April 24, 2023
1. South Korea downplays claims it could arm Ukraine. But it does via Poland
South Korea does not arm Ukraine since it does not want to alienate Russia, Yonhap news agency has reported. The outlet quoted an unnamed official who clarified that a recent remark by President Yoon Suk-yeol about providing Kiev with lethal aid was made “in hypothetical terms.” The comments came after former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev posted a message on his Telegram channel on April 19, warning that Russia could respond by sending its state-of-the-art weapons to North Korea. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, for his part, labelled South Korea’s “quite unfriendly positions” vis-a-vis Russia which have already manifested themselves in illegal sanctions against Moscow.
However, claiming that RoK does not send its arms to Ukraine directly, Seoul actually transports them to Poland who in its turn transfers a lot of its own arms to Ukraine compensating them by a huge basket of South Korean weapons.
Since late July 2022, Poland has inked agreements with South Korea to purchase 1,000 K2 tanks, 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers, and 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft, along with 288 MLRS.
Poland on October 20, 2022 accepted the first batch of its new South Korean-made tanks and howitzers at a ceremony in Seoul, while signing yet another weapons deal with local industry. The Polish Government delegation, led by Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, on October 17, participated in the delivery ceremony for the first K2 Black Panther tanks and K9A1 Thunder self-propelled howitzers, and to sign a new K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket artillery system supply contract.
According to the spokesman of the Polish Armaments Agency, Lt. Colonel Krzysztof Płatek, 10 K2s and 24 K9A1s will be delivered to Poland later this year, which will allow the start of staff training in Poland. The first K2 tanks will be delivered to Morąg, where the 20th Bartoszyce Mechanized Brigade is based. In turn, in Ostróda, an additional tank battalion will be created, subordinated to this brigade. Ultimately, the 16th Division is planned to consist of four brigades, as it is planned to transform into a part of the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment, which will also receive the first batch of K9A1 howitzers.
Poland’s MND signed executive contracts for the supply of K2 Black Panther tanks and K9A1 Thunder self-propelled howitzers on August 26 this year. For 180 K2 tanks in the Korean configuration, together with the ammunition, training and logistics package, Poland will pay approximately PLN 16 billion ($3.26 billion), with deliveries to be completed by 2025. And the cost of purchasing 212 K9A1 howitzers together with the ammunition, training and logistics package will be approximately $2.32 billion.
The same day as the ceremony in Seoul, a framework agreement was inked between Poland and South Korea on delivery of 288 K239 Chunmoo K-MLRS (Korean MLRS) units, designed by South Korea’s Hanwha, to the Polish Land Forces.
Deputy Minister of Defense for Force and Resource Management of the Republic of Korea Dongjoon Yoo Lim and Deputy Minister of the Defense Purchase Planning Agency Il Sung were joined by Błaszczak to sign the agreement — with the Polish minister directly tying the decision to buy Korean to a lack of production availability from the USA. “In 2019, an agreement with the United States to acquire the HIMARS for the Polish Armed Forces was signed. The delivery of this equipment is scheduled for the next year. We submitted an inquiry for larger deliveries, but unfortunately due to limited industrial capabilities, it will not be possible for the equipment to be delivered in a satisfactory timeframe. Therefore, we started talks with South Korea, our reliable partner, which resulted in the signing of a framework contract for the delivery of K239 Chunmoo today,” Błaszczak stated during the ceremony.
“Chunmoo have very similar characteristics to the HIMARS. It is a very good weapon, it is very good equipment, and I think that our joint Polish-Korean success is that the first Chunmoo squadron will be delivered to Poland next year. Our next success is that this Chunmoo squadron will be built on Polish Jelcz trucks, that are being built by the Polish Armaments Group. It will also be equipped with Polish communications and the battlefield management system, which will ensure that it will be operational also next year,” he added.
According to Płatek, the armaments spokesman, the first squadron of 18 Chunmoo, on Jelcz truck chassis and equipped with Topaz system, will be delivered to Poland in 2023 and will be subordinated to the 18th Mechanized Division, to be equipped with Abrams tanks. The delivery date of the remaining launchers was not disclosed. Along with the K239s, in the first stage of the program a supply of ammunition will also be purchased, which will cover a total of several thousand 239mm guided rockets (having a range of about 80 km) and 600mm KTSSM-II tactical ballistic missiles (having a range of approximately 290km). Ultimately, both types of ammunition are to be produced in Poland. The purchase of support vehicles, including command and ammunition vehicles, and technology transfer is also planned.
So, South Korea is a participant in the Ukrainian/NATO aggression against Russia and against Russian citizens
2. The IAEA chief again cannot identify who is shelling ZNPP
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on April 20 he was "deeply concerned" over the security situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant or ZNPP, as the IAEA experts present there had reported about hearing explosions almost every day for the past week. Now ZNPP is a Russian property.
Strange ability of not identifying who is constantly shelling the station. The second rather peculiar public revelation that came recently from Rafael Grossi is: “Depleted uranium produces no harm to human beings”. And after all such facts his duties as the head of the IAEA have been extended for the second term? Yes, they have been. But it is more than strange.
3. Kiev intends to sell state-run companies
Ukraine is looking for "brave" investors as it seeks to sell big state-run companies at distressed prices to raise funds for its aid-dependent budget, Bloomberg reported on April 20, citing the head of the State Property Fund (SPF), Rustem Umerov.
Currently, more than 3,500 companies are listed as state-owned with almost 1,800 of them bankrupt and non-functional. The list for privatization includes distilleries and grain elevators, ammonia factory, titanium and titanium-magnesium producer plant, insulin manufacturer, as well as hundreds of abandoned facilities.
Kiev is hoping to earn over $400 million by selling companies. All of them will go under the hammer in the third quarter of 2023. Does it mean that the Ukrainian/NATO aggression against Russia will be over?
Kiev bosses have also sold 17 million hectares of agricultural lands, manly to the Americans.
As a famous radio commentator Vladimir Sinelnikov once observed: “Ukraine became a state that has left noting to either Ukrainian state or to Ukrainian people”.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
