Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese president, holds talks with Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in Pyongyang, DPRK, June 20, 2019. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/ via Getty Images)
United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has been urging China, which maintains relations with North Korea, to put pressure on Pyongyang to withdraw North Korean troops from Ukraine's front line, CNN reported on Oct. 29, citing a U.S. official.
According to the unnamed official, Sullivan “directed the US government to engage the PRC to organize an effort to get other countries to reach out to the PRC as well over our concerns about DPRK sending troops into Russia and the implications of that” — using PRC to refer to the country's full name as the People's Republic of China.
CNN reported on Oct. 29 that a small number of North Korean forces are already on the territory of Ukraine, citing two Western intelligence officers.
NATO and the Pentagon previously confirmed that North Korean troops were training in Russia and that some of them were on their way to Russia's Kursk Oblast, part of which Ukrainian forces have controlled since August.
Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 28, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed that the U.S. has been in contact with China about North Korea troop presence alongside Ukraine's front line, but did not provide detail on the conversations.
“We have communicated with the PRC about this matter to make clear that we are concerned about it, and that they ought to be concerned about this destabilizing action by two of its neighbors, Russia and North Korea,” Miller said.
Estimates on the number of North Korean troops sent to the Ukraine-Russia front line have varied. U.S. officials estimated around 3,000 North Korean troops were training in Russia, but National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby indicated that the overall count could now be higher.
South Korean intelligence has informed lawmakers that North Korean troop numbers in Russia could reach 10,000 by December, while Kyiv has said that Pyongyang has sent nearly 12,000 troops to Russia, including 500 officers and three generals.
Despite the urging of the United States, some Western officials are pessimistic about the country's ability to pressure China into helping pull back North Korean troops, with a NATO official telling CNN that China has been a "critical enabler" of Russia's war in Ukraine.
China's support for Russia's defense industry has played a significant role in shifting the battlefield momentum in Ukraine in Moscow's favor.
Reuters reported on Sept. 25 citing European intelligence sources that Russia has secretly established a development and production program in China for attack drones to be used in the war in Ukraine
On Oct. 24, China denied that it was of any North Korean troops inside Russia preparing to join Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite warnings from the U.S. and South Korea.
North Korea and Russia have strengthened ties since the full-scale war began, including signing a new mutual defense pact. Ukraine and Western governments have previously accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia – allegations both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied.
Kateryna Hodunova
