The US believes Russia used the North Korean-provided missiles in at least two attacks on 30 December and 2 January, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.

Kirby said the US also believed Russia was seeking to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran, although it did not yet believe Tehran had delivered such weapons systems. Russia has frequently used Iranian-produced drones to launch attacks into Ukraine in recent months and is building a factory that will manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles designed by Iran, according to the White House. 

Russia plans to continue using North Korean ballistic missiles — which can be fired from as far as 885km away — in the coming weeks, Kirby said, without detailing how the US obtained the intelligence.

Biden administration officials plan to raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council, alleging that the transfer of North Korean missiles to Russia violates multiple existing resolutions constraining trade with Pyongyang. The US is also planning to impose new sanctions against those working to facilitate the deal.

“We will not allow countries to aid Russia’s war machine in secret,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration has highlighted Russia’s attempts to gather equipment from countries like Iran and North Korea to argue that sanctions and the battlefield efforts of Ukraine and its allies have drained Russian military reserves – and necessitate further arms shipments from the US. 

Lawmakers failed last year to authorise additional aid to Ukraine, with the White House and Senate Republicans currently negotiating a package that would offer billions more in weapons alongside new immigration controls at the US-Mexico border.

US efforts to isolate Putin after his invasion of Ukraine have pushed the Russian leader closer to North Korea and Iran.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Putin met in September in Russia, talks which the US said were focused on furthering arms deals between their countries. Putin also pledged closer ties with Iran last month after meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi.

Oil losing competitive edge in India as prices rise

India’s crude oil imports from Russia in November were the costliest in a year, government data show, reflecting lowering discounts on the fuel.

Refiners in the world’s third-largest oil consumer paid an average of $85.90 a barrel for shipments from its largest supplier, up 1.8% compared with $84.46 in October. 

Barrels from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, India’s second and third-largest suppliers, were $85.70 and $93.30 respectively in November, as benchmark prices declined. 

Less attractive discounts, rather than payment bottlenecks, compelled refiners to seek alternative crude oil sources, India’s oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday. 

While India’s imports from Russia rose 6.2% on month to 1.68 million barrels a day in November, those from Iraq grew by 21.4%, crossing the one million mark for the first time since February, according to data intelligence provider Kpler. 

Shipments from Russia to India fell to 1.48 million barrels a day in December, according to Kpler, as six tankers carrying the Sokol grade oil from the country’s Far East could not deliver due to tightening sanctions.

US House Speaker Johnson dims Ukraine aid hopes

Prospects for a bipartisan deal on immigration dimmed Wednesday as House Speaker Mike Johnson dug in on Republican legislation that Democrats argue goes too far in securing the US border with Mexico.

The impasse over immigration has complicated congressional talks to avert a 20 January partial government shutdown, as well as release more than $50 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Both could be at risk if immigration talks collapse.

Johnson, who led a GOP delegation to the border earlier in the day, called the House bill the “necessary ingredient” to curb an influx of migrants that has had rippling effects across the country, including in northern cities. 

The trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, was intended to turn up the heat on President Joe Biden and Democrats for border policy changes.

Democrats widely oppose the bill, which would narrow asylum eligibility, require more migrants to be locked up in detention facilities, restart border wall construction, and gut funding for migrant processing.

“We are willing to meet the Republicans a good part of the way,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. 

But Democrats, who control the White House and the Senate, have said they will not simply sign off on the House GOP bill.

The House and Senate will be back in session next week. DM