Kyiv says Russian losses are driving Kremlin toward North Korean troops
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is preparing to bring roughly 30,000 North Korean soldiers into its war against Ukraine. He linked the move to heavy Russian battlefield losses over the past seven months.
Zelensky said Russia has been staging the North Korean troops in its Voronezh region, near the Ukrainian border, since June. He made the claims in a social media post.
"In less than seven months this year, 221,000 people enlisted in Russia's armed forces, while casualties over the same period reached roughly 225,500 — including 131,000 killed and 93,000 wounded," Zelensky wrote.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine discloses its own losses in the war, which began with Russia's 2022 invasion. Both sides are known to inflate enemy casualty figures. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported that, based on public records such as obituaries, families' statements, media reports and local government documents, roughly 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 350,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began.
Zelensky said North Korea is also preparing to send new ballistic missile systems to Russia. About 15,000 North Korean troops already fought alongside Russian forces last year to retake Kursk, a Russian region Ukrainian troops had occupied since August 2024.
Russia and North Korea signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in 2024, committing both sides to mutual military assistance in the event of aggression. Under that agreement, North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of artillery shells and military hardware, including large-caliber Koksan howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, KN-23/24 ballistic missiles and anti-tank systems.
Zelensky also said Ukraine has observed Russia sharing satellite intelligence with Iran, allowing Tehran to direct strikes in the Gulf region in retaliation for US airstrikes.
"Since early July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of Gulf states and the US military bases located there," Zelensky said. "There is a clear correlation between Russia's monitoring of these sites and Iranian attacks — both before the strikes, as they were being prepared, and afterward, to assess the damage caused."
Translation by Iurie Tataru
