Ukraine Russia war: Kyiv downs 40 drones overnight as Brics ‘backfires on Putin’

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”.

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.

US and South Korean officials said Wednesday that there’s evidence North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia in a potential escalation of the nearly 3-year-old war with Ukraine.

If the soldiers’ goal is fighting with Russia in Ukraine, it would be the first time a third country puts boots on the ground in the war. Other countries on both sides of the divide have sent military aid, including weapons and training: Iran has supplied Russia with drones, and Western nations have provided Ukraine with modern weapons and financial and humanitarian assistance.

Ukraine said it shot down 40 of 50 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack, while another seven had disappeared from radars.

Kyiv 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.

South Korea has warned that it could consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea allegedly dispatching troops to Russia.

The South Korean statement is apparently meant to pressure Russia not to bring in North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. South Korean officials worry that Russia may reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated weapons technologies that can boost the North’s nuclear and missile programs that target South Korea.

In an emergency National Security Council meeting, top South Korean officials condemned North Korea’s alleged dispatch of troops as “a grave security threat” to South Korea and the international community. They described North Korea as “a criminal group” that forces its youths to serve as Russian mercenaries for an unjustifiable war, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.

It is not up to Germany to dictate to other countries how they should support Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said on Wednesday, amid debate over South Korea’s response to the possible deployment of North Korean troops in support of Russia.

“I don’t think it is up to us here to tell other countries how they should organise their support for Ukraine,” the spokesperson told a press conference in Berlin, when asked about the government’s position on the issue.

A spokesperson for the German foreign office said South Korea was a close partner of Germany and that the countries had regular contact on security policy, without going into detail.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US believes that at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers travelled by ship to Vladivostok, Russia’s largest Pacific port, in early to mid-October.

“These soldiers then traveled onward to multiple Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they are currently undergoing training,” Mr Kirby said. “We do not yet know whether these soldiers will enter into combat alongside the Russian military, but this is certainly a highly concerning probability.”

Mr Kirby said they could go to western Russia and then engage in combat against Ukraine’s forces, but both he and defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the US continues to assess the situation. Exactly what the North Korean troops are doing in Russia was “left to be seen,” Mr Austin told reporters in Rome.

He added: “If they’re co-belligerents, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue, and it will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific.”

Mr Kirby warned, however, that “I can tell you one thing, though, if they do deploy to fight against Ukraine, they’re fair game.” He said a key question is what North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is getting out of this.