Russia has claimed another village in eastern Ukraine as troops move in on the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Meanwhile, reports suggest North Korean troops sent to fight in the Russian region of Kursk dying in large numbers.
Monday 16 December 2024 15:49, UK
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The US has issued new sanctions on officials and financial institutions related to Russia and North Korea today.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions targeted Pyongyang’s financial activities and military support to Moscow.
North Korean banks, generals and other officials as well as Russian oil shipping companies, have all been targeted in the latest US measure aimed at disrupting North Korea’s support of the war in Ukraine.
The North Korean banks targeted include Golden Triangle Bank and Korea Mandal Credit Bank, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
The officials include North Korean generals who the department said were among the thousands of troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia to aid its Ukraine war effort.
Russia should prepare for war with NATO within the next 10 years, the country’s defence minister said today.
Speaking at a meeting of defence officials this morning (see 11.11am post), Andrei Belousov said: “[Preparing for war] is indicated by the decisions that were made at the North Atlantic Alliance summit held in July of this year.
“This is also reflected in the doctrinal documents of the United States and other NATO countries.”
At that summit in July, Ukraine received $43bn in funding and more air defence systems, new bilateral security agreements, as well as a pledge that that its route to membership is “irreversible”.
Tensions have been mounting between NATO and Russia since countries from the alliance began supporting Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has issued increasingly serious threats since then, including warnings of a possible nuclear response.
Russia is disrupting mobile communications and ship-tracking data across the Baltic Sea – endangering vessels and energy supplies – to test how Western powers will respond, a Polish admiral overseeing the area said.
Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski said Moscow was systematically using such tactics to hide the movements of its own vessels and disrupt the operations of others in the sea which is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia.
“Hybrid war in the Baltic is the biggest challenge we are facing,” Jaworski told Reuters news agency, referring to the practise of launching conventional attacks alongside attempts to disrupt politics, energy supplies and other systems.
“We are talking about aggressive behaviour by Russia. They are trying to disrupt our lives,” Jaworski, commander of Poland’s Naval Operations Centre, added.
“They are also testing us as an alliance [to see] how far they can go.”
Russia denies accusations that it is sabotaging countries in the West and accuses the West of seeking to sow discord inside Russia.
There have been at least three incidents of possible sabotage to the several dozen telecommunication cables and critical gas pipelines that run along the relatively shallow seabed since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The US and UK, along with eight other nations and the European Union, have condemned the deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia.
In a statement, the countries said: “We will continue to act in concert, including through imposition of economic sanctions, to respond to the danger posed by the DPRK-Russia partnership.”
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand also signed the statement.
A Ukrainian official has demanded an apology from FIFA after a map displayed during the 2026 World Cup draw on Friday excluded Crimea from the country’s territory.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi claimed the map indicates the football body “supported Russia propaganda”.
The map showed countries that could not be drawn to play each other for geopolitical reasons.
Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014 but is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine’s territory.
FIFA responded to a letter sent by the Ukrainian Association of Football on the matter, saying it “sincerely regrets any concern [the map] may have caused”.
FIFA has not responded to Sky News’ request for comment.
New pictures from the frontline show troops in the 24th Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces taking part in a tactical medicine exercise in the Donetsk region.
The European Union has adopted a 15th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The bloc targeted Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
The package also included two top North Korean defence officials, a military unit blamed for an attack on a Kyiv children’s hospital and the heads of companies in the energy sector.
It also adds 52 vessels from the shadow fleet that try to circumvent Western restrictions to move oil, arms and grains, the EU Commission said in a statement today.
The EU began adding ships earlier this year in response to an increase in the number of vessels transporting cargo that are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers.
The listing included vessels that delivered North Korean ammunition to Russia.
The new restrictions also add 84 new individuals and entities, including seven Chinese persons and entities.
“Namely one individual and two entities facilitating the circumvention of EU sanctions, and four entities supplying sensitive drone components and microelectronic components to the Russian military,” the statement said, referring to the Chinese listings.
EU sanctions chief David O’Sullivan and Ukrainian officials have pointed to China as the main route for sales of foreign technology to Russia.
“This package of sanctions is part of our response to weaken Russia’s war machine and those who are enabling this war, also including Chinese companies,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
“We will stand by the Ukrainian people on all fronts: humanitarian, economic, political, diplomatic and military.”
We’re getting some more comments now from Vladimir Putin, who has been speaking at a defence meeting.
The Russian president said the large number of men signing up for the country’s military voluntarily was turning the tide of the Ukraine war in Moscow’s favour.
“I would like to point out that the past year was a landmark year in achieving the goals of the special military operation [in Ukraine],” Putin told top generals at the meeting in Moscow.
“Russian troops have a firm grip on the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact,” he said.
We reported earlier that around 427,000 troops had signed army contracts this year, up from roughly 300,000 the year before (see 11.11am and 11.29am posts).
Speaking about this figure, Putin said: “This flow of volunteers is not ending. And thanks to this… we are seeing a turning point on the frontline.”
The president also added that he hopes Russia’s army keeps advancing – and they appear to be doing so at the fastest pace since 2022, according to open-source maps.
Images have come in of President Vladimir Putin and defence minister Andrei Belousov addressing a large meeting of defence officials in Moscow today.
Both men gave updates on Russia’s progress in the war – see our posts at 11.11am and 11.29am.
Norway has said today it would provide 2.7 billion crowns (£191m) to strengthen the Ukrainian navy and help it deter Russian naval forces in the Black Sea.
Much of the funding will go towards innovation and autonomy under the Maritime Capability Coalition, which Norway and the UK launched last year to make Ukraine’s navy more compatible with Western allies, the government said.
“It is essential to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.
“It is also important to protect exports by sea of grain and other products, which generate crucial revenues for Ukraine,” he added.
The support includes donations from the Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as military equipment to be procured from industry for subsequent donation.
The funding will also be used for mine clearance operations and the training of Ukrainian soldiers, the government said.
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