Ukraine war latest: US confirms North Korean troops in Russia; Zelensky preparing plan to withstand war

Key developments on Oct. 23:
President Volodymyr Zelensky tasked the Ukrainian authorities to develop proposals for an internal action plan to help the country withstand the war, a source close to the President’s Office told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 23.
According to the source, the document will address military, political, economic, and other areas, including certain decisions regarding law enforcement.
The plan is expected to be prepared and presented to the Ukrainian public by the end of 2024, BBC Ukraine reported earlier in the day, citing unnamed government sources. The Kyiv Independent’s source said that it may take several more weeks to develop the document.
“The goal is to do everything possible to maintain unity and achieve results in various areas of the country’s development,” a source in Zelensky’s team told BBC.
The plan reportedly is not an alternative to Zelensky’s victory plan and provides for steps to be taken by Ukraine itself.
Zelensky publicly unveiled his five-point victory plan on Oct. 16, which includes Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO placed atop the list.
The victory plan also includes a defense aspect, non-nuclear deterrence of Russian aggression, economic growth and cooperation, and post-war security architecture. It is also comprised of three classified addenda that have been shared with international partners.
Ukraine’s president said that a victory plan “can bridge the gap between the current situation and the successful peace summit.”
There is evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Rome on Oct. 23, Reuters reported.
Austin’s comment comes as the first public confirmation by the U.S. of previous statements by Ukraine and South Korea. The two nations say Russia is planning to involve thousands of North Korean troops in its full-scale war.
“There is evidence that there are DPRK (North Korean) troops in Russia. What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,” the Pentagon chief said.
Austin did not specify the number of North Korean troops that had arrived in Russia.
Nearly 3,000 soldiers had been sent to support the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, and “thousands more” were expected to follow, Reuters reported, citing South Korean intelligence.
“Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were detected in September and October,” Park Sun-won, a member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, said.
“It appears that the troops have now been dispersed to multiple training facilities in Russia and are adapting to the local environment.”
Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000 troops, whose deployment was expected to be completed by December, according to South Korean military intelligence.
North Korea has denied the reports, while a Kremlin spokesperson gave an evasive answer on the issue.
A military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 21 that Russian authorities detained 18 North Korean soldiers who abandoned their positions in Kursk Oblast. Video footage has also circulated purporting to show North Korean troops at a Russian military training camp.
South Korean media reported on Oct. 22 that Pyongyang has dispatched pilots who can fly Russian warplanes to join the war in Ukraine. South Korea’s Yonhap agency also said that South Korea is considering sending personnel to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops.
Ukraine managed to stabilize the situation in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, but the Russian army continues to concentrate its forces in the eastern part of the town, Anastasiia Bobovnikova, a spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk, said on Oct. 23 on national television.
Toretsk lies some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of occupied Donetsk. The town became one of the hottest spots in Donetsk Oblast in recent months as Russian troops continue advancing in Ukraine’s east.
“The situation in Toretsk has relatively stabilized. We (Ukrainian forces) are now holding the demarcation line unchanged. The enemy is still entrenched in the city’s eastern parts,” Bobovnikova said.
“However, we are holding back their further advance and will defend the town as long as possible. And we are doing a good job of it now.”
The number of assaults on this front line’s sector has slightly decreased, which may indicate that Russian troops have taken a tactical pause to possibly replenish manpower, accumulate weapons, and redeploy equipment, Bobovnikova added.
According to local authorities, Kyiv controlled roughly 40-50% of the town as of Oct. 11, while Russia had captured the rest.
Previously, the Ukrainian military said that fights were taking place “at every building entrance” as Russian forces were pushing from the east along the main Tsentralna (Central) Street.
The loss of Toretsk would be another blow to Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast after its forces were forced to withdraw from Vuhledar in the south. Russian forces also continue pushing toward Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Toretsk.
London will donate an additional 120 million pounds ($155 million) to the Maritime Capability Coalition to support Ukraine’s Navy, the U.K. government announced on Oct. 22.
The move comes as a response to Russia stepping up attacks against port infrastructure in southern Odesa Oblast that resulted in damaged civilian ships and casualties.
“Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The British government accused Russia of threatening global food security, including humanitarian supplies to war-stricken Palestine, just as some Global South leaders gather in the Russian city of Kazan for the BRICS summit.
The U.K. is looking for partners to co-finance the supply of “hundreds” more naval drones as well as surveillance radars to protect Ukraine’s grain corridor.
London and Oslo are also seeking a further 100 million pounds ($129 million) to co-fund hundreds more.
As part of the naval coalition, Ukraine has received dozens of amphibious all-terrain vehicles and raiding boats, hundreds of anti-ship missiles, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to the statement.
Over the past three months, Russia has carried out nearly 60 attacks on Ukrainian ports, damaging or destroying nearly 300 port infrastructure facilities and 22 civilian vessels, Oleksii Kuleba, the minister for the development of communities, territories, and infrastructure, said on Oct. 10.
Over 80 civilians were killed or injured as a result of these strikes.
France will deliver its first three Mirage 2000-5s fighter jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025, the French newspaper La Tribune reported on Oct. 23, citing its sources.
Paris previously confirmed it would begin transferring its aircraft in the first three months of next year but did not comment on the numbers.
The timing of delivery takes into account the time needed to train pilots and mechanics and prepare the aircraft, La Tribune wrote.
According to the outlet, the planes will be equipped with ground strike capabilities, namely SCALP/Storm Shadow long-range missiles and French guided bombs AASM Hammer.
France and the U.K. have previously supplied Kyiv with SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles that have a range of up to 250 kilometers (150 miles) and have been successfully deployed against Russian military targets in Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. The French Defense Ministry refused to comment for La Tribune.
The Mirage 2000 is a multirole aircraft designed in the late 1970s and introduced in 1984. The 2000-5 version has upgraded radar systems and can carry fuel drop tanks, greatly increasing its range.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans for their delivery to Ukraine in June, saying that France would also provide training to Ukrainian pilots and staff. He did not reveal how many aircraft France plans to send in total.
The Mirage 2000-5 is a fourth-generation fighter jet, meaning it is in the same class as the U.S.-made F-16 that Ukraine’s Air Force already operates.
Denmark and the Netherlands were the first countries to deliver their F-16s, making them the first Western fighter jets in Ukraine’s arsenal.
While Kyiv awaits Mirages and additional F-16s, it is also in talks to acquire Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.