Putin uses North Korean troops to fight in Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

North Korea is sending its people to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, Kyiv said late Sunday.

“We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. “This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces.”

Moscow and Pyongyang have significantly increased ties following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, signing a defense pact in June during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 25 years.

In the wake of that tie-up, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said earlier this month that North Korea was likely deploying its soldiers to Ukraine to fight alongside Russian troops. Ukrainian media reported in early October that North Korean soldiers had died after Kyiv’s forces bombed Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk.

In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy repeated his call for Ukraine’s Western allies to allow Kyiv to use long-range weapons deeper on Russian territory, saying: “We need to act right now to prevent Russia and its accomplices from adapting to our capabilities.

“When we talk about giving Ukraine greater long-range capabilities and more decisive supplies for our forces, it’s not just a list of military equipment,” Zelenskyy said in his address Sunday. “True peace can only be achieved through strength, and the entire next week will be dedicated to working with our partners for the sake of such strength, for the sake of true peace.”

This week is a key one for Ukraine and its allies on the EU stage.

The European Union’s foreign ministers are gathering in Luxembourg on Monday, where they are expected to discuss Zelenskyy’s victory plan for the war. They’ll also seek to unblock EU funding for Ukraine, which Hungary has held up. Budapest is also blocking plans by the EU, Washington and G7 to deliver a major loan to Ukraine.

The EU’s heads of state and government will then gather in Brussels from this Thursday, with support for Ukraine on the agenda for their European Council summit.