Defense Intelligence Agency report confirms Russia is using North Korean missiles in its war against Ukraine

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), North Korea provided ammunition to Russia’s state-funded private military company, the Wagner Group, in November 2022.

After Russia launched extensive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the weekend, Ukraine’s grid operator announced daily energy restrictions. The country’s largest energy company specified power requirements for each major municipality.

Starting at midnight on Monday, nationwide electricity consumption limits for both industrial and household consumers will be in effect, according to a statement by Ukrenergo. However, critical infrastructure facilities will not face power restrictions.

Ukrenergo stated that if these limits are exceeded, regional distribution companies might reintroduce hourly outage schedules as needed. DTEK, the nation's largest power company, provided estimates on the required reductions in power usage for residences and businesses. “The caps allocated by Ukrenergo will meet 80 percent of the demand in Ukraine’s capital, 68 percent in the Kyiv region, 74 percent in the Odesa region, and 84 percent in the Donetsk region,” DTEK representatives posted on social media.

On Saturday, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko reported that Russian missiles had struck power facilities in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. The Ukrainian state-owned hydroelectric power plant regulator, Ukrhydroenergo, noted that Russian strikes critically damaged equipment at two unspecified hydroelectric plants. DTEK also reported significant damage to two unspecified thermal power plants. “Ukrainian officials reported damage to critical infrastructure and energy facilities in Kharkiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Kherson oblasts, as well as in Zaporizhzhia City,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported. These attacks also affected civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage sites.

Reuters reported that these Russian airstrikes have inflicted over $1 billion in damage to Ukraine’s energy sector, leading to the loss of 8,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of power generation capacity. Halushchenko informed parliament that Ukraine is negotiating with the European Union to increase the amount of energy the country can import. Currently, Ukraine is limited to importing no more than 1,700 MWh of electricity from the EU at any given time.

Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, has informed the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross about recent abuses of Ukrainian prisoners of war, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. 

“A video showing Russian soldiers abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war is circulating online,” Lubinets wrote. “Initial reports indicate that this occurred on the Kharkiv front, where Russian forces are attempting offensive operations. The video depicts beatings, humiliation, threats, and simulated executions. Unfortunately, such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an isolated incident but a common tactic of the occupiers.”

“I have sent official letters to the ICRC and the UN to document these abuses. This will add to the evidence base for a future tribunal against the perpetrators,” Lubinets added.