US announces another $425 million aid to Ukraine, amid North Korean troops in Russia

Amid the presence of the North Korean military in Russia, the United States announced another aid package to Ukraine worth $425 million to strengthen its military capabilities against Russia.

The US Department of State released a statement on Friday (Nov 1) saying the US is providing the "significant package of urgently needed weapons" to Ukraine that includes Stinger missiles, air-to-ground munitions, and additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) along with others.

"The Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical security and defence needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration's sixty-ninth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021," the official statement said.

It further added, "This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, which has an estimated value of $425 million, will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including air defence interceptors; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; armoured vehicles; and anti-tank weapons."

The announcement of the aid came after the state secretary Antony Blinken said that as many as 10,000 North Korean troops were transferred to Russia, including 8,000 positioned in the Kursk region.

"We now assess that there are some 10,000 North Korean soldiers in total in Russia. Recent information indicates that as many as 8,000 of those North Korean forces have been deployed in the Kursk region. We have not yet seen these troops deployed in the combat against Ukrainian forces but we expect that to happen in the coming days," Blinken said.

He further revealedRussia has been training the North Korean troops to use them in the frontline operations.

(With inputs from agencies)