The First Battles with North Korean Soldiers Open a New Page of Instability in the World – Address by the President

5 November 2024 – 20:38

Dear Ukrainians!

Today we did a lot of internal work, work on the points of the Internal Strengthening Plan for our state, our society. Today we discussed military proposals – the points concerning the front. Our strategy and tactics. We must direct all our state’s resources to ensure that Ukraine’s tasks are fulfilled. I held a long meeting. The Military Command, the Government. The Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, along with the Prime Minister, the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation and Technology, the Minister of Strategic Industries, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, and the Foreign Intelligence Service. This frontline point of the Plan plus our defense and industrial complex are truly fundamental things, and everything else in our state’s life depends on how this is defined. Therefore, a clear certainty about the front – the ways to achieve our goals – and a significant scale-up of Ukraine’s domestic defense and industrial complex, tailored to the existing tasks – are something for which every step of our state should and will be calculated.

Today, we also decided on a lot of issues related to our diplomacy. Together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we discussed the candidates for the vacant posts of Ukrainian Ambassadors in the respective countries, and we also discussed the results of our diplomats’ efforts. We are preparing replacements and appointments.

And one more thing.

I want to thank everyone in the world who reacted to the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia. And who reacted not only with words, but also by preparing appropriate actions to support our defense here in Ukraine. Terror, unfortunately, can spread like a virus when it does not meet sufficient counteraction. Now, our counteraction must be sufficient. Strong enough. The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world. Together with the world, we must do everything to make this Russian step to expand the war – to really escalate it – to make this step a failure. Both for them, and for North Korea. I thank all those who are helping!

I thank all those who are working for the benefit of our state and people!

Glory to Ukraine!

The cost:

“They fought, loved and died together.”

A couple in love died at the front – Danylo “Berserk”, a Warrior of the 3rd Assault Brigade, and combat medic Valentyna Nahorna, with the call sign “Valkyrie”.

Sergeant Valentyna Nahorna was a biotechnologist and manicurist in civilian… pic.twitter.com/voff2hXGv4

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 4, 2024

“They fought, loved and died together.”

A couple in love died at the front – Danylo “Berserk”, a Warrior of the 3rd Assault Brigade, and combat medic Valentyna Nahorna, with the call sign “Valkyrie”.

Sergeant Valentyna Nahorna was a biotechnologist and manicurist in civilian life. She joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “Valkyrie” provided medical care to a huge number of wounded Ukrainian Defenders.

Valentyna’s boyfriend “Berserk” had extensive combat experience since 2014. Between the battles for Kyiv, he taught everyone medicine, his brothers-in-arms recall.

Eternal memory and eternal glory to Ukrainian Heroes.

Lithuania:

Lithuania handed over an aid package to Ukraine within the Demining Coalition – 230 pickup trucks and 240 metal detectors.

This equipment will significantly boost our sappers. The vehicles will be used for humanitarian demining and will increase the mobility of demining teams.… pic.twitter.com/fsVslKnPaU

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) November 5, 2024

Lithuania handed over an aid package to Ukraine within the Demining Coalition – 230 pickup trucks and 240 metal detectors.

This equipment will significantly boost our sappers. The vehicles will be used for humanitarian demining and will increase the mobility of demining teams.

We are grateful to Lithuanian partners, and especially Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas’, for supporting our nation.
Together, we are stronger.
🇺🇦🤝🇱🇹
@Lithuanian_MoD

Australia:

Australia will provide 14 rigid-hull boats for Ukraine to bolster Ukraine’s maritime and coastal defense. The package has a value of $14 million.

These sea boats will provide a rapid and highly maneuverable maritime capability for Ukraine.

We are grateful to our Australian… pic.twitter.com/Gn0wfyaEFb

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) November 5, 2024

Australia will provide 14 rigid-hull boats for Ukraine to bolster Ukraine’s maritime and coastal defense. The package has a value of $14 million.

These sea boats will provide a rapid and highly maneuverable maritime capability for Ukraine.

We are grateful to our Australian friends for their staunch support!
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Australia has provided more than $1.3 billion in military support that significantly strengthened our warriors on the battlefield.
🇺🇦🤝🇦🇺
@DefenceAust @RichardMarlesMP

I can’t remember if I covered it when the news initially broke because it was during my hurricane evac, but in case I didn’t Australia is also sending Ukraine 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks!

• Australia is to give 49 superseded M1A1 tanks to Ukraine, whose president sent his thanks for the “brave” donation which he described as essential assistance in its defence against Russia’s invasion. Some will need refurbishment first, or could be used for spare parts as Ukrainian soldiers are already using American M1A1 tanks, also known as the Abrams, donated by the US. Australia’s most recent A$245m aid package for Ukraine also includes air defence missiles, guided weapons, anti-tank weapons, artillery, mortars and small arms ammunition.
• The tanks bring Australia’s total military aid contribution to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 to A$1.3bn, which includes 120 Bushmaster vehicles. Australia’s defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, told national broadcaster the ABC: “We’re really privileged to be the largest non-Nato contributor of military assistance.” Australia is upgrading to the M1A2 version of the Abrams tank.

NATO:

“The shifting front line of this war is no longer solely within Ukraine”, – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte

Yesterday, @SecGenNATO visited Berlin for the first time since his appointment as NATO Chief. A press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz concluded the visit.… pic.twitter.com/LC9gtu6S3u

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 5, 2024

“The shifting front line of this war is no longer solely within Ukraine”, – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte

Yesterday, @SecGenNATO visited Berlin for the first time since his appointment as NATO Chief. A press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz concluded the visit.

Here are some of the highlights:

◾️Ramping up military spending among NATO members and continued support to Ukraine were the main topics discussed at the press conference.

◾️Rutte called the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine a “significant escalation”, and emphasized the need for cooperation with Indopacific partners to strengthen collective security.

◾️Asked about Ukraine’s path to NATO, Secretary General said that the commitments made in Washington, together with the continued support by individual NATO members, the $40 billion pledge, and bilateral security agreements between Ukraine and NATO states are a “bridge” towards Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance in the longer term. “I am absolutely convinced that one day Ukraine will be a member of NATO,” Rutte said.

More on the Russian sabotage and wetwork campaign:

“Western security officials say they believe that two incendiary devices, shipped via DHL, were part of a covert Russian operation that ultimately aimed to start fires aboard cargo or passenger aircraft flying to the U.S. and Canada” https://t.co/bPNjZA9CKe

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) November 4, 2024

From The Wall Street Journal:

Western security officials say they believe that two incendiary devices, shipped via DHL, were part of a covert Russian operation that ultimately aimed to start fires aboard cargo or passenger aircraft flying to the U.S. and Canada, as Moscow steps up a sabotage campaign against Washington and its allies.

The devices ignited at DHL logistics hubs in July, one in Leipzig, Germany, and another in Birmingham, England. The explosions set off a multinational race to find the culprits.

Now investigators and spy agencies in Europe have figured out how the devices—electric massagers implanted with a magnesium-based flammable substance—were made and concluded that they were part of a wider Russian plot, according to security officials and people familiar with the probe.

Security officials say the electric massagers, sent to the U.K. from Lithuania, appear to have been a test run to figure out how to get such incendiary devices aboard planes bound for North America.

Lithuanian police arrested a suspect who sent four incendiary devices, including two from a DHL shop in the capital Vilnius, a European law-enforcement official said. The suspect identified himself as Igor Prudnikov, but his real name is Alexander Suranovas, the official said. Investigators said they believe he was used as a proxy by Russian spy services.

Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office said authorities there have arrested four people in connection with the fires and charged them with participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. Poland is working with other countries to find at least two more suspects.

“The group’s goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada,” the prosecutor’s office said, without saying who was orchestrating the group’s efforts.

But the head of Poland’s foreign-intelligence agency, Pawel Szota, said Russian spies were to blame and such an attack, if carried out, would have represented a major escalation in Moscow’s campaign against the West. “I’m not sure the political leaders of Russia are aware of the consequences if one of these packages exploded, causing a mass casualty event,” Szota said.

Szota’s comments echo what other Western intelligence officials said, indicating that Russia, and specifically its military-intelligence agency, known as the GRU, was responsible.

European authorities allege that Russia is behind an expanding campaign of sabotage, including arson in the U.K. and the Czech Republic, attacks on pipelines and data cables in the Baltic and tampering with water supplies in Sweden and Finland.

Earlier this year, the U.S. warned Germany that Russia planned to kill the chief executive of Rheinmetall, the German armaments giant that supplies Ukraine.

In the months after the fires at the DHL logistics hubs, the heads of both U.K. intelligence agencies called out Russia’s sabotage operations. In September, Richard Moore, the head of MI6, the U.K.’s foreign-intelligence service, said that the Russian spy agencies had “gone a bit feral in some of their behavior.”

A month later, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, the U.K.’s domestic spy agency, warned that Russia was orchestrating “arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.”

Downing commercial passenger or cargo planes would be a big step up and some Western intelligence agencies have questioned whether such a plot could be the result of Russian spies carrying out a plan without the full authorization of the Kremlin, according to people familiar with the matter.

The incendiary devices that ignited in July only narrowly missed being on aircraft used by DHL, the people said. German police who tested replicas of the incendiary devices said that once magnesium ignited it would be difficult to extinguish with the firefighting systems most planes have, people familiar with the German investigation said, and pilots would have been forced to make an emergency landing.

An aircraft far from land and over an ocean would have been at risk of going down, the people said.

More at the link.

It’s almost like Russia is waging a world war against the US and our Canadian and European allies and partner.

Kharkiv, but also everywhere in Ukraine:

Today, there is wet snow with rain in many Ukrainian regions. The temperature at night gets below zero. It is already snowing in Kharkiv. The heating is not on in several cities.

Ukraine is getting ready to face the hardest winter in our history.

There may be no electricity in… pic.twitter.com/tIpP6FsJap

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 4, 2024

Today, there is wet snow with rain in many Ukrainian regions. The temperature at night gets below zero. It is already snowing in Kharkiv. The heating is not on in several cities.

Ukraine is getting ready to face the hardest winter in our history.

There may be no electricity in Ukraine for 20 hours a day in winter if Russia strikes our critical energy system and the weather is cold.

As of today, blackouts are most probable for 8-14 hours a day.

We are expecting a very harsh winter. I don’t know if the people in their apartments will be able to survive the prolonged heating and power cuts in severe cold weather. Russia is doing everything to make Ukrainians flee their country.

📹: Kharkiv today

Russian drones in Kharkiv skies for the second time today ‼️

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) November 5, 2024

The Lyman direction:

Javelin lights up the night!
The destruction of a russian IFV in the Lyman direction.

📹: 60th Mechanized Brigade pic.twitter.com/REZ7W95R5n

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) November 5, 2024

Kherson Oblast:

Exciting FPV drone chase with Russian UAZ Bukhanka. Kherson region. https://t.co/Gmi3burZMb pic.twitter.com/DFoEVingNZ

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) November 5, 2024

Zaporizhzhia Oblast:

❗️Russian strike on an infrastructure object in Zaporizhzhia.

Six people dead, nine more injured. A fire started after the strike – head of local military administration.

Russian terror of Ukraine continues. pic.twitter.com/tBPAvNCr1e

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 5, 2024

Russia struck Zaporizhzhia, resulting in at least 6 deaths and 9 injured, according to local authorities.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) November 5, 2024

Sumy Oblast:

In Bilopillia, Sumy region, which is a few kilometers from the Russian border, there are essentially only pensioners left because of daily shelling…

📹: DW pic.twitter.com/b3Cy0xZ1Zr

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 5, 2024

Selydove, Donetsk Oblast:

Russian forces allegedly executed six unarmed Ukrainian servicemen near Selydove in the Donetsk region, @GP_Ukraine reports. According to operational data, on October 23, during an offensive on the city, Russian troops captured three 🇺🇦 servicemen and later executed them. In… pic.twitter.com/GpAM5GxOBt

— Гюндуз Мамедов/Gyunduz Mamedov (@MamedovGyunduz) November 5, 2024

Russian forces allegedly executed six unarmed Ukrainian servicemen near Selydove in the Donetsk region, @GP_Ukraine reports. According to operational data, on October 23, during an offensive on the city, Russian troops captured three 🇺🇦 servicemen and later executed them. In addition, on 1 November, another 3 🇺🇦 POWs were killed in the same area.
#InternationalCrimes

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

First some adjacent material:

Ukrainian Border Guards added four fluffy teammates to their unit – a cat they adopted gave birth to four kittens. Their dad also visits.

Today, I pray that the first decisions and actions of the new US President are helping Ukraine win! This is security of the whole world and… pic.twitter.com/JyOsGUToX2

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 5, 2024

Ukrainian Border Guards added four fluffy teammates to their unit – a cat they adopted gave birth to four kittens. Their dad also visits.

Today, I pray that the first decisions and actions of the new US President are helping Ukraine win! This is security of the whole world and Ukrainian lives.

📹: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

В моїй голові це виглядало краще :)) #interpretivedance #песпатрон

♬ original sound – Shelbydances!!

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

It looked better in my head :)) #interpretivedance #песпатрон

Open thread!