Taming the Allies: How the world is holding Putin's allies accountable.

In his evening video address on Sunday, October 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the alliance between Russia and North Korea is "no longer just about the transfer of weapons, but about the actual transfer of military forces to the occupier."

"It is clear that under such conditions, our relations with partners need to develop. The front requires more support. When we talk about greater range for Ukraine and more decisive supply of our forces – it’s not just a list of military assets. It’s about increasing pressure on the aggressor, which will be stronger for Russia than they can withstand. And it’s about preventing a larger war. Real peace can only be achieved through strength, and the entire next week will be dedicated to working with our partners – for that strength, for real peace. Teams will be working. There will be work with leaders too. We are very hopeful that decision-making will not be delayed,” concluded the current host of Bankova.

Previously, sources in the GUR reported to the Western press that in the near future, several thousand soldiers from North Korea may be sent to fight in Ukraine. It was noted that this military contingent could be used by the Russians in border regions with Ukraine to free up their own personnel for combat operations against Kyiv. "This could have a significant impact. Especially if we talk about releasing reserves on the territory of the Russian Federation itself," commented a representative of Ukrainian intelligence to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, while Kyiv raises alarms about the involvement of Kim Jong-un's "boots" in the war, the US and Europe have opened an Iranian front. In particular, an unnamed high-ranking EU official informed journalists in Brussels about the expansion of sanctions against Tehran. According to him, the sanctions list will include both individuals and companies responsible for supplying ballistic missiles to Moscow. The diplomat in Brussels stressed that these sanctions are not related to the situation in the Middle East. Thus, the EU intends to send a signal that the main European accusations against Tehran concern not its conflict with Israel, but military-technical ties with the Kremlin.

Both Moscow and Tehran categorically deny information regarding the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. Recently, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi provided clarifications on this issue. A separate statement indicating the "falsity of such accusations" was also made by Putin's spokesperson Peskov, whose words, like all Kremlin troubadours, carry zero weight.

It should be noted that the previously approved EU sanctions regime against Iran for cooperation with Russia, as well as "for supporting armed groups and organizations in the Middle East and the Red Sea region," is in effect until July 27, 2025. This regime, like other EU sanctions regimes, is regularly reviewed and extended. Currently, over twenty individuals and organizations are under sanctions within this regime.

Meanwhile, the pressure from Euro-Atlantic allies on Iran is intensifying from both sides. At the end of last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signed an order imposing sanctions on all individuals working in the oil and petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy. "Today we are taking steps to cut off the flow of revenue that the Iranian regime uses to finance its nuclear program and develop missiles," explained US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the purpose of the measures taken. According to him, the White House also aims to limit Iran's capabilities in supporting its proxies in the Middle East.

It is evident that the increasing pressure on Tehran, coming simultaneously from Brussels and Washington, has placed the new reformist Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a difficult position, as it appears unlikely he will be able to implement a plan for reconciliation with the West in the near future. Recently, he made a passionate appeal at the 72nd UN General Assembly session for engagement with the US and the EU, but now he is forced to urgently adjust his own position. "The situation in the region is complicated. America and Europe do not want the situation to normalize," noted Masoud Pezeshkian at the end of last week during a meeting with Russian dictator Putin in Ashgabat, simultaneously calling for Moscow's active support for Tehran in its conflict with Israel.

According to President Pezeshkian, Tehran "greatly relies" on finalizing the process of formalizing a strategic cooperation agreement with Russia, which is expected to occur during the BRICS summit in Kazan, scheduled for October 22-24.

As noted in a conversation with Lenta.UA, one of the former leaders of the domestic Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Iran today needs an agreement with Moscow like air, where security must be ensured, but whether Russia will provide it in the expected volume is a big question, as Tehran is an important but not key passenger on the Kremlin train."

By the way, speaking of passengers. Recently, there was yet another uprising in the European Union regarding the acceptance of migrants. This time, Poland played the role of the troublemaker. Over the past weekend, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Warsaw would temporarily suspend the right to asylum for those entering the country from neighboring Belarus in the coming days. Polish authorities justify their decision by claiming that, as was the case three years ago, Moscow and Minsk intend to use migrants to destabilize the European Union.

The provision regarding "passengers" from Belarus will be included in the new migration strategy, which Tusk plans to unveil at a government meeting on October 15, as he stated over the past weekend at his party's "Civic Platform" congress.

It is worth recalling that three years ago, a migration crisis occurred at the Polish-Belarusian border, when in just August 2021, eight times more individuals from the Middle East and Africa attempted to illegally cross into Poland from Belarus than in all of 2020. At that time, Warsaw also blamed the authorities of Russia and Belarus for this.

To prevent illegal crossings into Poland, the authorities built a 190-kilometer metal barrier along the border with Belarus in 2022, and in May of this year, allocated €2.3 billion for additional fortifications along the border with its eastern neighbor. The influx of illegal migrants has decreased, but has not stopped: in the current incomplete year, over 26,000 attempts at illegal entry from Belarus have already been registered in Poland. However, while previously most of those who managed to cross the border headed further west, often to Germany, in the past year, more and more migrants have been seeking asylum in Poland itself. According to the Polish Office for Foreigners, as of the end of September, 12,300 individuals had applied for international protection in Poland – in comparison, there were 9,500 such applications throughout the entire previous year.

It is important to emphasize that the Council of Europe partially supported Warsaw's conclusions regarding Minsk's involvement in the transfer of illegal migrants to Poland. Recently, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, warned about the "challenges posed by the instrumentalization of migration and destabilizing actions by the Belarusian authorities at the Polish-Belarusian border." However, he also criticized the Polish authorities, noting that Warsaw's measures regarding potential asylum seekers "do not fully comply with international human rights standards" and "expose them to the risk of serious violations of rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights."

Donald Tusk, commenting on these signals from the EU, indirectly hinted that in this specific case, for the sake of its own security, Warsaw would deliberately "ignore" thematic European rules. At the same time, similar sentiments are shared by other countries in the European Union besides Warsaw. Last week, the Czech Republic, along with Poland, demanded stricter restrictions on asylum policy than those provided in the new EU pact. Furthermore, the Netherlands and Hungary even declared their intention to seek exemptions for their countries from the application of this pact.

And although neither Tusk nor other EU leaders mention Ukrainian migrants, domestic experts are paying special attention to this issue at the moment. In particular, political scientist Oleg Posternak states the following: "67% of Polish citizens support sending Ukrainian conscripts back to Ukraine. This is a recent poll by the CBOS center. So, all those Ukrainians who are sitting in Poland and enjoying European leisure and a carefree life should know that their joy will not last long, and it's time to become realists. Such a high percentage of national irritation is likely to be converted into a political strategy for Polish parties, for whom creating an enemy image out of Ukrainians is a quick path to electoral popularity. This is how the logic of electoral competition and rivalry works. There is a tendency among the population towards certain views – there is capitalization of this into slogans and actions. Neither the fact that you have opened a business and seemingly "settled" there, hoping for indulgence, nor the fact that Poland needs cheap unskilled labor to maintain economic growth will save you. Nothing will help, as electoral calculations always prevail over economic ones."

In the expert's view, Ukrainians will be expelled from Poland "with brooms and slippers under the loud whistling and singing of the Polish anthem."