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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Russia is preparing to station additional North Korean troops on its territory and has received a new shipment of ballistic missiles from Pyongyang, deepening a military partnership he says Moscow now depends on to sustain its war effort.
Speaking in his nightly address, Zelenskyy said Russian forces have become reliant on North Korean support to continue fighting. "This is the first time they cannot wage war without supplements from North Korea," he said, referring to Russian forces. He added that Moscow is "now preparing to deploy an additional contingent of Koreans on their territory" and has "received, just imagine, additional ballistic missiles from North Korea."
Zelenskyy did not present evidence or a timeframe to support the claims.
The Ukrainian leader used the announcement to renew his appeal to Japan and South Korea for air defence assistance, arguing that curbing North Korea's growing military capability was a shared strategic concern. He said Pyongyang's forces are gaining strength from the experience of fighting alongside Russian troops.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly raised the issue of expanding Russia-North Korea military cooperation in recent public statements, often pairing the warnings with requests for more Western-supplied air defence systems.
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The latest remarks follow comments Zelenskyy made over the weekend, in which he said a decision had been made to deploy between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops on Russian soil. He did not disclose how he arrived at those figures.
North Korea has emerged as one of Russia's closest military partners since Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defence pact in June 2024. Moscow subsequently deployed North Korean troops in a counteroffensive that drove Ukrainian forces out of the border Kursk region.
The extent of North Korea's continued military role in the war, including any new troop deployments or weapons transfers described by Zelenskyy on Monday, could not be independently verified.
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