Zelenskyy on participation of DPRK military in war: We have information about preparation of two units, possibly two brigades of 6 thousand people each
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has information about the training of two units of the North Korean military, maybe even two brigades of 6,000 people each.
According to Censor.NET, Zelenskyy said this in his video address today.
Zelenskyy noted that there had been several reports from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the situation at the front and prospects for the near future.
In particular, we have information about the preparation of two units of military personnel from North Korea - maybe even two brigades of 6,000 people each. And this is a challenge. But we know how to meet this challenge. And it is important that partners do not hide from this challenge. All partners," Zelenskyy said.
The President thanked all the countries and leaders who condemned North Korea's joining the Russian war.
"It is clear that Pyongyang, just like Moscow, does not count people and does not value human lives. But we all in the world are equally interested in ending the war, not prolonging it. Therefore, we must stop Russia and its allies together," the head of state emphasized.
Zelenskyy also noted that if the DPRK can interfere in the war in Europe, then the current pressure on this regime is definitely not enough.
"And if Russia is still able to make this war bigger and longer, it means that everyone in the world who is not helping to force Russia to peace is actually helping Putin to fight. Criminals must be stopped. We expect a tough substantive response from the world. Preferably, not just in words.
I thank everyone who helps Ukraine! I thank all our soldiers and everyone who works for Ukraine!" - the President summarized.
Earlier, the media reported that Ukraine could receive lethal weapons from South Korea. It was reported that the authorities of the Republic of Korea are ready to depart from the official policy of supporting non-lethal weapons and provide Ukraine with defensive and offensive weapons. Such a decision could be a response to the DPRK joining the war.
DPRK military participation in Russia's war against Ukraine
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 confirmedthat 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 the Bryansk and Kursk regions. It later became known that they had been detained.
South Korea's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Jongkook Hwang, said that Russia could pay for the participation of North Korea's military in the war against Ukraine with nuclear weapons technology.
And The Guardian wrote that Russia may send North Korean troops to capture Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region or to conduct winter assaults on other important areas on Ukraine's eastern front.
