US defence chief visits Kyiv

Emergency workers clear the rubble after an overnight Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Pic/AFP

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit on Monday, hours after a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky pushes Western partners to keep providing military support for the war.

Austin said on the X platform that his fourth visit shows "that the US, alongside the international community, continues to stand by Ukraine".

Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv's forces to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.

Zelensky is urging Western allies to support his so-called victory plan' to end the almost three-year war, which is Europe's biggest conflict since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides, including many civilians. The Western response has been lukewarm, and Austin was expected to discuss the plan with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.

Zelensky said in a Sunday evening video address that his plan had won the backing of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and "many other allies" in the European Union which he didn't name. The key country, however, is the US, which is Ukraine's biggest military supplier. Zelensky said he had received "very positive signals from the US," but he stopped short of saying he had secured Washington's endorsement for the plan.

‘Withdraw North Korean troops moved to Russia'

South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. South Korea's spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia earlier this month to support Moscow's war against Ukraine.

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