Russia resumes participation in "grain deal", North Korea accused of helping Moscow: highlights of the day
Russia is ready to rejoin the Black Sea Grain Initiative; Washington accuses Pyongyang of secretly supplying Moscow with weapons. We gathered the major news from today.
What about the "grain deal"?
Ukraine hopes that Russia will resume its participation in the "grain deal" in the coming days, which allowed the transportation of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia says it is ready.
The Russian Defense Ministry explained that they suspended their participation in the deal after Ukraine allegedly attacked Sevastopol and a Russian frigate on October 29.
Nevertheless, "it was possible to obtain written guarantees from Ukraine regarding the non-use of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports for military operations against Russia," the Russian department noted.
North Korea helping Russian army
The United States accuses North Korea of secretly supplying Russia with artillery rounds for the war in Ukraine and hiding where they are transported, CNN reported with reference to intelligence data.
U.S. officials believe that the covert shipments from North Korea, as well as drones and other weapons purchased from Iran, are further evidence that even Moscow's conventional artillery arsenals have been reduced during the eight months of fighting.
Minister of Community Development resigns
The Verkhovna Rada registered the resignation of Oleksiy Chernyshov from the post of Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. He is expected to take over at the state oil and gas company Naftogaz following the resignation of Yuriy Vitrenko.
Russia discusses "nuclear weapons"
Senior Russian military leaders discussed the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine. This has caused concern within the Joe Biden administration. Such discussions show how frustrated Moscow is with its failures on the battlefield in Ukraine, The New York Times wrote, citing American officials.
Beating of Pryamyy journalist
The TV channel Pryamyy claimed that law enforcement officers beat their journalist and cameraman in the city of Zhovti Vody, Kamyanske district, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The representatives of the TV channel were performing an editorial task there.
We are trying to get comments from representatives of law enforcement agencies. The regional police told us that the pre-trial investigation in this case will be carried out by the State Bureau of Investigation. We have not yet received a response from the SBI.