Latest news with #TheInstitutefortheStudyofWar
The Independent
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
What is the new road bridge North Korea is building with Russia?
Russia has begun the construction of its first road bridge to North Korea over the Tumen river on the border, marking r apidly advancing bilateral ties with the isolated regional ally. The construction marks the first ever bridge for cars and motor vehicles crossing between Russia and North Korea and is a 'significant milestone' in the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday as he attended the groundbreaking ceremony in a video conference. The bridge will span 4.7km (2.9 miles) – including the approach roads leading to it – with 424m inside Russia and 581m inside North Korea, reported Russia's Tass news agency. The bridge on its own is one km long and seven metres wide with two lanes for moving traffic, and worth more than $111m (£83m), according to the Russian prime minister's decree from February. Russia has claimed the bridge, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, will expand cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities. The bridge is likely to have a capacity to process 300 vehicles and 2,850 people per day. North Korea and Russia are already connected by a railway bridge and the two isolated nations agreed in June 2024 to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen river, which runs along North Korea's borders with Russia and China. "This is a big milestone for Russian-Korean relations," Mr Mishustin said, according to Tass. "We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,' he said. North Korean premier Pak Thae Song and Mr Mishustin were in attendance as the crew on respective sides held a ground-breaking ceremony in their border cities. North Korea is publicly supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin 's war efforts in Ukraine by using all means, including tens of thousands of troops, military aid, and ammunition. In October 2023, satellite images showed increased freight railcar traffic between Russia and North Korea in likely signs of Kim Kong Un supplying Mr Putin with arms and munitions. With the latest roadway connection announced on Wednesday, war monitors have said the connecting bridge will aid North Korea's further military involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine. 'Russia and North Korea will likely use the bridge for material transportation as the two states strengthen their cooperation,' said The Institute for the Study of War in its latest assessment. Mr Pak said the bridge's construction would be remembered as a 'historic monument' in bilateral ties. The announcement came just days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to Russia to help it reclaim parts of the Kursk region that Ukraine forces seized in a stunning incursion last year. Last week, in his first such acknowledgement, Mr Putin thanked North Korea for its involvement in the Ukraine war and promised not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers. North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and 4,700 of them have been killed or wounded, according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS). Experts have said Russia has paid back North Korea by supplying it with air defence missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin says he agrees with U.S.-backed cease-fire but has concerns over 'nuances'
March 14 (UPI) -- President Vladimir Putin of Russia said he agrees in essence to a 30-day U.S.-backed cease-fire in his war in Ukraine, while voicing concerns over what he described as "nuances" as he seeks concessions from Kyiv. In a joint press conference Thursday in Moscow alongside ally President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Putin projected confidence as the United States, under President Donald Trump, pushes to secure a speedy halt to the three-year-old war. This comes as Russia has seemingly made gains on the ground. It occupies 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which it illegally annexed in 2014. With the aid of thousands of North Korean troops, the Kremlin has also been successfully repelling a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region. He told reporters Thursday that they "agree with the proposal for a cessation of hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be one that would lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the original causes of this crisis." "We are for it, but there are nuances," Putin said. Russia began the war on Feb. 24, 2022, with its full-scale invasion under the false pretext of denazifying and demilitarizing Ukraine. Putin has repeatedly and falsely tried to frame Ukraine as the instigator and has often said that a long-term peace needs to address what he sees as the origins of the conflict. The policy research organization The Institute for the Study of War described Putin's comments as "offering of an alternative cease-fire agreement contrary to the intentions and goals" of the proposal the United States and Ukraine agreed to on Tuesday. The U.S.-Ukraine agreement is reportedly includes a 30-day renewable cessation to combat operations on the frontlines, air and sea in order to set the table for peace talks. Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, was to meet with Putin to discuss the cease-fire on Thursday night, according to Russian state-run news. The Institute of the Study of War said conditions for a cease-fire Putin suggested in the press conference "would grant Russia greatly disproportionate advantages and set conditions for the Kremlin to renew hostilities on terms extremely favorable to Russia." During the press conference, Putin voiced concern that Ukraine would use the 30-day ceasefire to reinforce its military, suggesting that an agreement should prohibit Kyiv from rearming its forces, training troops and receiving weaponry from allies such as United States and Europe. However, The Institute of the Study of War said Putin did not mention that Russia would be held to the same conditions. "Russian forces are currently on the offensive across the theater, as Putin observed, so demands that would prevent Ukrainian forces from reconstituting can only be intended to preserve or enhance Russia's ability to resume the offensive at a later date," it said. "Such demands would seem a clear indication that Putin is not, in fact, committed to making peace." President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine described Putin's remarks as "highly predictable and manipulative," showing that the Russian leader is preparing to reject the U.S.-Ukraine agreement. "Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians. That's why, in Moscow, they are surrounding the cease-fire idea with such preconditions that it either fails or gets dragged out for as long as possible," the Ukrainian leader said in a statement. "We are not setting conditions that complicate the process -- Russia is. As we have always said, the only one stalling, the only one being unconstructive, is Russia. They need this war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day." Putin, in his press conference, added that he might call Trump to discuss his issues with the American president. Asked Thursday if he had plans to speak with Putin about the cease-fire, Trump replied, "Yeah, I'd love to meet with him or talk to them, but we have to get it over with fast."
New York Times
19-02-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Ukraine's Equation
For Ukraine, a peace deal with Russia is not just about stopping the war. A deal should also prevent the next one — by convincing Russia that its invasion was a costly failure. In that context, the past week brought a lot of bad news for Ukraine. American officials conceded that Ukraine would not reclaim all of its territory or join NATO. They also said that U.S. troops would not help protect Ukraine's borders after the war. Maybe a truce would have eventually included those conditions. But by granting them now, the concessions push a peace deal in Russia's favor — and may get Vladimir Putin to think that, after all of this, the war was worth the costs. 'The United States is intent on ending this war,' said my colleague Julian Barnes, who covers international security. 'And ending it quickly likely means trying to end it on Russia's terms.' Today's newsletter looks at why Ukraine is increasingly concerned about a future Russian invasion. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has worried that an eventual cease-fire will simply give Russia time to rebuild and come back. So Ukraine and its allies have tried to prevent this scenario through two approaches. First, they have tried to make the war as costly as possible for Russia. On the diplomatic front, Ukraine's allies have imposed economic sanctions on Russia. On the battlefield, Russia has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers to death and injuries. At the same time, Ukraine has tried to retake as much territory as possible. If Russia ended the war with an economy in ruins, a colossal death toll and little new territory, it would likely look at the invasion as a mistake. Credit... Sources: The Institute for the Study of War | Map is as of Feb. 18. | By The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Egypt Independent
11-02-2025
- Health
- Egypt Independent
Hundreds of wounded Russian soldiers treated in North Korea, envoy says
CNN — North Korea has treated hundreds of Russian soldiers injured in Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Pyongyang told state media, as he revealed new details of the reclusive state's backing for the Kremlin's war effort. Wounded Russian troops have been recovering in North Korean medical facilities, Ambassador Alexander Matsegora told state-run outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta in an extensive interview published Sunday. 'A clear example of such a brotherly attitude (between Russian and North Korea) is the rehabilitation of hundreds of wounded soldiers … in Korean sanatoriums and hospitals,' he said. The Russian envoy's comments are the latest sign of deepening ties between the two countries, which have recently reached heights unseen since the Cold War. North Korea has sent about 12,000 soldiers to Russia, according to Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence reports, following Moscow and Pyongyang's pledge to help each other if either nation is attacked in a landmark defense pact signed last June. About 4,000 North Korean troops have reportedly been killed or injured in combat after being deployed to Kursk since at least November to repel Ukraine's incursion in the southern Russian border region, Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence said. Meanwhile, Russia has also received thousands of shipping containers of munitions or munitions-related material from North Korea, and Moscow's forces have launched North Korea-made missiles on Ukraine, according to US officials. In his interview with state media, Matsegora claimed that North Korea had treated wounded Russian soldiers for free. 'When we offered to compensate our (North Korean) friends for at least part of their expenses, they were sincerely offended and asked us never to do it again,' he said. Matsegora also said that children of Russian troops killed in Ukraine had vacationed in North Korea last summer, and Russia and North Korea are developing student exchanges. Moscow supplies Pyongyang with coal, food, and medicine, he added. South Korea's intelligence service declined to comment on Matsegora's remarks. The extent of care potentially available to wounded Russian troops within North Korea's dilapidated health infrastructure remains unclear. Doctors who have defected in recent years often speak of poor working conditions and shortages of everything from medicine to basic health care supplies. Some analysts also cast doubt on Matsegora's troop recuperation remarks, pointing to Russia's brutal military tactics as the war in Ukraine grinds toward its third anniversary. Russia 'has reportedly been sending wounded personnel back into assault groups without treatment, demonstrating a general disregard for soldiers' health,' The Institute for the Study of War said in a news release Monday, 'calling into question official Russian claims to be sending Russian soldiers abroad for treatment, particularly to North Korea.' However, any arrival of experienced Russian troops, particularly officers, in North Korea 'may allow the Russian military to work with North Korean forces and disseminate lessons from the war in Ukraine while ostensibly recuperating,' the US-based conflict monitor added.
CNN
11-02-2025
- Health
- CNN
Hundreds of wounded Russian soldiers treated in North Korea, envoy says
North Korea has treated hundreds of Russian soldiers injured in Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Pyongyang told state media, as he revealed new details of the reclusive state's backing for the Kremlin's war effort. Wounded Russian troops have been recovering in North Korean medical facilities, Ambassador Alexander Matsegora told state-run outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta in an extensive interview published Sunday. 'A clear example of such a brotherly attitude (between Russian and North Korea) is the rehabilitation of hundreds of wounded soldiers … in Korean sanatoriums and hospitals,' he said. The Russian envoy's comments are the latest sign of deepening ties between the two countries, which have recently reached heights unseen since the Cold War. North Korea has sent about 12,000 soldiers to Russia, according to Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence reports, following Moscow and Pyongyang's pledge to help each other if either nation is attacked in a landmark defense pact signed last June. About 4,000 North Korean troops have reportedly been killed or injured in combat after being deployed to Kursk since at least November to repel Ukraine's incursion in the southern Russian border region, Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence said. Meanwhile, Russia has also received thousands of shipping containers of munitions or munitions-related material from North Korea, and Moscow's forces have launched North Korea-made missiles on Ukraine, according to US officials. In his interview with state media, Matsegora claimed that North Korea had treated wounded Russian soldiers for free. 'When we offered to compensate our (North Korean) friends for at least part of their expenses, they were sincerely offended and asked us never to do it again,' he said. Matsegora also said that children of Russian troops killed in Ukraine had vacationed in North Korea last summer, and Russia and North Korea are developing student exchanges. Moscow supplies Pyongyang with coal, food, and medicine, he added. South Korea's intelligence service declined to comment on Matsegora's remarks. The extent of care potentially available to wounded Russian troops within North Korea's dilapidated health infrastructure remains unclear. Doctors who have defected in recent years often speak of poor working conditions and shortages of everything from medicine to basic health care supplies. Some analysts also cast doubt on Matsegora's troop recuperation remarks, pointing to Russia's brutal military tactics as the war in Ukraine grinds toward its third anniversary. Russia 'has reportedly been sending wounded personnel back into assault groups without treatment, demonstrating a general disregard for soldiers' health,' The Institute for the Study of War said in a news release Monday, 'calling into question official Russian claims to be sending Russian soldiers abroad for treatment, particularly to North Korea.' However, any arrival of experienced Russian troops, particularly officers, in North Korea 'may allow the Russian military to work with North Korean forces and disseminate lessons from the war in Ukraine while ostensibly recuperating,' the US-based conflict monitor added.
