Russia has begun utilizing North Korean troops in important numbers in Ukraine, Zelensky says | EUROtoday

For free actual time breaking information alerts despatched straight to your inbox signal as much as our breaking information emails

Sign as much as our free breaking information emails

Sign as much as our free breaking information emails

Russia has deployed North Korean troopers in important numbers for the primary time to assist its offensive in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned.

The Ukrainian president mentioned North Korean troops are reportedly being utilized in assaults on Ukrainian forces defending an enclave in Russia’s Kursk area.

“Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” Mr Zelensky mentioned throughout his nightly wartime handle.

Mr Zelensky warned the deployment of North’s forces might prolong to different battle zones. Kyiv estimates round 11,000 North Korean troops are actually within the area, bolstering Russia’s forces.

Andrii Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said the North Koreans have already suffered casualties.

“The Russians are counting on numbers and are trying to carry out assault operations with the help of the Koreans, when the task of the Koreans is to run under the blows of our forces and occupy certain areas,” Mr Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.

open picture in gallery

The Kremlin has not confirmed or denied the involvement of North Korean troops.

Ukraine first reported the presence of North Korean troopers within the Kursk area in October. This comes as Ukraine faces growing strain to carry the enclave it captured in August throughout a shock incursion into Russian territory. The operation, geared toward diverting Moscow’s forces, has since drawn criticism for stretching Ukraine’s manpower throughout an already prolonged entrance line.

While Kyiv maintains the transfer was strategic, Moscow’s counteroffensive has led to a few of its quickest territorial features in japanese Ukraine since 2022, though Russian forces have reportedly sustained heavy casualties.

open picture in gallery

Ukrainian army stories point out an escalation in preventing on the Kursk entrance, together with intensified airstrikes, artillery barrages, and glide bomb assaults.

In a broader context, the deployment of North Korean troops underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. The two nations signed a defence treaty in June, committing mutual army assist within the occasion of an assault. Since then, North Korea has reportedly provided Russia with over 100 ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells. In return, Moscow has allegedly supplied financial assist and assist for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

Mr Zelensky criticised the Kremlin’s actions, accusing Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging one other state into the battle. “In essence, Moscow has dragged another state into this war, and to the fullest extent possible. And if this is not escalation, then what is the escalation that so many have been talking about?” he mentioned.

The Ukrainian chief used his handle to induce Western allies to strengthen their assist for Kyiv. He is scheduled to satisfy leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Nato, and the EU in Brussels subsequent week to debate bolstering army assist.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry reported the destruction of 15 Ukrainian drones in a single day, together with 13 over the Black Sea and two within the Kursk and Belgorod areas.

Additional reporting by businesses