WORLD BRIEFING: March 27, 2024

Russia has started supplying oil directly to North Korea in defiance of UN sanctions, further cementing ties between the two authoritarian regimes and dealing a new blow to international efforts to contain Pyongyang. At least five North Korean tankers travelled this month to collect oil products from Vostochny Port in Russia’s Far East, according to satellite images shared with the Financial Times by the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think-tank. The shipments, which began on March 7, are the first documented direct seaborne deliveries from Russia since the UN Security Council — with Moscow’s approval — imposed a strict cap on oil transfers in 2017 in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests. “These oil deliveries constitute a full-frontal assault against the sanctions regime, which is now on the brink of collapse,” said Hugh Griffiths, a former co-ordinator of the UN panel that monitors sanctions on North Korea. The vessels, which are North Korean-flagged and classified as oil products tankers, all visited the same berth operated by a Russian oil company at Vostochny Port, where they appeared to load. Satellite imagery confirmed that two of the ships then travelled from Vostochny Port to the North Korean port of Chongjin, where they appeared to unload. “The vessels we’ve seen at Russian terminals are some of the largest-capacity vessels in North Korea’s fleet, and the vessels are continually sailing in and out of the port,” said Joseph Byrne, a research fellow at Rusi. “Several of these vessels are also UN-designated, meaning they shouldn’t even be allowed entry into foreign ports, let alone involved in oil deliveries.” - FT

Ukraine's security council secretary Oleksiy Danilov was dismissed and replaced by foreign intelligence service chief Oleksandr Lytvynenko under decrees published on the presidential website on Tuesday. No reason was given for the change. Danilov had held the post since October 2019, a few months after President Volodymyr Zelensky took office. Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council has a coordinating role on issues of national security and defence under the president. It comprises the country's top political, security and defence chiefs. Zelenskiy has regularly replaced high-ranking security and defence officials since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The dismissal of Ukraine's top general in February presaged a wider clear-out of the military's top brass. According to the president's website, Oleh Ivashchenko will be appointed as the new foreign intelligence chief.

Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka said the gunmen who attacked a concert hall near Moscow last week tried to flee into his country but were unable to because of additional security measures. Lukashenka was quoted by state news agency BelTA as saying the security measures were put in place along Belarus's border with Russia when it became apparent the perpetrators had driven into the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders both Belarus and Ukraine. When the attackers fled to the southwest out of Moscow into the Bryansk region, Belarus quickly set up checkpoints. “That’s why they couldn’t enter Belarus. They saw that, so they turned away and went to the area of the Ukrainian-Russian border," said the long-term ruler of the former Soviet republic, which is allied with Russia. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and I didn't sleep for a day," he added. “There was constant interaction." Putin has claimed the suspects wanted to flee to Ukraine and were expected there. Ukraine and the United States have rejected the claims, saying Ukraine had nothing to do with the attack in which at least 139 people were killed on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall entertainment venue - RFE/RL

At least 12 Palestinians drowned and six others were trampled to death when people rushed to collect air-dropped American aid packages off the northern Gaza coast, local authorities said. The Pentagon confirmed that three of the 18 packages it air-dropped on Monday had parachute malfunctions and fell into the water just off the coast of the Strip. However, US officials did not confirm if any Gazans were killed while trying to reach the aid. Footage of the incident showed people running towards the site of the airdrop as parcels descended upon a beach in Beit Lahia in north Gaza, with some falling onto the shore and others into the sea. A graphic video showed people performing CPR on several unresponsive victims in a desperate attempt to resuscitate them. One person was heard saying: “It’s over.” - The Independent

Several posts on social media that a major bridge collapse on the U.S. East Coast was the result of “grey zone” or hybrid warfare - including one waged by Russia on the U.S. - have been mostly debunked. Part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning after a nearly 1,000-foot-long container ship, the Dali, crashed into it, sending people into the water in what authorities are calling a "developing mass casualty event." The F.B.I. in Baltimore said in a statement that there was "no specific and credible information to suggest any ties to terrorism at this time," and that the investigation was ongoing, the New York Times reported.

This review is reprinted with the author’s permission from his World Briefing blog.