The EU adopts a 15th package of sanctions against Russia that also hit China and North Korea. Ukraine’s new cruise missile, known as “Peklo” enters series production. North Korean units are being staffed with fresh personnel after taking casualties in Kursk region, Ukraine’s defense intelligence says.
EU adopts new sanctions against Russia that also hit China, North Korea
The EU on Monday adopted a 15th package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The new restrictions add 54 new individuals and 30 entities, including several Chinese persons and entities, and two senior officials from North Korea, the EU Council said in a statement.
“As regards individuals, the EU is sanctioning the military unit responsible for the striking of the Okhmadyt children hospital in Kyiv, senior managers in leading companies in the energy sector, individuals responsible for children deportation, propaganda and circumvention,” the Council said.
“As to entities, the EU targeted primarily Russian defence companies and shipping companies responsible for the transportation of crude oil and oil products by the sea, providing important revenues to the Russian government,” the statement reads.
The Chinese additions are the first fully-fledged sanctions on the country which include a travel ban, asset freeze and prohibition to make economic resources available. EU officials have pointed to China as the main route for sales of foreign technology to Russia, including components for drones and microelectronics.
“These measures are designed to address the circumvention of EU sanctions through targeting of Putin’s shadow fleet and weaken Russia’s military and industrial complex,” the EU Council said of the new package.
Last week, Bloomberg said the EU was proposing to sanction more than a dozen individuals and three entities as part of the bloc’s first set of measures hitting Russia for its disinformation operations and other hybrid activities. The EU was also proposing further sanctions on Belarus.
Ukraine’s Peklo cruise missile enters series production
Ukraine’s new cruise missile, known as “Peklo” (or “Hell” in Ukrainian), enters mass production. The manufacturer produced around 100 pieces of weapon in the past three months, Ukrainian news site Economichna Pravda said Monday. The Peklo entered series production immediately after it was designed and assigned a code.
The orders for the missile are placed by the same military units that operate long-range drones, it said.
The manufacturer is aiming to ramp up its production. The news site said it was not authorized to reveal the munition’s production cost, but added it was cheaper than Ukraine’s Lyutyi kamikaze drone.
Seventy per cent of the missile’s components are homemade with both public and private companies involved in their production. To address a lack of spare parts for series production, some components are used interchangeably. For example, the missile can use different engines, Economichna Pravda said.
During an official ceremony on December 6, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said the first batch of the weapon had been delivered to the military.
The munition is often referred to as a drone-missile. The hybrid weapon emerged when Ukrainian engineers were working to enhance capabilities of one-way attack drones. The Peklo is in the niche of long-range drones, but its jet engine and a more advanced guidance system put it into a rocket class.
The article argues that the name “drone-missile” rightly reflects the nature of hybrid munitions as some Russian cruise missiles carry a 400-kilogram warhead, have a speed of up to 1,000 km/hour and several guidance systems.
The discussion on how to name cruise missiles “with long-range, yet tiny enough to fit into a small launch tube” is also vibrant in the U.S., according to an article by The Warzone article that opens with a passage, asking: “But is it a missile or a drone?”
In Ukraine the weapon of this class is called a drone-missile, in the way the President referred to the hybrid called “Palyanytsia” when unveiling it on Ukraine’s Independence Day this year.
The Palyanytsia carries a 100-kilogram warhead, four times smaller than that of Russia’s Kalibr missile, but two to four times the warhead of Ukraine’s long-range drones.
The Peklo’s warhead is smaller than that of the Palyanytsia, putting it closer to a kamikaze drone. The munition can reach the speeds of up to 700 km/h, while drones fly at a speed of 150-200 km/hour. The Peklo has a range of 700 kilometers.
North Korean units being staffed with fresh personnel after taking casualties in Kursk region, Ukraine’s defense intelligence says
The Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Monday at least 30 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded during battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend in Russia’s Kursk region. The casualties occurred around the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka.
At least three North Korean soldiers went missing around the village of Kurilovka, Ukraine’s defense intelligence said.
“Due to the losses, the assault groups are being replenished with fresh personnel, in particular from the 94th separate brigade of the DPRK [North Korean] army, to continue active combat operations in Kursk region,” the defense intelligence said in a statement.
On Sunday, Ukrainian service members released photos and videos of what they said were the bodies of Russian and North Korean soldiers killed in assaults in Kursk region. Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s defense intelligence said North Korean troops killed eight Kadyrovites in a friendly-fire incident.