Key developments on Oct. 15:
- North Korea has sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia, Western source says
- Russia may resume strikes on Ukraine's energy sector in autumn, winter, official warns
- 'No intact buildings left' in Toretsk, accelerating Russian advance, military says
- US lawmakers pressuring Zelensky to lower mobilization age, Presidential Office advisor says
- Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 5, injure at least 34 over past day
North Korea has sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia to boost its war efforts against Ukraine, a Western diplomat familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 15.
Concerns over the deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have escalated dramatically this week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 13 that Russia's plans for supporting its full-scale invasion of Ukraine would this autumn include "the actual involvement of North Korea in the war."
The Western diplomat told the Kyiv Independent that it's unclear what kind of soldiers they are or what their roles were. The Kyiv Independent contacted Ukraine's Foreign Ministry but did not receive a reply at the time of publication. Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) declined to comment.
As Russia and North Korea deepen military ties, Western diplomats and experts stress that it shows Moscow's increasing need for resources to continue waging its costly war in Ukraine.
"It's a clear indicator how far Russia and its military have fallen over the last 2.5 years that it’s having to beg, borrow and buy support from North Korea," John Foreman CBE, the U.K.'s former defense attache in Moscow from 2019 to 2022, told the Kyiv Independent.
Earlier this year, the two countries signed a mutual defense pact during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
As part of the alliance, the North Korean military announced that an engineering unit would join Russian forces on the ground in Donetsk Oblast the following month.
No picture or video evidence has emerged to date that this went ahead.
Putin submitted the treaty, which stipulates that either nation must render military assistance to the other in the event of an attack, to the Russian State Duma for ratification on Oct. 14.
Zelensky warned on Oct. 13 that Russia and North Korea were deepening their alliance, saying that the partnership had escalated to the point where North Korea was sending personnel to Ukraine's front lines along with weapons.
"This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces," he said.
The warning followed reports from South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun that North Korea is likely to deploy regular troops to Ukraine to aid Russia at the front.
Reports have also emerged in recent days that North Korean officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Russian-occupied territory.
The Kyiv Independent has not been able to verify these reports, which have not been confirmed beyond a single intelligence source.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials claim that North Korea has been supplying Russia with ballistic missiles and vast quantities of artillery shells since the fall of 2023.
Chris York
Russia may resume strikes on Ukraine's energy sector in autumn, winter, official warns
Ukraine is preparing for mass Russian attacks against energy infrastructure during autumn and winter months, Interfax Ukraine reported on Oct. 15, citing comments from National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko.
"With the start of the 'heating season,' we can expect massive Russian strikes on the energy sector," Lytvynenko said. The "heating season" refers to the colder period of the year, usually starting in mid-October and lasting until April.
Russia carried out a massive campaign of aerial attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the spring, similar to the one launched during the fall and winter of 2022-23.
The damage caused a serious energy deficit and necessitated rolling blackouts across the country.
Speaking at the Energy in Industry 2024 exhibition in Kyiv, officials said the Ukrainian energy sector had shown its ability to implement innovative solutions during the war and that Russia failed to destroy Ukraine's economy.
Ukrainian officials have warned that Moscow is preparing to carry out strikes against Ukrainian nuclear facilities ahead of the winter months as it seeks to plunge the country into a deep freeze aimed at breaking Ukrainians' resolve.
Between March and August of this year, Russia also destroyed all thermal power plants and almost all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late September.
According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report, Ukraine's electricity shortage could reach 6 gigawatts this winter as a result of the attacks, which is about one-third of the expected peak demand.
Dominic Culverwell
'No intact buildings left' in Toretsk, accelerating Russian advance, military says
There are no intact buildings or shelters left in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, allowing Russia to occupy new areas of the embattled town, Anastasia Bobovnikova, a spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk, said on Oct. 14.
Toretsk lies some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of occupied Donetsk. The town has become one of the hottest spots in Donetsk Oblast in recent months as Russian troops continue advancing in Ukraine's east.
"Now the town looks more like a desert planet: there are no shelters for civilians or soldiers, and unfortunately, this allows the enemy to occupy new areas, but on scorched earth," Bobovnikova said.
The crowdsourced monitoring website DeepState reported on Oct. 15 that Russian troops have advanced in Toretsk over the past day.
Speaking on national television, Bobovnikova said that Russian soldiers change their military uniforms for civilian clothes to move toward Ukrainian positions, a tactic they use in other embattled settlements as well.
According to local authorities, Kyiv controlled roughly 40-50% of the town as of Oct. 11, while Russia had captured the rest.
Previously, the Ukrainian military said that fighting was taking place "at every building entrance" as Russian forces were pushing from the east along the main Tsentralna (Central) Street.
The loss of Toretsk would be another blow to Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast after its forces were forced to withdraw from Vuhledar in the south. Russian forces also continue pushing toward Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Toretsk.
Asami Terajima
US lawmakers pressuring Zelensky to lower mobilization age, Presidential Office advisor says
U.S. lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican parties are pressuring President Volodymyr Zelensky to further lower the age of mandatory military conscription, said Presidential Office advisor Serhii Leshchenko on Oct. 15.
Ukraine's parliament adopted an updated mobilization law in mid-April to ramp up mobilization amid Russia's ongoing war. The new law simplifies the process for identifying eligible conscripts and includes additional penalties for those dodging the draft.
Another law, signed by the president just before the mobilization law was passed, lowered the minimum age of compulsory military service from 27 to 25.
Leshchenko said that U.S. lawmakers have been pressuring Zelensky and continuing to ask why men aged 18-25 are not being mobilized.
"(The) Americans are hinting, Western weapons alone are not enough, we need mobilization from the age of 18."
The unnamed U.S. lawmakers have reportedly cited America's experience in the Vietnam War, when men aged 18-26 were drafted to fight. Some 2.2 million U.S. soldiers were conscripted to fight in the war through the selective service process.
Leshchenko said that Zelensky has thus far refused to budge on changing the conscription age, and has instead continued to press for the delivery of more U.S. military aid.
After the new law on mobilization came into force in Ukraine on May 18, military-aged men were given 60 days to update their personal data so that the state could locate them. The deadline for updating data expired on July 17, 2024.
From May 18 to July 16, 4,690,496 military-aged men updated their data by the July 17 deadline, according to the Defense Ministry.
Kateryna Hodunova
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 5, injure at least 34 over past day
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed five people and injured at least 34 others over the past day, regional authorities said on the morning of Oct. 15.
Ukrainian forces downed 12 out of 17 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Four more drones were "lost," it added.
Russia also fired seven S-300/400 missiles against Mykolaiv Oblast and two Kh-59 missiles on Chernihiv Oblast overnight, the statement read.
A Russian missile strike on the city of Mykolaiv killed a woman and injured at least 23 people, according to Governor Vitalii Kim. The attack damaged an industrial facility, a restaurant complex, shops, residential buildings, and cars.
Three people were injured in the village of Shakhtarske in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Two more people suffered injuries in the villages of Zakitne and Riznykivka in the region.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces targeted 22 settlements, including the regional center of Kherson. Four people were killed, and six were injured, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Chris York
