Ukraine warns 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already in Kursk
- 4 November, 11:29
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Russia has already stationed 11,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk region on the Ukrainian border.
In a nightly video address on Monday, Zelenskiy highlighted that while the presence of these North Korean troops is increasing in the war zone, there has been no corresponding response from Ukraine's Western partners over this alarming development.
"Today, there was also a separate report from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service on the North Korean troops in the territory of Russia. There are already 11,000 of them in the Kursk region. We are seeing an increase in North Koreans but, unfortunately, not an increase in our partners’ response," Zelenskiy stated.
He mentioned that he had a meeting with General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Barhylevych.
Commenting on the situation on the frontline, Zelenskiy explained that the hostilities were particularly concentrated in the country’s eastern Donetsk region, while there is increased Russian activity in southern Ukraine.
Furthermore, reminding that it will be three months since Ukrainian forces staged an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Zelenskiy said it was important to keep that region as a “sanitary zone” in designated areas near Ukraine’s state border.
“It is essential to recognize the significance of this operation – Kursk operation – in replenishing our “exchange fund.” It helped a lot to liberate our people from Russian captivity. I thank all the soldiers, sergeants, and officers involved in our active operations in the Kursk region," Zelenskiy remarked.
