War in Ukraine: kyiv attacks a Russian oil site, new North Korean troops in Kursk… the latest on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Saturday, December 14, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Russia: kyiv claims strike on oil site

Ukraine claimed on Saturday to have bombed an oil site in the Russian region of Oriol (west) during the night, triggering a fire, with local authorities confirming a “massive attack” by drones. The Ukrainian general staff indicated in a statement that kyiv's forces had attacked this site in the town of Stalnoï Kon, located in the Oriol region about 165 km from the Ukrainian border.

“This is one of the largest oil terminals in the suburbs of (the city of) Oriol” which is part of the “military-industrial complex” supplying the Russian army, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Alleged footage of the attack, published by Russian media, showed billowing smoke rising overnight from a fire.

On Telegram, the region’s governor, Andrei Klychkov, confirmed Saturday that fuel had caught fire on “an infrastructure” after a “massive drone attack”. He said 11 enemy drones had been shot down by air defenses, and as of 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT) the fire had been brought under control but not yet extinguished. There were no casualties in the attack, he added.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

In Russia’s Belgorod region, however, a nine-year-old boy was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike that hit a house in the village of Maisky, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported Saturday.

The victim’s mother and her second child, a seven-year-old girl, were injured in the attack and hospitalized, according to the source. In response to Russian bombings that destroy its infrastructure and cause many civilian casualties, kyiv regularly carries out drone strikes in Russia, particularly on military and energy sites.

On the night of Friday to Saturday, Russia carried out an attack on Ukraine with 132 drones, 130 of which were neutralized, the Ukrainian Air Force said. For its part, the Kremlin's military said Saturday that it had shot down about 40 enemy drones during the night and morning, mainly over Russian regions bordering Ukraine.

Russia deploys more North Korean troops, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Moscow had begun mobilizing “a significant number” of North Korean troops to push back Ukrainian troops from Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian troops began their incursion into the region in August and still control some localities there as kyiv seeks to ease pressure on its forces in eastern Ukraine, where the Russia continues to progress. “Currently, preliminary data already show that the Russians have started using North Korean soldiers in their assaults – a considerable number”, the Ukrainian president said in his traditional address to the nation.

“The Russians integrate them into consolidated units and use them in operations in the Kursk region. For now, it is only in this region,” he added. Zelensky stressed that the participation of North Korean troops in Russian operations in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, was a new escalation in the war that began nearly 34 months ago.

“Ukraine will continue to defend itself, including against North Korean troops,” he said. Ukrainian and South Korean officials have previously said that more than 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia. Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking steps to expand and continue the war.

He launched a new called on Ukraine’s Western allies to step up their support for kyiv, saying he would discuss the matter with his European partners next week. Zelensky plans to attend a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, NATO and the EU.