Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges allies to act before North Korean troops reach the front

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield, and the country's army chief warned that his troops are facing “one of the most powerful offensives” by Moscow since the all-out war started more than two years ago.

Zelenskyy raised the prospect of a preemptive Ukrainian strike on camps where the North Korean troops are being trained and said Kyiv knows their location. But he said Ukraine can’t do it without permission from allies to use Western-made long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.

“But instead … America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Zelenskyy said in a post late Friday on the Telegram messaging app.

The Biden administration said Thursday that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days.

On Saturday, Ukraine's military intelligence said that more than 7,000 North Koreans equipped with Russian gear and weapons had been transported to areas near Ukraine. The agency, known by its acronym GUR, said that North Korean troops were being trained at five locations in Russia's Far East. It did not specify its source of information.

Western leaders have described the North Korean troop deployment as a significant escalation that could also jolt relations in the Indo-Pacific region, and open the door to technology transfers from Moscow to Pyongyang that could advance the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met with her Russian counterpart in Moscow on Friday.

Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly said they need permission to use Western weapons to strike arms depots, airfields and military bases far from the border to motivate Russia to seek peace. In response, U.S. defense officials have argued that the missiles are limited in number, and that Ukraine is already using its own long-range drones to hit targets farther into Russia.

Moscow has also consistently signaled that it would view any such strikes as a major escalation. President Vladimir Putin warned on Sept. 12 that Russia would be “at war” with the U.S. and NATO states if they approve them.

Zelenskyy's call came shortly before Ukraine's top commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, said on Saturday that his troops are struggling to stem “one of the most powerful offensives” by Russia since its all-out invasion of its southern neighbor in February 2022.

Writing on Telegram following a call with a top Czech military official, Syrskyi hinted that Ukrainian units are taking heavy losses in the fighting, which he said “require constant renewal of resources.”

While Syrskyi did not specify where the heavy fighting took place, Russia has for months been conducting a ferocious campaign along the eastern front in Ukraine, gradually compelling Kyiv to surrender ground. But Moscow has struggled to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk border region following an incursion almost three months ago.

Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight into Saturday, killing a policeman and injuring dozens, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported. According to Syniehubov and Ukraine’s national police force, one missile slammed into a spot where a large group of police were gathered, killing a 40-year-old serviceman and injuring 36 more.

In Ukraine’s southern Kherson province, Russian shelling on Saturday killed a 40-year-old woman and wounded three others, including two children, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Another Kherson resident was wounded in a drone attack later that day, according to local Ukrainian authorities.

Five more civilians, including two children, were injured after Russia struck Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Serhii Lysak said.

In Kyiv, air raid sirens wailed for over five hours early Saturday morning as Russian drones rained on the capital, sparking a fire in an office block downtown and injuring two people, according to the city’s military administration.

Overall, Russian forces overnight attacked Ukraine with over 70 Iranian-made Shahed drones, the Ukrainian air force reported Saturday. It said most were shot down or sent off-course using GPS jamming. Falling debris damaged power networks and residential buildings in multiple provinces and injured an elderly woman near Kyiv, officials said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry hinted that Russia’s drone campaign was slowing down, saying Moscow launched just over half as many in October as the month before.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry reported that its forces overnight shot down 24 Ukrainian drones over four Russian regions and occupied Crimea. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

In a separate development, four civilians were injured following a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s southern Kursk region, its Gov. Aleksei Smirnov said, without specifying what weapon was used. Moscow is still trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces from the province, months after they staged a bold assault that rattled the Kremlin and constituted the largest attack on Russia since World War II.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanised Brigade press service, servicemen of the 24th Mechanised Brigade install anti-tank landmines and non explosive obstacles along the front line near Chasiv Yar town in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday Oct. 30, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP)

In this image made from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, Russian snipers fire towards Ukrainian forces from an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image made from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, Russian soldiers attend combat training for assault units at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanised Brigade press service, a serviceman of the 24th Mechanised Brigade installs landmines and non explosive obstacles along the front line near Chasiv Yar town in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday Oct. 30, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP)

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla posted its first annual sales drop in more than a dozen years Thursday, sinking a stock that has soared since Donald Trump’s victory on optimism Elon Musk’s close relationship to the president-elect will help the company.

Tesla’s global vehicle sales rose 2.3% in the final quarter thanks to 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases. But that was not enough for billionaire Musk's most valuable holding to overcome a sluggish start to 2024.

The Austin, Texas, company sold 495,570 vehicles from October through December, boosting deliveries to 1.79 million for the full year. That was 1.1% below 2023 sales of 1.81 million as overall demand for electric vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere slowed.

The year-over-year global sales drop is Tesla’s first since 2011, according to figures from analytics firm Global Data. The company sold 1,306 vehicles in 2010, but that dropped slightly to 1,129 the following year.

The fourth-quarter boost came with a cost. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Tesla’s average sales price to fall to just over $41,000 in the quarter, the lowest in at least four years.

That doesn’t bode well for Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 29.

Tesla stock fell about 5% in midday trading.

Musk donated more than $250 million to Trump’s campaign and is a regular guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Tesla investors have pushed the stock up more than 50% since the election on hopes the new administration will streamline electric vehicle regulations and address other Musk policy priorities.

In 2022, Tesla predicted that its sales would grow 50% most years, but the prediction ran into an aging model lineup and increased competition in China, Europe and the U.S. In the U.S., analysts say most early adopters of technology already own electric vehicles, and more mainstream buyers have concerns about range, price and the ability to find charging stations on longer trips.

The fourth-quarter deliveries fell thousands short of Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected sales of 498,000 vehicles.

Falling sales early in the year led to once-unheard of discounts for the automaker, cutting into its industry leading profit margins.

Competition from legacy and startup automakers is also growing as they try to nibble away at the company’s market share.

Daniel Ives, a financial analyst at Wedbush, said he thinks the stock is still worth buying despite the sales drop.

“We have never viewed Tesla simply as a car company...instead we have always viewed Musk and Tesla as a leading disruptive technology global player,” wrote Ives. “And the first part of this grand strategic vision has taken shape.”

The fourth-quarter sales, while a record for Tesla, show that the company’s aging model lineup is reaching saturation in the entry level luxury vehicle market, said Morningstar Analyst Seth Goldstein.

Aside from the Cybertruck, which has had limited appeal, Tesla’s newest consumer model is the Y small SUV which first went on sale in 2020.

To meet Tesla management’s guidance of 20% to 30% annual sales growth this year, the company will need to come out with a vehicle priced in the mid $30,000s to appeal to more mainstream buyers who might be considering gas, electric or hybrid vehicles, Goldstein said.

Tesla has floated the possibility of a new version of the Model Y that would cost in the mid $30,000s that may be smaller inside than the current Y with fewer features, Goldstein said.

“At that point you’re comparable to some Hondas and Fords and GMs,” Goldstein said. “It takes you out of the luxury market to the more affordable vehicle market.”

Jeff Schuster, vice president of automotive research Global Data, said Tesla faces intense competition worldwide from EV makers in China, the U.S. and elsewhere, many of which are selling EVs to more mainstream buyers. “If they want to continue to see the growth they had, they need to expand to other sizes and price points,” he said.

Also, Musk’s support of Trump for U.S. president also could be turning off some buyers who may be more environmentally conscious and lean toward Democrats, Schuster said. A broader, less costly lineup would appeal to a larger group of buyers, he said. “I suppose the choices that he’s made on the political front don’t line up with a good portion of his buyers’ profile,” Schuster said.

Industry experts say that Tesla used to be the only automaker with credible electric vehicles, but now others such as China’s BYD now have more to offer.

At present, automakers have 75 electric vehicle models for sale in the U.S. Through the first nine months of last year, electric vehicle sales slowed in the U.S., but they are still growing.

Through September, new EV sales rose 7.2% to about 936,000 in the U.S., according to Motorintelligence.com. That’s slower growth than the 47% increase in 2023. But EV sales this year still are likely to surpass last year’s record of 1.19 million. Most other automakers will report full-year sales on Friday.

Nearly all of Tesla’s sales last quarter came from the smaller and less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling only 23,640 of its more expensive models that include X and S, as well as the new Cybertruck.

Tesla's global electric vehicle sales edged out Chinese rival BYD, which announced Thursday that total soared 41% last year including 1.77 million EVs. The company is vying with Tesla for the world’s top selling EV maker.

Fourth quarter production of 459,445 vehicles was below total deliveries for the quarter, and full year production of 1.77 million was less than the year’s sales.

AP reporter Bernard Condon reported from New York City.

FILE - A Tesla level three Electric vehicle charger is visible, Feb. 2, 2024, in Kennesaw, Ga., near Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

FILE - The logo of Tesla car is pictured at the Paris Auto Show, in Paris, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)