Ukraine: Kim talks show Putin's isolation, Klimkin says

The mayors of Berlin and Kyiv cemented an agreement to connect the two citieson Thursday. 

Interim Mayor Kai Wegner welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart Vitali Kitschko of Kyiv to the German capital, with the two meeting at the Brandenburg Gate before heading to city hall to sign documents officially making the two capitals sister cities or twin towns.

Kyiv becomes Berlin's 18th partner city. Berlin's partnership with the Russian capital Moscow has been temporarily suspended as a result of the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine.

The former Ukrainian foreign minister addressed the visit of North Korean President Kim Jong Un to eastern Russia this week, dismissing it as a sign of the Kremlin's international isolation.

"Turning to Kim Jong Un is not a good sign for the Russian leadership, don't you think?" he said, adding that the meeting of the two leaders was "not just about weapons" but rather signaled "a new quality of partnership."

Klimkin expressed his opinion that Russia was more isolated than ever on the world stage and not being seen as an equal by countries like China and India.

"The isolation is there," Klimkin said, "and we definitely want more."

Putin and Kim held talks on Wednesday at a Russian cosmodrome, with Putin saying he had accepted an invitation to visit North Korean in the future and hinting at future cooperation in the space sector.

Ukraine's former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said that German Taurus cruise missiles would dramatically boost his country’s ability to defend itself against Russia.

"The delivery of Taurus missiles is a potential game changer," Pavlo Klimkin told DW.  "Ideally, it would come in parallel with a United States decision to deliver ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile Systems]," he further said.

The Biden administration is expected to decide on the delivery of ATACMS in the next days.

Germany continues to consider providing Ukraine with its long-range Taurus missiles. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this week Germany was not yet in a position to decide on their delivery.

Klimkin was speaking as the colder winter months beckon in Ukraine, when analysts expect the fighting to ebb as it did last year. He said he did not believe more inclement weather would pose a "fundamental problem" to Ukrainian forces. Klimkin said issues like technology, strategic clarity and international assistance were more decisive.

Russian forces attacked the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson overnight, killing a 6-year-old boy, Ukrainian prosecutors said.

The shelling also seriously injured the boy's 13-year-old brother, as well as three neighbors who tried to help, the Prosecutor General's office said.

The prosecution added that it has documented the death of 504 Ukrainian children since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, cautioning that the actual number is expected to be even higher.

Meanwhile, the governor of Russia's Kursk region said Ukrainian shelling killed one man and damaged power supply lines.

Governor Roman Starovoit said on the messaging platform Telegram that the shelling of the town of Tetkino on the Russian-Ukrainian border killed the man, adding that 10 shells were also recorded at the village of Gordeevka, near the border with Belarus.

Ukrainian forces have attacked Russian air defense systems near the town of Yevpatoriya in western Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia since 2014, a Ukrainian source said.

Russia had initially reported on repelling Ukrainian drones on the peninsula overnight. But a Ukrainian intelligence source gave the Reuters news agency more details on the attack.

The attack destroyed a "Triumf" air defense system in a joint operation of the Ukrainian navy and security service, the source told Reuters.

The drones started by attacking the air defense system's radar and antenna to blind it. Then, two Ukrainian-made Neptune cruise missiles were fired at the system's launchers.

Military analysts suggest Kyiv has modified the Neptune anti-ship missile to be able to attack ground targets.

NATO countries such as Germany, Italy and France have yet to stick to their pledge of spending 2% of the GDP on the military, said Richard Shirreff, retired British general and former NATO Deputy.

Speaking to DW, Shirreff particularly called out Germany, saying that the country's 2023 defense budget was lower than that for 2022.

"What sort of signal does that send? What does that tell you about the so-called 'Zeitenwende,' this so-called moment of great change when Germany was going to guarantee 2% of GDP year on year in defense?"

Shirreff also stressed his faith in Ukraine, saying he believed the country will achieve its military objectives and that it will not stop fighting.

"The determination, the will in Ukraine is absolutely extraordinary," he said. "They will go on fighting until they've defeated Russia—with or without the West."

The retired general called on Western countries to provide Ukraine with more support.

"My view is simple: Give the Ukrainians the means to do the job and let them get on with it. Provide the support in terms of intelligence and cyber and EW [electronic warfare]," he said. "But don't try and second guess the Ukrainian generals. They know what works."

Russian forces destroyed five Ukrainian sea drones which attacked a navy ship in the Black Sea on Thursday, Russia said.

The RIA news agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying the sea drones had tried to attack the Sergei Kotov ship.

Tension has intensified in the Black Sea since Moscow withdrew in July from a UN-brokered deal which allowed Ukraine to export grains via the sea amid the ongoing war.

Ukraine said that it downed 17 Russian drones attacking its southern, central and northern territories overnight, out of a total of 22 drones.

Ukraine's air force said in a post on the messaging platform Telegram that Iranian Shahed drones attacked the country "from three directions."

Moscow also said it had destroyed several Ukrainian drones over its border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod overnight. 

The Defense Ministry said six drones in four separate locations over the Bryansk region were downed. The region is roughly equidistant between the Ukrainian and Russian capitals.

Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said no damage or casualties were reported. He added that emergency services were present on the scene.

The defense ministry added that it "thwarted" an attack by a drone over the Belgorod region. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the drone was "shot down" over Tulyanka village.

Russian air defenses destroyed 11 drones over Crimea on Thursday morning, Russian media reported.

The RIA state news agency described the drones as "hostile." 

RIA earlier reported that car traffic was suspended on the bridge that connects the Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia. It gave no reason for the traffic suspension.

rmt/rc (AFP, Reuters)