Ukraine's Zelenskiy: Russia wants to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops to conflict
Zelensky said the move would deepen North Korea’s combat role and help Moscow offset losses, citing 221,000 Russian recruits and nearly 225,500 casualties this year.
- On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Russia intends to recruit 30,000 additional North Korean troops, with preparations underway in Russia's Voronezh region since June.
- President Vladimir Putin is "preparing the conditions for expanding mobilization" as mounting battlefield losses strain recruitment; Moscow enlisted 221,000 recruits in 2026 while sustaining nearly 225,500 casualties.
- North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia, building on a 2024 mutual defense pact that previously saw Pyongyang deploy 14,000 soldiers to the Kursk region.
- This deepening military cooperation poses a direct security threat to Asian nations within range of North Korean missiles, as Zelensky stated Russia is assisting Pyongyang in improving its weapons and gaining real combat experience.
- Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang had publicly confirmed the proposed deployment by Sunday; Zelensky's 30,000-troop figure remains an intelligence claim, though confirmation would significantly expand the existing military partnership.
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Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has warned that Pionyang could send more troops to the front to help Moscow after the large number of Russian casualties in recent months
Russia can’t fill its own ranks—so it asks North Korea for 30,000 more soldiers and new missile launchers, Ukraine says
Russia wants another 30,000 troops from North Korea and new ballistic-missile launchers as it prepares its options for the fall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while discussing Ukrainian intelligence reports on Russia’s plans. The push lands as Russian casualties run ahead of new recruits, and as Kyiv sees preparations for a wider draft rather than any turn toward ending the war. Moscow’s war economy is drawing on an increasingly s…
Ukrainian leaders claim that Russia requested an additional 30,000 troops and a number of missile launchers from North Korea to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Pyongyang sent 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside the Russians at Kursk in 2024
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