Yonhap reported that South Korea summoned Georgy Zinoviev as the Russian ambassador to Seoul on October 21 to protest the dispatching of North Korean troops in support of Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
Seoul and Kyiv have accused North Korea of preparing the transfer of between 10,000 and 12,000 soldiers to Russia as a sign of deeper military cooperation between both countries.
Some North Korean troops have reportedly already arrived to Russia and the Russian-occupied Ukraine in order to share their experiences with their Russian counterparts.
Yonhap reported that South Korea’s first deputy foreign minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Zinoviev in order to demand the “immediate removal of North Korean troops” and to stop any relevant cooperation with North Korea. The South Korean Foreign Ministry was cited by Yonhap.
The South Korean diplomat “condemned the illegal military co-operation, including… North Korea’s troop deployment and sternly warned South Korea that it will respond with all possible means, together with the international community to any acts that threat the core interests South Korea.”
The National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS) believes that North Korea will send four brigades, totaling 12,000 soldiers, to the war in Ukraine. This includes 1,500 special forces. This would be the first time North Korean troops have been deployed to a war abroad.
Seoul’s plans remain unclear. Yonhap reported that South Korea was considering openly supplying arms to Ukraine as a response to the deepening military collaboration between Russia and North Korea.
The Kremlin previously denied reports of North Korean troops being dispatched as fake news. The U.S. has not confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Russia and Ukraine, although a senior U.S. legislator said that such a move would mean crossing a’red line’ and urged immediate actions.
According to internal documents of the agency, the IAEA has signed at least two agreements for research in Crimea that included fieldwork. The deals were signed from 2016 to 2019, and the first deal was reportedly extended during the summer of 2019.
A military intelligence source told Kyiv Independent that Russian authorities had detained 18 North Koreans who had abandoned their positions in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
The Air Force reported that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 59 of 116 Shahed attack drones launched overnight by Russia. According to reports, 45 drones “lost” in Ukraine and 10 others were still present at the time of publication.
The election results were tainted with allegations of Russian interference. Moldovan lawmakers claimed that Moscow spent millions in a campaign against Maia Sandu, the pro-Western incumbent and voted down the EU referendum.
Dmitry Rogozin said that the Russian official in charge of the occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast was forced to change the registration number because the unmanned boats used by the enemy were a large target for our large ships.
According to Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), Russian Pilot Dmitry Golenkov sustained multiple head injuries that were probably caused by a heavy hammer.
CNN reported that U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 21 to ensure continued support before the uncertain U.S. presidential election.
According to regional authorities, the wounded include seven women ranging in age from 22 to 83 years old and five men ages 21 to 38. The attack caused some areas of the city to lose electricity.
This includes 1,710 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
The memoir “Patriot” was compiled from the prison diaries of the Russian opposition leader and edited in part Yulia Nalnaya. The book will be published in 22 languages including Russian.
According to the drone’s creators, the Wild Hornets Group, “Sting” is able to fly altitudes of up to 10,000 feet with speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. It is the world’s first drone designed to specifically target Russia’s Shaheds arsenal.
In his evening address of October 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia had launched 6,130 drones of the type Shahed since 2024.
On October 20, a large rally in Tbilisi’s Freedom Square in support of Georgia’s accession to European Union was held ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary Election scheduled for October 26.
Belarusian Hajun, a monitoring group, reported that the Belarusian Air Force had downed an Russian Shahed drone in Belarus’ Homel Oblast over night on October 20. This is only the third time that a Belarusian aircraft downed a Russian drone that entered its airspace.
Sources told the Kyiv Independent that drones were used to target the large Sverdlov Plant, owned by the state and located in Dzerzhinsk, a city in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. This is about 900 kilometers into Russia.
Oleksandr Vilkul said that eight of the injured were currently hospitalized, but their condition is “moderate”.
This includes 1,340 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
The upcoming presidential elections in Moldova and the EU referendum on October 20 are considered crucial for determining its future path towards European Union integration.
Regional authorities reported that Russian forces attacked Shostka in Sumy Oblast overnight on October 19 with guided bombs and drones. According to MykolaNoha, the mayor of Shostka, one civilian was killed and 11 others injured in the attack.
On October 19, Jean-Noel Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, said in Kyiv that a Russian victory would enshrine the law of the strong and bring the international order into chaos.
The National Police confirmed three air strikes by Russian forces on Zaporizhzhia, in the southeast of Ukraine, using high-explosive unguided bombs.
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