not Trump’s peace plan is for real.

3 February
Ukrainian troops losing ground to Russia as Trump talks of ending war
(AP) — A dire shortage of infantry troops and supply routes coming under Russian drone attacks are conspiring against Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, where decisive battles in the nearly three-year war are playing out — and time is running short.
Ukrainian troops are losing ground around the crucial supply hub, which lies at the confluence of multiple highways leading to key cities in the eastern Donetsk region as well as an important railway station.
Moscow is set on capturing as much territory as possible as the Trump administration is pushing for negotiations to end the war and recently froze foreign aid to Ukraine, a move that has shocked Ukrainian officials already apprehensive about the intentions of the new U.S. president, their most important ally. Military aid has not stopped, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

14 January
North Korea’s suicide soldiers pose new challenge for Ukraine in war with Russia
11,000 North Koreans fighting in Kursk, Ukraine and allies say
Evidence mounts that some soldiers kill themselves before capture
North Korean ex-soldier says troops brainwashed, ready to die
(Reuters) – After a battle in Russia’s snowy western region of Kursk this week, Ukrainian special forces scoured the bodies of more than a dozen slain North Korean enemy soldiers.
Among them, they found one still alive. But as they approached, he detonated a grenade, blowing himself up, according to a description of the fighting posted on social media by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces on Monday.
…a South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country’s spy agency on Monday said that the numbers of North Korean soldiers wounded and killed on the battlefield suggests they are unprepared for modern warfare, such as drone attacks, and may be being used as “cannon fodder” by Russia.
More worryingly there are signs these troops have been instructed to commit suicide, he said.

2024

30 December
Exclusive: The Russian billionaires whose chemical factories fuel Russia’s war machine
By Stephen Grey, John Shiffman and Grant Smith
(Reuters) – Chemicals factories founded or owned by some of Russia’s wealthiest men are supplying ingredients to plants that manufacture explosives used by Moscow’s military during the war in Ukraine, an analysis of railway and financial data shows.
Reuters identified five chemical companies, in which five Western-sanctioned billionaires hold stakes, that provided more than 75% of the key chemicals shipped by rail to some of Russia’s largest explosives factories from the start of the war until September this year, according to the railway data.

27 December
North Korea Is Experiencing Mass Casualties in Russia, White House Says
The North Korean losses amount to almost 10 percent of the country’s deployment to Russia, the Biden administration said.
(NYT) More than 1,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded fighting Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region in the past week, and a few chose suicide over surrender, the Biden administration said on Friday.
The heavy North Korean losses would amount to almost 10 percent of Pyongyang’s deployment figures to Russia. The announcement was the latest turn in the American effort to publicly criticize both President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, for sending ill-prepared and ill-equipped troops to a foreign front line to aid Russian efforts in its war with Ukraine.

5 December
Far from the front lines, a spy war rages over Russian weapons
Faltering Russian drones point to modest successes in Western efforts to block Moscow’s access to technology. Yet, aided by covert operatives, Russia’s weapons production is soaring.
(WaPo) Early this year, Ukrainian air defense crews began noticing something odd about the one-way attack drones that Russia regularly launches against Ukrainian cities. The latest arrivals from Russia’s arms factories would swoop in, just as before. But then something would go wrong.
The newest Geran-2 drones were more likely to spin out of control whenever they went into a sharp turn. Some would crash harmlessly. Others would level off, becoming easy prey for air defense batteries. And yet the drones kept coming — sometimes as many as 100 in a single day.
… The defective drones marked a small win for Western countries in an ongoing shadow conflict — waged in part by spy agencies — to deny Moscow access to the high-tech components needed for modern weapons of war. And yet, such measurable victories are notable in part because they are rare, Western officials acknowledge.

21 November
Is the war in Ukraine escalating or headed toward an endgame?
Christopher S. Chivvis, senior fellow and director of the Carnegie Endowment’s American statecraft program
Allowing Ukraine to use US Atacms missiles for deep strikes may be worth the risk if it hastens negotiations
It seems like the war in Ukraine is on the brink of escalating to a new level. North Korean troops have joined Russia on the battlefield, Ukraine is striking deep into Russian territory with US-provided weapons, and the Kremlin is yet again making nuclear threats. These developments intensify the sense that this war could spiral out of control. Paradoxically, however, they may also help usher in its end.
In October, North Korea added 11,000 troops to the battlefield on Russia’s side. The Biden administration said this were an unacceptable escalation. Over the weekend, it approved Ukraine’s use of US-provided missiles for long-range strikes into Russia. Russia responded with a new and more threatening nuclear doctrine that says it might use its nuclear arsenal against a non-nuclear country – a not-so-thinly veiled threat to Ukraine.
Russia has made nuclear threats several times during the war, and I have argued that the west must take these threats seriously, no matter how inconvenient and immoral they may be. Still, these latest threats seem like pure posturing given the fact that the announcement was long expected, and Russia is now making steady headway on the battlefield with conventional means.
Putin says Russia struck Ukraine with experimental ballistic missile
Mark MacKinnon
(Globe & Mail) Russia said it had attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday with an experimental new ballistic missile, as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the war for Ukraine was becoming a global one.
The attack, which Mr. Putin said was carried out using a hypersonic medium-range missile named “Oreshnik,” marked the latest in a series of dangerous escalations in the past few days alone. Although the missile was not equipped with a nuclear warhead, Mr. Putin suggested it would have been capable of carrying one.
The strike on Dnipro happened four days after departing U.S. President Joe Biden gave in to months of pressure and allowed the Ukrainian military to use Western-made long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. Ukraine has since used U.S.-manufactured ATACMS and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles to attack targets hundreds of kilometres inside Russia.

17 November
Russia pounds Ukraine’s power grid in ‘massive’ air strike
Russia stages first big missile attack on Kyiv since August
Power system damaged further as winter sets in
Strike piles pressure on Ukraine at critical juncture
Attack prompts Poland to scramble air force
(Reuters) – Russia unleashed its largest air strike on Ukraine in almost three months on Sunday, launching 120 missiles and 90 drones that killed at least seven people and caused severe damage to the power system, officials said.
Ukrainians had been bracing for weeks for a renewed Russian attack on an already hobbled energy system, fearing long winter blackouts and mounting psychological pressure almost 1,000 days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range U.S. weapons inside Russia, reversing policy
The Biden administration will allow Kyiv limited use of ATACMS to strike enemy positions in Russia, according to senior U.S. officials.
(Reuters) – Washington’s decision to let Kyiv strike deep into Russia with long-range U.S. missiles escalates the conflict in Ukraine and could lead to World War Three, senior Russian lawmakers said on Sunday.
Two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision revealed the significant reversal of Washington’s policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict earlier on Sunday.
“The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning,” Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app.

10 November
October was worst month for Russia since start of Ukraine war, UK official says
“Russia is paying an extraordinary price for Putin’s invasion,” U.K. Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin tells BBC.
While Russian gains are putting pressure on the Ukrainian front, Radakin said, Moscow is suffering losses “for tiny increments of land.”
The Kremlin does not provide figures on the impact the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has had on the Russian military. A Wall Street Journal report in September said more than a million people on both sides had been injured or killed since the start of the conflict. United States officials told reporters last month that Russia had suffered more than 600,000 dead or wounded.
The estimated number of Russian casualties is more than 40 times what it suffered during its decade-long invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Radakin spoke after a massive drone strike rattled Moscow and its suburbs early Sunday, while a huge overnight wave of Russian drones targeted Ukraine. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said a total of 32 drones were shot down over the Russian capital’s outskirts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said on Sunday that Russia had “launched a record 145 Shaheds and other strike drones against Ukraine.”
Putin late Saturday signed into law a pact with North Korea obliging the two countries to provide immediate military aid using “all means” if either is attacked. The agreement marks the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.

30 October
North Korean troops in Russian uniforms heading to Kursk, says US
Lloyd Austin says deployment near Ukraine border is a dangerous and destabilising development
North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving to the Russian region of Kursk, near Ukraine, according to the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, who described the deployment as a dangerous and destabilising development.
Austin was speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon with the South Korean defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, as concerns grow about Pyongyang’s deployment of as many as 11,000 troops to Russia. The US and South Korea said some of the North Korean troops are heading to Kursk, on the border with Ukraine, where the Kremlin’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the North Korean troops in combat. He added that officials were discussing what to do about the deployment, which he said had the potential to broaden or lengthen the conflict in Ukraine.

28 October
What are the global consequences of North Korean soldiers now appearing on the frontlines in Ukraine?
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm, Sweden.
(GZERO media) Well, I think first, it’s a reflection of the fact that Russia President Putin, does have difficulties getting the manpower to man the front lines. He has difficulty recruiting in Russia itself. He’s dependent upon soldiers, and evidently, he’s now dependent upon North Korea to supply the front lines. I mean, that’s a sign of at least long-term weakness in terms of Russia. Then the question is, of course, what has he given in return to the sort of dictator in Pyongyang? In all probability, high-tech and different sorts of military equipment. And that, of course, has serious implications or potential serious implications for stability on the Korean Peninsula. So there are consequences on the front
lines in Russia and on the Korean Peninsula.

24 October
Putin ends BRICS summit that sought to expand Russia’s global clout but was shadowed by Ukraine
(AP) … The conflict came up repeatedly at the meeting, which saw the first visit to Russia from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years and drew an angry reaction from Kyiv. Guterres called for “a just peace” in Ukraine, in line with the U.N. Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. He also urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.
At a news conference Thursday night, Putin was asked about former U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine.

2 October
Russia captures Vuhledar after two years of Ukrainian resistance
Russia takes control of Vuhledar – bloggers and media
Russia had encircled the town
Russia has been advancing at fastest rate in two years
No comment from Russia or Ukraine on Vuhledar
(Reuters) – Russian troops on [2 October] took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022.
The advance of Moscow’s forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia’s vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it.
Ukraine says its forces have withdrawn from defensive bastion of Vuhledar
Eastern city had resisted repeated attacks but Russian troops are close to ‘encircling’ it in Donetsk advance

1 October
‘Everything is dead’: Ukraine rushes to stem ecocide after river poisoning
(The Guardian) Russia is suspected of deliberately leaking chemical waste into a river, with deadly consequences for wildlife

30 September
Russia to raise defence budget by 25% to highest level on record
Draft documents say defence and security will make up 40% of government spending as Putin continues war against Ukraine