Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed he “won’t sit idle” over reports that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to aid Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in Seoul after talks with visiting Polish president Andrzej Duda, Mr Yoon described the North Korean deployment as “a provocation that threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe”. He added: “South Korea won’t sit idle over this.”
It has been reported that South Korea is now considering sending offensive weapons to Ukraine, breaking their rule not to send weapons to countries engaged in active combat.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has said it shot down 80 per cent of the 50 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack, while another seven disappeared from radars.
The Ukrainian Air Force said one drone was still in Ukrainian airspace while two others had turned back towards Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine uses electronic warfare systems to confuse drones’ navigation systems, which often leads them to disappear from radars or change course.
North Korean troops in Ukraine: Everything we know about Kim Jong-un’s army joining Russian invasion
Tom Watling24 October 2024 11:49
UK announces £2.26bn loan for Ukraine using frozen Russian asset funds
Tom Watling24 October 2024 11:18
UPD: Russian strike on Ukraine’s Kupiansk wounds four – governor
A Russian strike on the frontline town of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine wounded four people, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said on Thursday.
Synehubov initially said two people had been killed and three injured in the strike, but subsequently he corrected his statement, adding that at present four people were wounded, including a woman who had been hauled out of the rubble.
“The enemy struck near a shop and the town market,” Synehubov said in his initial statement.
Later he said a two-storey retail building had been damaged, along with a dozen kiosks and the windows of nearby homes.
Russia occupied Kupiansk in the early days of its 2022 invasion but was pushed out by a lightning Ukrainian counter-offensive in September that year.
In recent months, Moscow’s forces have been advancing slowly back towards the town and are now less than 4 km (2.5 miles) away from its northern outskirts according to open-source maps.
Tom Watling24 October 2024 10:51
Russian parliament votes to ratify North Korea partnership treaty
The lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, voted on Thursday to ratify a treaty of partnership between Russia and North Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed the mutual defence pact during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June. Russia and North Korea have deepened cooperation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with South Korea and Ukraine saying North Korean troops are preparing to deploy in support of Russia.
Tom Watling24 October 2024 10:23
A Russian strike on the frontline town of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine killed two people and wounded three others, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov has reported.
“The enemy struck near a shop and the town market,” Synehubov said.
Tom Watling24 October 2024 10:01
South Korea’s Yoon, Poland’s Duda condemn N.Korea troop dispatch to Russia
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and Polish president Andrzej Duda have jointly condemned North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia for its war against Ukraine as a global security threat, Yoon’s office has said.
The two leaders held a summit and agreed to push to finalise a new contract to export South Korean K-2 tanks to Poland by the end of the year, Yoon told a joint news conference with Duda.
“We agreed that North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia is a direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and the UN Charter and is a provocation that goes beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe to threaten global security,” Yoon said.
North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday after being briefed by the national intelligence agency, an estimate that is twice the previous figure.
The South Korean and Polish governments will actively lend support to seal a deal before the end of the year for South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem to supply K-2 tanks to Poland, Yoon said.
Yoon said South Korea and Poland will establish a new forum for defence dialogue and cooperate closely on security matters that affect the two countries.
Tom Watling24 October 2024 09:39
US says North Korean troops ‘fair game’ if sent to fight in Ukraine
Tom Watling24 October 2024 09:12
US finalizes £15 billion share of G7 loan to Ukraine
The US has finalised its $20 billion (£15.4 bn) portion of a long-awaited $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets, announcing plans to start making funds available by year-end for economic and military aid.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen and Ukrainian finance minister Serhiy Marchenko signed an agreement for a US loan commitment of $20 billion, which would be placed alongside a separate $20 billion European Union commitment and $10 billion to be split by G7 allies Britain, Japan and Canada.
The loan will be repaid with the earnings from the over $300 billion in sovereign Russian assets that have been immobilized since Moscow’s armies invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The funds are mostly held in Europe.
“In other words, Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The Biden administration wants to make $10 billion of the loan funds available for military aid, a plan that would require the approval of the U.S. Congress, White House National Security Council officials told reporters.
It does not need Congress’ approval to make available the remaining $10 billion by December, an NSC official said, adding: “Either way, the U.S. will provide $20 billion in support to Ukraine through this effort, whether it’s split between economic and military support or provided entirely via economic assistance.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address, thanked Mr Biden and Ms Yellen for making the US loan happen, calling it a “significant step towards supporting Ukraine‘s fight for freedom and holding Russia accountable”.
He wore a t-shirt with the words “Make Russia small again” written on the front, a reference to the Donald Trump slogan “Make American Great Again”.
Tom Watling24 October 2024 08:46
In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers fly drones near the frontline in Donetsk region
Tom Watling24 October 2024 08:30
G7 allies are moving ahead with a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds
The White House said Wednesday that Group of Seven allies are moving forward with providing Ukraine with $50 billion in loans for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets.
Leaders of the wealthy democracies agreed earlier this year to engineer the mammoth loan to help Ukraine in its fight for survival after Russia’s invasion. Interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets would be used as collateral.
Daleep Singh, the White House deputy national security adviser on international economics, said the United States plans to provide a loan of $20 billion. The additional $30 billion will come from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. among others.
“To be clear, nothing like this has ever been done before,” Singh said.
Arpan Rai24 October 2024 08:00
