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Russia there is deployed North Korean soldiers in significant numbers for the first time to support their offensive in the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky he said.
Ukraine’s president says North Korean troops are allegedly being used to attack Ukrainian forces defending an enclave in Russia Kursk region.
“Today we already have preliminary data that the Russians have started using North Korean soldiers in their attacks. A significant number of them,” Zelensky said during his nighttime address during the war.
Zelenski warned that the deployment of the North’s forces could be extended to other combat zones. Kiev estimated by approx 11,000 North Korean troops are now in the regionstrengthening Russian forces.
Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the North Koreans had already suffered casualties.
“The Russians count on numbers and try carry out assault operations with the help of the Koreanswhen the task of the Koreans is to run under the blows of our forces and occupy certain areas,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.
The Kremlin has neither confirmed nor denied the involvement of North Korean troops.
Ukraine first reported the presence of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region in October. This comes as Ukraine faces increasing pressure to retain the enclave it seized in August during a surprise incursion into Russian territory. Operation, aimed at turning Moscow‘s forces, has since drawn criticism for the spread of Ukrainian manpower across the already extended front line.
Although Kiev claims the move was strategic, Moscow’s counteroffensive led to some of its fastest territorial gains in eastern Ukraine since 2022, although Russian forces reportedly suffered heavy losses.
Reports from the Ukrainian military indicate an escalation of fighting on the Kursk front, including increased airstrikes, artillery barrages, and cluster bomb attacks.
In a broader context, the deployment of North Korean troops underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. In June, the two nations signed a defense agreement, pledging mutual military assistance in the event of an attack. since then, North Korea allegedly supplied Russia with over 100 ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells. In return, Moscow reportedly offered economic aid and support for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Zelensky criticized the actions of the Kremlin, accusing the Russian president Vladimir Putin drawing another state into the conflict. “Essentially, Moscow dragged another country into this war, and to the greatest extent possible. I if this is not an escalation, then what is the escalation that many are talking about?” he said.
The Ukrainian leader used his address to call on Western allies to step up their support for Kiev. He is due to meet the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, NATO and the EU in Brussels next week to discuss boosting military aid.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 13 over the Black Sea and two in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Additional agency reporting