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France has accused Russia of “intimidation” after its air defenses locked onto a French patrol plane over the Baltic Sea. The French maritime patrol plane was part of a NATO operation and was locked onto by the control radar of an S400 ground-to-air defence system, French defense minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.
“This aggressive Russian action is not acceptable. Our armies will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces,” Mr Lecornu added. It comes as a leading US war analyst has said North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region may all be dead or wounded by mid-April.
If Kim Jong-un’s forces “continue to suffer from their current high loss rate” then the entire 12,000 contingent may be “killed or wounded in roughly 12 weeks”, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. The ISW estimates that North Korean troops have suffered roughly 92 casualties per day since significant fighting began in early December.
In early January, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.
Russian and Iranian officials say the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas – from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture. The 20-year treaty could be extended further. Mr Putin praised the deal as a “real breakthrough, creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the entire region.”
He said the amount of trade and economic cooperation was still insufficient, voicing hope the new treaty will help clear bureaucratic hurdles and expand ties. Mr Pezeshkian said the projects are feasible, adding that experts were working to resolve remaining obstacles. “We witness a new chapter of strategic relations,” the Iranian president said, adding that the countries were set to expand trade ties and also boost the “level of security cooperation.”
A Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire late on Friday in Russia’s Kaluga region south of Moscow, Moscow officials said. Social media sites showed video footage of what they described as an oil storage depot ablaze. Kaluga regional governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram that a fire had broken out after an industrial site was hit in the city of Lyudinovo.
In a later posting, Mr Shapsha said seven drones had been downed, with one landing in a “non-residential area.” The fire, he said, had been brought under control with no casualties. A video posted on unofficial Russian social media sites showed firefighting vehicles speeding off in the direction of a large blaze at what they said was an oil storage depot in the city.
Russia’s Defence Ministry and the governor of Bryansk region reported that air defence units had destroyed a total of nine Ukrainian drones over the region on the border. No casualties were reported. The governor of Smolensk region, bordering Russian ally Belarus, said air defences had downed five Ukrainian drones with no casualties.
Ukraine’s military said on Thursday at least three drones had hit an oil depot in Russia’s southern Voronezh region, and on Friday said its own air defences had downed 33 of 50 drones launched by Russia.
