As the war enters its 972nd day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Thursday, October 24, 2024:
Fighting
- Russian forces have captured the villages of Serebrianka and Mykolaivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russia’s Defence Ministry has announced.
- Ukraine’s military made no acknowledgement of either village falling but said both areas of the front were gripped by intense fighting, claiming its forces had repelled 12 Russian attacks undertaken around Serebrianka.
- Ukraine added that heavy fighting has gripped towns on the approach to Pokrovsk, the next key logistical town in the Russian military’s westward push in Donetsk.
International involvement
- The US has said for the first time it has seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for deployment in Ukraine, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying it would be “very, very serious” if true.
- White House spokesperson John Kirby said US intelligence shows the North Korean troops were transported to three training sites in eastern Russia earlier this month, adding they would be “fair game” if deployed to Ukraine.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the notion Russia would deploy North Korean troops in Ukraine, saying “[President] Putin would never try to persuade another country to involve its army” and deploying foreign soldiers would signal “escalation of the conflict”.
- Lukashenko also said the use of Russian nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus would require his personal assent, adding he was “completely ready” to use them if the “boot of one [foreign] soldier steps into Belarus”.
- Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said sending Western troops to Ukraine will lead to a “direct clash of nuclear powers” with “catastrophic consequences” after French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu suggested the deployment of non-nuclear forces to deter Russian aggression.
- At the meeting of the BRICS alliance in the Russian city of Kazan, leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt issued a joint declaration calling for mediation in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Finances
- The US has finalised its $20bn portion of a long-awaited $50bn loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets, announcing plans to start making funds available by the end of the year for economic and military aid.
- The funds, which will be repaid with interest earned from more than $300bn in frozen Russian assets mostly held in Europe, will be placed alongside a separate $20bn European Union commitment and $10bn split by G7 allies, Britain, Japan and Canada.