NATO’s Mark Rutte said the deployment of North Korean troops is a sign of “growing desperation” in the Kremlin after over 600,000 Russian forces have been killed or wounded in Ukraine.
Croatia to send tanks to Ukraine with German help
Croatia plans to supply Ukraine with 30 battle tanks and 30 infantry fighting vehicles from the Cold War era, its Defense Ministry said on Monday. The deal will also include ammunition and spare parts.
Croatia will purchase up to 50 newer Leopard 2 A8 tanks from Germany to enable it to pass on the older equipment.
The move was announced in a letter signed by the countries’ defense ministers, Ivan Anusic and Boris Pistorius.
The Croatian Defense Minsitry said that the value of the older material being sent to Ukraine would be deducted from the purchasing price for the new tanks.
“The added value of this purchase model is the help for Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression,” the ministry said in a statement.
Anusic said the project would be implemented quickly, calling it crucial for the “modernization” of Croatia’s army.
“The first [tanks] will be given to Ukraine this year already,” Pistorius said in Berlin. “We have no time to lose here.”
The case could cause some friction in Zagreb. Croatia’s conservative government led by Prime Minsiter Andrej Plenkovic advocates sending military equipment to Ukraine, but its left-wing President Zoran Milanovic opposes the notion.
‘North Korean troops have been sent to Russia’ — NATO chief Mark Rutte
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday told a media briefing there were North Korean troops in Russia.
“Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,” Rutte told reporters. Ukrainian forces had launched launched in August a major offensive and captured territory in the southern Russian region.
The deployment of North Korean troops there represents a “significant escalation” in Pyongyang’s involvement in conflict and marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war,” Rutte added.
“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte said after NATO officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation.
Rutte also pointed to Russia’s battlefield losses and said this was a sign of “growing desperation” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support,” Rutte said.
