Russia is putting pressure on the Kursk region. A US actor would fight and die for Putin. All information in the news blog.
2:05 p.m.: According to the authorities there, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod. A drone hit the village of Ustinka, said the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
8:43 a.m.: The Ukrainian military says it has attacked a fuel depot in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. A fire broke out on the site, the Ukrainian General Staff announced via the short message service Telegram. The facility was used to store oil and fuel for the Russian invasion troops.
3:10 a.m.: North Korean soldiers are said to be providing large-scale support to Russian troops in Ukraine. A Ukrainian military intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security matter, told The Washington Post that “several thousand” North Korean infantry soldiers are currently being trained in Russia and could be deployed to the front lines in Ukraine by the end of this year . The official said North Korean officers are already in Russian-occupied Ukraine to observe Russian forces and study the battlefield, but Kiev has not yet seen any North Korean units fighting.
2:44 a.m.: Russian troops appear to have intensified their attempts to push Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk region, advancing into the Kursk region on Thursday while reportedly almost completely eliminating the smaller Ukrainian advance area in the Glushkovsky region, the American Institute for the Study of War reports ISW. “Intensified Russian counterattacks are likely aimed at pushing Ukrainian forces back from the Kursk region before poor weather conditions limit battlefield maneuverability in the fall of 2024 and early winter,” the institute assesses the situation in its daily report.
The Russian military command intends to quickly push the Ukrainian armed forces out of the Kursk region in order to free up units for the Donetsk front, according to the ISW.
8:47 p.m.: US actor and Russia propagandist Steven Seagal said in the newly released documentary “In the Name of Justice” that he was ready to fight for Russian President Vladimir Putin – and “die if necessary.”
The actor and martial artist took Russian citizenship in 2016 and was appointed “Voluntary Special Representative for Russia-US Cultural Relations and Cultural and Historical Heritage” by the Russian Foreign Ministry in 2018. He reportedly moved to Moscow in 2021 to avoid US government fines. Seagal has also been accused of sexual assault by several women.
In Seagal’s new documentary, the 72-year-old visits various occupied territories in Ukraine, including Mariupol. In one clip, Seagal says he has written a letter to Putin that says: “Now we will see who are our true compatriots and friends and who are our enemies. I will be on my president’s side and I will be on the Fight alongside my president – and die if necessary.”
5:41 p.m.: Lithuania will provide further military aid to Ukraine in the fight against Russia. The government of the Baltic EU and NATO country has received the first 1,000 combat drones from five Lithuanian manufacturers, which are to be handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces, the Defense Ministry in Vilnius announced. They are scheduled to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
The delivery will therefore also include additional accessories, launch and control equipment for the unmanned aircraft and training measures.
