Russia-backed DPR negotiating with North Korea for reconstruction of facilities: Report

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine's breakaway region, Donetsk People's Republic, is negotiating the participation of North Korean builders in the restoration of DPR facilities. Denis Pushilin, the Republic's Russian-backed leader, announced on August 9 that the first group of DPRK specialists would arrive in the republic soon to determine the scope of work.

Russian news agency TASS quoted Pushilin as saying, "The DPR Ministry of Foreign Affairs is negotiating to involve builders, including those from North Korea, in the reconstruction of the DPR territories. Previously, before Western sanctions, North Korea sent its builders to other countries, they developed a certain model. The builders in the DPRK are highly qualified, disciplined and show really a very good result."

Pushilin added that the DPR and North Korean foreign ministries are deciding on locations for their respective embassies. According to him, the foreign ministries are deciding on locations for embassies around the world. North Korea has become the fifth country to recognise the Donbas republics of DPR and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) as independent states.

South Ossetia was the first country to recognise DPR and LPR's independence, in 2014. On February 25, 2022, Abkhazia followed Russia in doing the same. Syria decided to recognise the two people's republics' independence on June 29.

Russia-Ukraine War: Zelenskyy demands ban on Russian travellers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the Western countries to bar all Russians from entering the country as part of broader sanctions against Russia. In an interview with The Washington Post, Zelenskyy called for a ban, saying that Russians should be barred from entering the country because they "are taking away someone else’s land." He went on to say that Russians should "live in their own world until they change their philosophy."

Since the beginning of Russia's military offensive against Ukraine, a large number of Russians have fled the country, some to avoid the effects of sanctions and others in opposition to the war and fear of Moscow's crackdown on dissent. The exact number of people who have fled Russia is unknown, but estimates put the figure in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

Several Western countries offer asylum to Russian dissidents, including journalists and activists, and the number of asylum applications has increased dramatically since the war began. Despite the fact that much of North American and European airspace has been closed to Russian aircraft, Russian citizens can still apply for visas to any of those countries.

(Image: AP)