Ukraine updates: North Korean troops expected by Sunday

A drone struck a high-rise residential building in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, triggering a fire.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram the "enemy drone" hit a high-rise building in the Solomianskyi district.

Serhiy Popko, head of the capital’s military administration, said the fire had spread to several apartments.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Ukrainian cities including Kyiv have been subjected to drone and missile attacks throughout Russia's two-and-a-half year invasion.

Russia's central bank has hiked its key interest rate to 21%, the highest in over two decades, battling an inflation surge caused by its Ukraine offensive.

It is the highest level since 2003, the early years of President Vladimir Putin's rule.

It is also higher than at the start of the war in 2022, when the central bank raised rates to an unprecedented 20% to shore up the ruble in response to Western sanctions following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

The bank attributed rising inflation primarily to massive increases in state spending, especially on the military. "Additional fiscal spending and the related expansion of the federal budget deficit in 2024 have pro-inflationary effects," it said in a statement.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said reports of North Korean troops being sent to Russia were "very worrying."

"This cannot be underestimated," Scholz told the media during his trip to India. "This is, of course, something that further escalates the situation."

The chancellor said the move shows Russian President Vladimir Putin is in dire straits. 

It is also a reason to continue to strive for a just peace, Scholz argued, and to provide "firm, reliable" support for Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected Russia to begin deploying North Korean soldiers as early as the weekend.

North Korea says any troop deployment to Russia would be in line with international law, state media reported.

However, the report stopped short of confirming it had sent soldiers.

"If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law," said Kim Jong Gyu, vice foreign minister in charge of Russian Affairs, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The Kremlin denied a media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk had been in secret contact on a regular basis since 2022, the year Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine began.

"It's all untrue, absolutely false information published in the newspaper," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, referring to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report.

According to the WSJ, Putin discussed personal and political matters with the world's richest man and alleged that the Russian leader asked Musk not to activate his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Beijing.

Starlink uses a vast network of satellites to bring high-speed connectivity to remote and underserved areas of the world. The network has provided essential internet access for Ukraine's military during the conflict with Russia.

Peskov said that Putin "had one contact with Musk before 2022," when "they spoke on the phone," adding that the pair had talked about "more visionary technology, about technology for the future."

The Kremlin said the medium-length phone call was "the only contact."

Musk has yet to comment on the report, but has previously described as "absurd" accusations of being an apologist for Putin, adding that his companies "have done more to undermine Russia than anything."

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius aims to buy 600 Taurus cruise missiles but has not yet secured the necessary funding, Germany's Spiegel magazine has reported. 

Ukraine has continued to push Berlin to supply it with the long-range weapon.

German forces have some 600 of the missiles with a range of more than 500 km (311 miles) in their inventories, to be launched from fighter jets.

The weapon was built by European defense company MBDA is designed to destroy high-value targets behind enemy lines such as command bunkers, ammunitions and fuel dumps, airfields and bridges.

Russia has been used long-range missiles to batter targets in Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure, and Ukraine has no easy way to respond.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly denied requests from Ukraine to supply it with the Taurus amid concern over the long range of the weapon because it could be used against targets inside Russia.

Pistorius is keen to buy an advanced version, the Taurus Neo, for about €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) for 600 missiles. The first deliveries would take place in 2029, Spiegel reported.

Pistorius has not yet secured the funds, however, with €350 million needed in 2025 to start the project.

Germany has warned that Russia deploying North Korean troops in Ukraine would be a "clear escalation."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow could send soldiers despatched by Pyongyang into battle imminently.

"We call on the North Korean side not to contribute to this, and to refrain from doing anything in this direction," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer told a press briefing in Berlin.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told DW that the potential for North Korean soldiers to be used to fight in Ukraine shows Russian President Vladimir Putin is desperate for manpower."

Kirby emphasized his claim by stating that Putin was losing 1,200 Russian soldiers per day — and more than 530,000 Russian casualties.

"It's not like he's being very honest with the Russian people about the losses he has sustained in this fight."

"It's a definite sign of Putin's weakness, no question about that."

Regarding the alleged number of North Korean soldiers being trained in and by Russia, Kirby said the figure of 3,000 was based on US intelligence assessments at the time.

"It's entirely possible that those numbers could change over time and could increase as well."

"He is farming out the fighting to a foreign army, so to a degree, this is a proxy war. It's on Mr. Putin."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is planning to deploy North Korean troops to the battlefield starting as early as Sunday.

"According to intelligence reports, on October 27-28, the first North Korean military will be used by Russia in combat zones," he said on the Telegram messenger after receiving reports from his top commander.

Zelenskyy urged allies to respond to this "escalatory move" by applying "tangible pressure" on Moscow and Pyongyang.

"This is a clear escalation by Russia," Zelenskyy posted on  X after receiving reports from his top commander.

He did not say what part of the frontline the North Korean soldiers were expected to be sent.

Ukrainian military intelligence on Thursday said the first North Korean units have already been recorded in Russia's Kursk border region, where the Ukrainian military has been operating since August.

It said some 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia with training taking place on five military bases.

South Korean lawmakers say about 3,000 soldiers had been sent to support the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, with more to follow.

rc/lo (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)