North Korea Finds New Leverage in the Ukraine War

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Kim Jong-un is likely to seek missile and warhead technology in an expected visit to Russia, and he is already getting a public embrace he has long sought.

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un with Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin in Vladivostok, Russia, in 2019. Russia has long been a crucial ally for the isolated North Korea. | Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
For Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, a rare trip to Russia this month to discuss military aid for President Vladimir V. Putin’s Ukraine war effort could provide two things the North has wanted for a long time: technical help with its weapons programs, and to finally be needed by an important neighbor.

North Korea has not been used to getting a lot of attention other than global condemnation for its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. But Russia’s urgency to make new gains in the war is offering Mr. Kim a bit of the geopolitical spotlight — and a new way to both irk the United States and draw closer to Moscow and Beijing.

Though Russia has long been a crucial ally for the isolated North, relations between the two countries have at times grown tense since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. And Russia accounts for very little of the economic trade that North Korea needs; China alone provides nearly all of that.

Now, common interests and worldview are bringing the neighbors closer. » | Choe Sang-Hun, Reporting from Seoul | Tuesday, September 5, 2023

A Former French President Gives a Voice to Obstinate Russian Sympathies

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Remarks by Nicolas Sarkozy have raised fears that Europe’s pro-Putin chorus may grow louder as Ukraine’s plodding counteroffensive puts pressure on Western resolve.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France arriving for a meeting on the Russian attack of Ukraine in Paris in February 2022. | Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, was once known as “Sarko the American” for his love of free markets, freewheeling debate and Elvis. Of late, however, he has appeared more like “Sarko the Russian,” even as President Vladimir V. Putin’s ruthlessness appears more evident than ever.

In interviews coinciding with the publication of a memoir, Mr. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, said that reversing Russia’s annexation of Crimea was “illusory,” ruled out Ukraine joining the European Union or NATO because it must remain “neutral,” and insisted that Russia and France “need each other.”

“People tell me Vladimir Putin isn’t the same man that I met. I don’t find that convincing. I’ve had tens of conversations with him. He is not irrational,” he told Le Figaro. “European interests aren’t aligned with American interests this time,” he added.

His statements, to the newspaper as well as the TF1 television network, were unusual for a former president in that they are profoundly at odds with official French policy. They provoked outrage from the Ukrainian ambassador to France and condemnation from several French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron. » | Roger Cohen | Sunday, August 27, 2023

Ukraine Has All Rights to Defend Itself, Also by Using Attacks on Russian Territory" | DW News

Aug 23, 2023 | In an interview with DW's chief political correspondent Nina Haase, Estonian Foreign Minister Tsahkna said he hoped that Ukrainians would be able to celebrate their Independence Day (August 24) in the streets "already next year". This year, because of martial law, there are no mass events in Ukraine. Tsakhna conceded that he didn't "believe in that really, I'm realistic", and added it was crucial to make the war come to an end in an "appropriate way", i.e. "Russia has pushed back to its territory, when the territorial integrity is re-established, when the international law has re-established in the meaning as well of all the crimes against humanity and war crimes, but also the crimes about leadership." Regarding Ukraine's methods of self-defense, Tsakhna reiterated that Ukraine had all rights to defend itself - "also by using attacks on Russian territory".

Elon Musk Considered Pulling Plug on Ukraine’s Starlink Access after ‘Great Conversation with Putin’

THE TELEGRAPH: Tech billionaire worried about being seen ‘in Russia as enabling Ukrainian war effort’

Elon Musk said he could see the 'entire war unfolding' through a map of Starlink activity | CREDIT: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk pondered pulling Starlink satellite internet from Ukraine because he feared being perceived as a warmonger in Russia, a former Pentagon official has said.

The 52 year-old South African-born billionaire expressed his concerns after Ukrainian forces reported network outages close to the front lines separating them from their Russian occupiers.

Colin Kahl, a US undersecretary of defence for policy until last month, was charged with brokering a deal to prevent Mr Musk from turning the system off altogether.

“If you turn this off, it doesn’t end the war,” Mr Kahl recalled telling the SpaceX chief, in an interview with The New Yorker.

“My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink’s involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns,” the former US official added. » | Joe Barnes | Monday, August 21, 2023

Moldova: In the Shadow of Putin’s War | DW Documentary

Aug 17, 2023 | The people of Moldova have been living in fear since the Russian attack on the Ukraine. Their nation could be next on Moscow’s list. Russian politicians and propagandists issue outright threats, even including the prospect of an invasion.

It’s a danger also recognized by Maia Sandu, the country’s pro-European President: "We’re seeing military activities close to the borders of the Republic of Moldova. This is a dramatic situation for our neighbors. For us, it’s extremely threatening."

The concern is justified. Since 1992, Moscow has controlled the breakaway region of Transnistria in eastern Moldova and stationed troops there. The situation in Moldova was recently exacerbated when Vladimir Putin revoked a decree guaranteeing the nation’s sovereignty. The Moldovan government stepped down on 10 February; three days later, Maia Sandu announced the emergence of specific Russian plans to destabilize Moldova, including acts of sabotage and violence including attacks on government offices and hostage-taking.

Moldova is also living in the shadow of the war. More than a year ago, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Moldovans prepared to leave their country: "We were afraid, we had our cases packed and ready," says Elena Cernei, who lives close the Ukrainian border. More than 600,000 Ukrainian refugees arrived in the Republic of Moldova last year, gas and electricity prices exploded, inflation rose to more than 30 per cent - immense challenges for the poorest nation in Europe with a population of just 2.6 million. Entrepreneur Anatolie Dicusar is struggling to keep his business going; he’s turned his factory into a clothing warehouse for refugees. The blogger and musician Vova Karmanov stopped making music; instead, he films reports about the conflicts in post-Soviet regions. President Maia Sandu fights tirelessly for democracy and freedom. Moldova attained official EU candidate status on 24 June 2022.

But society is increasingly split over the war in Ukraine thanks to Russian propaganda. This film by Irene Langemann charts the personal fates of protagonists as well as the societal and political developments in the Republic of Moldova since the start of the all-out Russian war on Ukraine - and seeks answers to the question: Will the country survive this ordeal?