nNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on his way to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Seoul’s Defense Ministry said there were indications that Kim’s special train crossed the border on Tuesday morning (local time).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin’s meeting with Kim will take place in the far east of Russia. The spokesman was quoted by TASS news agency as saying that the exact location had not yet been determined. There will be meetings between the two delegations and individual discussions before the official dinner.
A photo released by the North Korean government is said to show Kim on his way to Russia
Source: AP/æœé®®é€šä¿¡ç¤¾
After days of speculation abroad, Moscow and Pyongyang confirmed Kim’s official visit to Russia on Monday. According to information from Pyongyang, the talks may revolve around an arms deal. Although there is no official information yet, there is speculation that the two leaders may meet at an economic forum in the city of Vladivostok in Far East Russia. The forum continues until Wednesday.
Experts suspect that Putin needs artillery shells from North Korea for the Ukraine war, while Kim is said to hope to obtain advanced satellite and submarine technologies, as well as food for his impoverished country.
Looking ahead to the upcoming meeting, Washington joked that Putin would have to „beg” Kim for help in his invasion of Ukraine.
All developments in the live stream:
9:33 am – Russia reports alleged drone attack on the city of Enerhodar nuclear power plant
Russia announced an alleged drone attack on the occupied city of Enerhodar in southern Ukraine near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The head of the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said on Tuesday, citing Interfax, that two drones were intercepted on Monday, and four other drones carried out their attacks without causing any damage. Among other things, a park and an area where the United Russia party office is located in the Kremlin were affected.
It was not initially possible to independently verify the information. There was initially no official reaction from Ukraine. Russia occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhya region, where the nuclear power plant is located, as part of its aggressive war that has been ongoing for more than a year and a half.
Likhachev portrayed the drone strikes as a response to the sham elections held last weekend by Russian occupiers in the part of Zaporizhia they control. The results, in which the Kremlin party emerged as the clear winner in the end, are not recognized internationally.
8:45 AM – Statistics show that Germany imports Russian oil via India
Numbers of Federal Bureau of Statistics It indicates that Germany continues to import large quantities of Russian oil through India. Imports of petroleum products from India rose more than twelve-fold in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, the Wiesbaden authority announced on Tuesday. According to the United Nations, India, in turn, buys large quantities of crude oil from Russia.
The statisticians explained that imports from India “were mainly gas oils used to produce diesel or heating oil.” India produces these gas oils from crude oil, which the country has been buying in large quantities from Russia since Russia’s aggressive war on Ukraine.
Because of the war, Germany stopped its direct imports of oil from Russia. Western countries have also imposed a price cap on Russian oil, which they want to enforce internationally using their market power in the shipping and insurance sectors. However, this mechanism is said to not be working as planned.
08:21 AM – Moscow’s anti-aircraft defenses have been modified to protect against drones.
According to British information, Russia appears to have reorganized its air defense around Moscow to protect against Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Ministry of Defense in London said: “Since the beginning of September 2023, Russian SA-22 air defense systems have been stationed around the capital on high towers and slopes.” In his daily intelligence update. The goal is to improve defense against drone attacks, “which the city is currently exposed to on most days.”
Since the December 2022 attacks on Russia’s Engels and Ryazan air bases, Russia has also installed the Panzer anti-aircraft system (NATO code: SA-22) on the roofs of public buildings in Moscow. This is intended to enable detection and defense of so-called kamikaze drones.
But she said in London that it may have been a high-level measure to reassure the public and show that the authorities had the threat under control.
7:47 AM – Russia reports Drone attack on Enerhodar near nuclear power plant on Monday
According to Russian information, Ukraine attacked the city of Enerhodar, near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with drones on Monday. Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom, was quoted as saying that six drones were fired and destroyed by Russian forces. There was initially no comment from Ukraine. Enerhodar and the nuclear power plant are located in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine, which is partly controlled by Russian forces.
Russian forces occupied the nuclear power plant early in the war that has been ongoing since February 2022. Fighting continues nearby, and the nuclear power plant site has been bombed several times. Russia annexed the Zaporizhzhya region, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson, in September 2022, although its forces do not have full control over them.
2:30 a.m. – New York’s Metropolitan Opera orders action on kidnapped Ukrainian children
New York’s Metropolitan Opera has commissioned a work from Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomyyets about children who have been kidnapped to Russia since the beginning of the war. The opera said that the composer, born in 1981, should write the opera with American composer George Brant. “We are proud to continue supporting Ukraine on the cultural front,” said Met President Peter Gelb. The idea for the campaign came last year during the visit of Ukrainian First Lady Olena Selinska to the Manhattan Opera House.
According to Kiev, Moscow has brought a total of about 20,000 Ukrainian children from areas near the front to Crimea and Russia. Several hundred have now been able to return to government-controlled areas. The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s representative, Maria Lowa-Belois, in connection with the kidnapping.
01:17 AM – The operator reported a traffic disturbance on the Qurum Bridge
The Russian-appointed bridge operator announced that traffic on the Crimean Bridge has been temporarily suspended. The administration did not explain the reason for the suspension in the message on its Telegram channel. The Crimean Bridge has been the target of increasing drone attacks from the air and sea in recent months.
01:00 AM – Zelensky calls on Ukrainians to focus on the events of the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukrainians to remain fully focused on the war effort, 18 months after the Russian invasion began. “Although today is the 565th day of this war, everyone must remain focused on defending the state, as was the case in the first days,” Zelensky said in his evening video message. Russia does not hope for victory. The enemy just hopes we won’t withstand the whole thing. Ukraine must stand firm. Anything that strengthens us is the priority, the only priority. There can be no negligence. We will not allow anyone to weaken Ukraine.”
