North Korea Putin taunts the West - Night at a glance
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened South Korea with serious consequences in the event of arms deliveries to Ukraine. Such deliveries to Kiev would be a "grave mistake", the Kremlin leader said on Thursday during a visit to Vietnam. "If that happens, then we will make corresponding decisions that will hardly please the current leadership of South Korea."
21.06.2024, 06:51
21.06.2024, 07:32
SDA
Criticism from Seoul of Russian-North Korean pact
The government in Seoul had previously condemned the agreement on a strategic partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang as a violation of UN sanctions and indicated that it would reconsider its previously negative stance on arms deliveries for Kiev.
North Korea, ruled by ruler Kim Jong Un, is subject to far-reaching UN sanctions and import bans due to its nuclear weapons program, including the trade in weapons and the transfer of military technologies to the country. During a state visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday, Putin signed a new partnership agreement with Kim, which also provides for mutual assistance in the event of war.
At a press conference in Hanoi, Putin called Seoul's concerns unfounded. South Korea would have nothing to fear from the partnership and assistance agreement between Russia and North Korea, as the pact would only apply if one of the two countries was attacked by a third country. Putin also assured that he would not deploy any North Korean soldiers in Ukraine.
However, the 71-year-old threatened to deliver precision weapons to North Korea. This was a possible response to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, he said. The West is acting as if it is not fighting with Russia despite its arms deliveries. It allegedly does not control the use of its weapons by Kiev. In return, however, Russia could also ship its weapons to other regions of the world and not worry about how they are used, said Putin.
Putin justifies plans for new nuclear doctrine with Western threat
Putin also commented on possible changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine. He justified such plans with an allegedly lower inhibition threshold of Western states when using nuclear weapons. "Nuclear bombs with low explosive power are being developed in particular," said the Kremlin leader. Western experts see nothing wrong with the use of such so-called mini-nukes, as Russia has recognized. "This is also linked to my statement that we are considering possible changes to our strategy."
In the course of the Russian war against Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly threatened the possible use of nuclear weapons in the event of Western interference in the conflict. The Russian nuclear doctrine in force to date states that Moscow may only use nuclear weapons in two cases: in the event of a nuclear attack on Russia or if an attack with conventional weapons threatens the country's existence. The vague definition has prompted some hardliners to urge the Kremlin to tighten the doctrine in order to force the West to take the warnings more seriously.
Ukraine first: USA delays arms deliveries to other countries
At least Washington does not want to be intimidated by the warnings. The US government wants to postpone the delivery of certain armaments to other countries in order to strengthen Ukraine's air defense first. National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said that in view of Kiev's urgent needs, the US government had made the "difficult but necessary" decision to postpone certain planned arms sales to other countries, in particular missiles for the Patriot and Nasam air defense systems. Instead, these should initially go to Ukraine, which urgently needs additional air defense capacities.
The air defense systems are intended to protect the country's energy system as well as its positions. After more than two years of war and systematic Russian bombardment of the energy facilities, primarily with drones and missiles, around half of the electricity capacity has now been lost, according to official figures. The authorities have therefore introduced strict rationing of energy consumption and imposed daily power cuts lasting hours in some areas. It is feared that the situation could deteriorate drastically once again with the onset of the cold and dark season.
Selenskyj wants to promote solar systems for energy security
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi wants to massively promote the construction of solar power plants to stabilize the badly affected energy grid. "The government is instructed to immediately present a program to promote the installation of solar power generation and energy storage in Ukraine," said Zelenskyi in his daily video address. Citizens who install a solar system should be able to obtain an interest-free loan. In addition, at a meeting with the government, the energy industry and the General Staff, it was decided to protect energy facilities from constant Russian attacks from the air.
Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refinery
According to official reports, a fire broke out on the site of an oil refinery in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar following a suspected Ukrainian drone attack at night. Two people were injured, but the fire has already been extinguished, the region's crisis response center announced early Friday morning, according to state news agency Tass. In addition, the bus station in Yuzhny and a boiler plant in the city of Krasnodar were damaged as a result of a massive drone attack on the region. At least four people were injured by falling fragments of a drone.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against its neighboring country for more than two years. Ukraine is defending itself against the invasion with Western military aid. Targets on Russian territory are also repeatedly attacked in order to prevent or impede military supplies. The number of victims and the damage on Russian territory are disproportionate to the massive destruction and thousands of dead and injured in Ukraine.
