Relying on DPRK demonstrates Russia’s weakness and isolation, - Stano
If reports about the participation of DPRK soldiers in Russia's war against Ukraine are confirmed, it will indicate that Moscow is not interested in finding a peaceful solution but plans to intensify its actions against Kyiv.
Peter Stano, a representative of the EU External Action Service, said this at a briefing in Brussels on Monday, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.
If the reports about the transfer of soldiers from North Korea to Russia are confirmed, this will mean another level of escalation and a significant increase in cooperation between North Korea and Russia, further disregard for international rules and international law. And this only illustrates how Russia is determined to intensify its illegal actions against Ukraine, that Russia is not interested in finding peaceful solutions at all," he said.
Stano also believes that by doing so, Russia is stating that it is not interested in peace, because it is "not only bringing in military aid from all sides, mostly from rogue regimes, but also thinking about using their soldiers."
"It also signals that Russia is really desperate to get any help they can get because they are so isolated and under so many sanctions that they cannot do it by other ways and means," the European diplomat said.
Stano reminded that North Korea is under numerous UN Security Council sanctions.
"This is a player that seriously undermines stability, peace, and security not only in the region but also in the whole world, and relying on countries like North Korea only demonstrates Russia's weakness and growing isolation," he added.
DPRK military in Russia
On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was training ten thousand North Korean soldiers for the war in Ukraine, including infantry.
Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that several thousand soldiers from the DPRK are being trained in Russia and may be sent to the front in Ukraine.
To recap, in early October, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said that the DPRK could send its military to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in support of Russia's war against our country.
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, said that the information about Russia's alleged preparation of DPRK soldiers to be sent to the front in Ukraine was not true.
On October 15, the media reported that on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian occupation army, the Russians began to form a so-called "special Buryat battalion". It will be staffed by North Korean citizens.
Subsequently, the head of the Defense Intelligence Service, Kyrylo Budanov, said that nearly 11,000 soldiers from North Korea are currently training in eastern Russia to fight against Ukraine. They will be ready for combat as early as November 1.
At the same time, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States has not yet confirmed that North Korea is sending troops to Russia.
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul because of the DPRK's participation in the war against Ukraine.
It was reported that eighteen North Korean soldiers had already escaped from the Russian army positions on the border of Ukraine with Bryansk and Kursk regions.
Later it became known that they had been detained.
