Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Kiev on Monday, where the two discussed a number of issues related to Ukraine’s ongoing defensive war against Russian aggression.

In a post on the social media platform

Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to “US President Joe Biden, both parties in the US Congress and the American people for all their support since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion.”

Zelenskyy also said he thanked Austin for a recent US$400 million (€370 million) US defense assistance package that includes weapons and military equipment.

The US is the largest donor to Ukraine’s war effort, followed by Germany and Britain.

Austin’s visit to Ukraine comes ahead of the US presidential elections on November 5.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to continue strong U.S. support for Ukraine if re-elected, while Republican nominee President Donald Trump wants to cut aid to Ukraine.

Germany has inaugurated a new multinational naval headquarters for the Baltic Sea to direct NATO operations during a conflict.

The launch comes as the military alliance increases its focus on the area amid rising tensions with Russia.

“Our message to our partners and to those who threaten our peace is simple: Germany resolutely adheres to its obligations,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, according to a draft of his speech.

The event took place at the German Naval Command in the coastal city of Rostock, on the grounds of which its headquarters are located.

The establishment of the facility underlines the importance of the Baltic Sea to NATO after relations with Russia deteriorated following the war in Ukraine, which saw the Russian Baltic Fleet based near Kaliningrad.

Since the accession of the Baltic states, NATO has had to ensure that sea routes remain open in case the narrow land corridor connecting them to Poland becomes blocked in a conflict with Russia.

Now that more than 99% of the votes have been counted, the “yes” vote for EU membership in the Moldovan referendum is slightly higher at 50.28% – only 8,000 votes more than the anti-EU camp.

Earlier results appeared to show that Moldovans had rejected plans for the former Soviet republic to add its goal of joining the EU to the constitution.

An EU spokesman said Moldova’s referendum on joining the EU took place with “unprecedented interference” by Russia or its allies.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a population of around 2.5 million, applied to join the EU on February 24, 2022 in the wake of Russia’s large-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine and was granted candidate status alongside Ukraine that summer. -member state.

NATO chief Mark Rutte and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol discussed what Seoul said was a deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.

Rutte said this would be a violation of U.N. sanctions and a serious concern, Yoon’s office said. Meanwhile, Seoul said it was sending a delegation to NATO to share information about the alleged deployment plan.

Russia has said it will continue to work with North Korea after reports that Pyongyang’s troops are being trained to fight for Moscow in Ukraine.

“North Korea is our closest neighbor and partner and we are developing relations in all areas and it is our sovereign right. We will further develop this cooperation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

He declined to answer a question about whether Russia is deploying North Korean troops.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Seoul to protest what it calls the shipment of North Korean troops to Russia for deployment in Ukraine.

Seoul Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun called on top Russian envoy Georgy Zinoviev to push for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean soldiers.

Kim said the presence of North Korean troops in the war in Ukraine was a violation of U.N. resolutions and the U.N. Charter. He said it posed a serious threat to the security of South Korea and beyond.

“We condemn North Korea’s illegal military cooperation, including the sending of troops to Russia, in the strongest terms,” the ministry quoted Kim as saying.

“We will respond together with the international community by mobilizing all available resources against acts that threaten our fundamental security interests.” The ministry said Zinoviev told Kim he would pass the message on to Moscow.

South Korea’s spy agency said last week that North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces to Russia’s Far East for training and acclimatization at local military bases. It was said that they would probably be deployed to fight in the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Pyongyang of preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to Russia.

He called on Sunday for a strong response from countries that have recognized North Korea’s increasing involvement in the war in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned both Pyongyang and Moscow against sending North Korean soldiers to fight in the war in Ukraine.

Deploying North Korean soldiers to fight with Russia in North Korea “would represent a significant escalation,” Rutte said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The pair also discussed the close relationship between South Korea and the Western military alliance, Rutte said.

He noted their cooperation in the defense industry and their “interconnected security.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine – his fourth since taking up the post in 2021.

The trip comes at a precarious time for the country ahead of the US election, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump expressing antipathy to further support for Kiev.

Austin wrote on X that his trip was intended to demonstrate “that the United States, alongside the international community, continues to support Ukraine.”

He was expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to continue military aid to Ukraine if she wins on November 5.

The US has been Ukraine’s largest military and financial backer since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russian troops have advanced slowly and steadily into eastern Ukraine this year. While Zelenskiy has pressured his allies in the West to allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, this has so far been unsuccessful.

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