Kyiv, July 27, 2026: Ukraine has accused Russia of deepening its military dependence on North Korea, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming that Moscow is preparing to deploy an additional 30,000 North Korean soldiers and acquire more ballistic missile systems from Pyongyang.
In a statement posted on X late Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russian forces are making logistical and training arrangements in the Voronezh region, which borders northeastern Ukraine, to receive the new North Korean contingent.
According to Zelenskyy, the move is part of a larger arms transfer deal under which North Korea will also supply additional mobile launchers for short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
Preparations have been underway since June in Voronezh to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea, Zelenskyy wrote. This is not just about Ukraine. Russia is teaching North Korea modern warfare, helping it improve its weapons with real combat experience, and this creates a direct threat to everyone in Asia who lives within range of North Korean missiles.
North Korea has emerged as one of Russia’s most critical military partners since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2024, Pyongyang reportedly sent between 11,000 to 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region to help repel a surprise Ukrainian incursion. South Korean intelligence estimates that around 2,000 of those soldiers have been killed, with thousands more wounded.
Beyond manpower, North Korea has supplied millions of artillery shells, KN-23 ballistic missiles, and rocket systems that have been used in sustained strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
The new warning comes days after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met with top Russian officials in Moscow. North Korea’s state media KCNA said Pyongyang had reaffirmed its invariable support for all internal and external policies of the Russian Federation to eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian dispute and defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ahead of the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin released a video message expressing gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his unwavering solidarity.
The two countries signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty in June 2024 during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, which includes a mutual defence clause obligating each side to provide immediate military assistance if the other is attacked.
Western and South Korean officials say the alliance is transactional. In exchange for troops and ammunition, Russia is believed to be providing North Korea with advanced satellite and missile technology, hard currency, and large shipments of food, oil and gas, helping Pyongyang circumvent UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program.
Ukraine and its allies have warned that the growing Russia-North Korea axis not only prolongs the war in Europe but also destabilizes security in the Indo-Pacific.
