October 28, 2024
Incursion Foiled in Another Russian Region; North Korean Soldiers Fighting in Kursk
Russia is now more vigilant against Kursk-style invasion either by Ukrainian army or by fighters backed by Kyiv. On October 27, 2024, Bryansk Regional Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said that an invasion from the Ukrainian side had been foiled hours earlier. The governor didn't say whether the invaders were Ukrainian army personnel or militant groups such as Russian Volunteer Corps, who had tried unsuccessfully previously to invade Belgorod, or Freedom of Russia Legion that had launched earlier attack on Bryansk. Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said that his region was "stable and under control" after the invasion had been foiled for the second time in recent months.
Russia is now backfilling its ranks by North Korean soldiers in Kursk region where Ukrainian army has shocked the Kremlin by launching the first ever attack on Russia since World War II on August 6, 2024 and seized hundreds of square miles in a short span of time. In addition, Ukrainian army is now sustaining their grip over the seized land in Kursk. Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, or known by its acronym GUR, on October 23, 2024 reported deployment of North Korean troops in Kursk. A day later, October 24, 2024, Russian Parliament ratified a bilateral Russia-North Korea defense pact. As part of the pact, about 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been recently sent to Russia and they have been trained in Eastern Russia before being deployed in Kursk.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is drumming up support for his so called "Victory Plan" that calls for seeking approval for using the West-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia, a situation that Washington in particular wants to avoid. Russian President Vladimir Putin said as recent as September 12, 2024 that a situation like that would lead Russia to attack NATO nations. Putin soon after followed it up by issuing a new nuclear doctrine that clarified any conventional attack on his nation by Ukraine supported by a nuclear nation as a joint attack on Russia and the Kremlin would take, if necessary, a nuclear approach to respond.
