Yonhap reported on October 22, citing a source unnamed, that South Korea was considering sending a team to Ukraine to monitor North Korean forces that Russia could involve in waging a full-scale war.
Source: “There is the possibility that personnel could be sent to Ukraine in order to monitor the tactics of the special forces of North Korea dispatched to support Russia.”
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow plans to include Pyongyang into the full-scale conflict against Ukraine in the next few months, and around 10,000 North Koreans are preparing to join the Russian Army.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s chief of military intelligence, said that a first group of 2,600 troops will be deployed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. This is where Ukraine began an incursion across the border in August and still controls significant territory.
He said that nearly 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, and will be “ready for combat” in Ukraine on Nov. 1.
A South Korean team that is deployed may include members of the intelligence services who can analyze Pyongyang’s warfare tactics and participate in interrogations with North Koreans.
According to reports, the government is also considering providing Ukraine with military support. Seoul has provided only humanitarian aid to Kyiv up until now. However, it has been reported that the country indirectly supplied artillery rounds via the U.S.
In June, South Korea announced that it would reconsider its policy not to directly supply Ukraine with weapons following the signing of a security accord between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang.
Source: “While watching for signs of North Korea and Russia military cooperation, response measures will be taken step by step,” the source told Yonhap.
Sources said that defensive weapons would be sent before lethal ones. They also added that if South Korea does provide lethal weapons, they will consider sending them to Kyiv in an indirect manner.
While the U.S. is cautious in confirming Russia’s plans for Pyongyang to join its war, South Korea has raised the alarm and called such a scenario “a grave security threat” to international community.
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.
Russian local authorities claim that Ukrainian drones attacked four Russian plants, including three distilleries, overnight on October 22, including in the oblasts of Tula, Tambov, and Voronezh.
In an interview with Wladyslaw Bartoszewsk, Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on October 21, Wladyslaw T. Bartoszewsk stated that Warsaw wants to review the classified additions made to Ukraine’s recent victory plan presented by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This includes 1,350 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on October 21 that Russian soldiers executed two captured Ukrainians near Selydove, in Donetsk Oblast.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of Sudan (RSF) claim to have shot down an cargo plane in Darfur. It is speculated that Russians were on board.
Zelensky stated in his evening speech that “every meeting with our partners includes discussions about the Defense-Industrial Complex.” “We need Ukraine’s ability to defend its independence and sovereignty regardless of any threats from the outside world,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Sandu stated on X that “the people of Moldova have spoken. Our EU future will be now anchored in our constitution.” “We fought fairly and won an unfair battle. The fight isn’t yet over. “We will continue to push for peace, prosperity and the freedom to create our own future.”
“Your unwavering commitment is not a simple gesture of friendship. It’s a powerful sign of the shared values which bind our nations,” said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Local authorities reported that on October 21, Russia attacked the towns Kurakhove, Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Oblast district. Three people were killed and two others injured.
On the morning of October 21, Russia struck the residential area in the city and damaged 30 buildings.
In an interview with the BBC published on October 21, Yulia Navalnaya said, “I will participate… as a Candidate” in the elections when the time is appropriate.
Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon chief, said that ammunition, military equipment and weapons would be included.
Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, said that the referendum on Moldova joining the EU which was held alongside elections in the nation, was a result of “unprecedented” interference by Russia and its agents.
“North Korea sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia’s troops in Ukraine would be a significant escalation,” NATO secretary general Mark Rutte stated on social media after a conversation between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In September, the largest government reshuffle since World War II took place. Herman Smetanin became the new head of the Strategic Industries Ministry.
The Air Force reported that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 59 of 116 Shahed type 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 General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Buk M3 air defense system over night on October 21.
According to reports, the attack involved seven tanks and eleven infantry fighting vehicles. Ukrainian forces destroyed seven pieces of Russian equipment.
Interfax, the state-controlled media agency, reported that Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian government and media said: “We see a great deal of contradictory data.”
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