Ukraine war briefing: Drone squad ‘destroys rare North Korean howitzer'
A Ukrainian drone squad knocked out a North Korean self-propelled howitzer in the Luhansk region, Ukraine's military said on Tuesday. The Khortytsia, or east, group of forces said it was the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion that a 'very rare' North Korean M-1978 Koksan howitzer had been hit by a Ukrainian drone. As well as Moscow using North Korean troops in the war, South Korean intelligence and other sources have reported that Kim Jong-un's regime is supplying the Koksan self-propelled artillery guns.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced on Tuesday that he will host another meeting on Ukraine 'with several European and non-European states', after an emergency meeting on Monday in Paris that brought together a small number of key European countries in response to the US and Russia holding talks in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine and Europe.
Donald Trump had 'bought Putin's propaganda, hook, line, and sinker' when he suggested on Monday that Ukraine had 'started' the war with Russia, said Sean Savett, who was national security council spokesperson under Joe Biden's presidency. 'A reminder no one should need: Putin started the war by invading Ukraine unprovoked and his forces have committed war crimes against the Ukrainian people,' Savett said. 'Russia is the party responsible for this war continuing.'
It came amid continued criticism of the Trump administration for holding peace talks without Ukraine or Europe, to which Trump responded: 'Today I heard, 'Oh, we weren't invited.' Well you've been there for three years, you should have ended it … you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.' Russia and the US said they would establish negotiating teams, and bring in European countries 'at some point'.
Trump said he would 'probably' meet with Putin before the end of the month. Saudi Arabia's crown prince wanted Ukraine to take part in the talks in Riyadh but the US and Russia refused, the Bloomberg news agency has reported. As those talks took place, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, told the UN security council on Tuesday that 'China supports all efforts conducive to peace talks'. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has set out four principles: respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; observance of the UN Charter; due regard for legitimate security concerns of all countries; and supporting efforts towards a peaceful settlement.
Russia said its air defences downed 21 Ukrainian drones in the space of an hour late on Tuesday – most over the western Kursk region, and one over Crimea. Russia's claims could not be verified.
The Danish PM, Mette Frederiksen, said her government would announce plans on Wednesday for a 'massive' rearming of Denmark's military due to the threat posed by Russia. 'We must upgrade massively to protect Denmark. And we must rearm massively to avoid war,' Frederiksen told parliament on Tuesday. Danish public broadcaster DR said the government was expected to announce the creation of a 50bn kroner (€6.7bn/US$7bn) fund for additional defence spending in 2025-2026. It would bring Denmark's defence spending to 3% of GDP. Denmark has been one of Ukraine's strongest backers.
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