Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the west on Monday of pushing his country towards “red lines”, forcing it to respond, in a reference to positions that Moscow has made clear publicly that it will not tolerate.
Putin said at a meeting of defense officials that Russia was watching with concern the development and possible deployment of short-and medium-range missiles by the United States.
He added that Russia would lift all the restrictions it voluntarily imposed on its missile deployment if the United States goes ahead and deploys these missiles.
Putin noted that Russian troops in Ukraine have taken control of 189 residential areas since the beginning of the year, adding that the goal of the presence of Russian nuclear weapons is deterrence.
In a related context, the Russian military said today that it has taken control of a village in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where its forces have been steadily advancing in recent months.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its troops had “liberated” the village of yelizavetyevka, located about 10 kilometers south of resource-rich kurakhov, which Russian troops were also trying to control.
With a larger number of troops and weapons, the Russian army has made ground gains across the Donetsk region during 2024. Over the past two months, Russia has been advancing at a rapid pace as Moscow seeks to improve its position on the battlefield ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in January.
For its part, Ukraine said today that its troops killed and wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers deployed by Russia in the Kursk region (west), part of which is controlled by Kiev.
The Ukrainian Intelligence Service explained on Telegram: “on December 14 and 15, units of the DPRK army suffered significant losses near the villages of plekhovo, vorozhba and martinovka in the Kursk region of Russia… At least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded”.
He added that these units are “being supplied with new elements” from North Korea, which Western officials estimate has sent at least 10 thousand troops to help Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday declined to comment on a question about these losses in the ranks of North Korean troops.
