Moscow deployed a ” significant number” of North Korean soldiers to help Russia’s offensive against Ukraine’s forces in the Kursk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.
“We already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” Zelenskyy said in an address on Saturday afternoon.
Western officials warned in October that about 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia to train and fight against Ukraine.
“The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy said. He also pointed to “information suggesting their use could extend to other parts of the frontline.”
In August, Ukrainian forces pushed into Russia’s western region, seeking to hold the area as a bargaining chip for eventual peace negotiations.
“We will defend ourselves, including against these North Koreans. And we will continue to act in coordination with all our partners to stop this war — to stop it decisively, with guaranteed peace,” Zelenskyy said, just ahead of a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Union leaders in Brussels to discuss peace plans and the potential deployment of peacekeeping forces to Ukraine.
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