Zelensky says Russia seeks 30,000 more North Korean troops
· UPIJuly 26 (Asia Today) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is seeking as many as 30,000 additional North Korean troops for its war against Ukraine, warning that the military cooperation could strengthen Pyongyang's ability to threaten South Korea and other Asian countries.
Zelensky said Saturday that Russia had been preparing facilities in its southwestern Voronezh region to receive North Korean personnel since June.
Voronezh borders Ukraine and serves as an important logistics area for Russian military operations.
"Russia wants to bring in an additional 30,000 troops from North Korea," Zelensky said in an evening address posted on social media.
Zelensky also said North Korea was preparing to provide Russia with additional ballistic missile launchers.
Russia's cooperation with Pyongyang is helping North Korea improve its weapons and gain battlefield experience, he said.
"Russia is helping North Korea wage war, improve its weapons and accumulate real combat experience," Zelensky said. "All of this poses a threat to every country in Asia within range of North Korean missiles."
Russia and North Korea have not publicly confirmed plans for another deployment of that size.
North Korean troops gain combat experience
North Korea began sending troops to Russia in October 2024 after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in Pyongyang four months earlier.
Ukraine and its allies estimate that North Korea has deployed about 14,000 combat troops to Russia's Kursk region. Additional engineering and military construction units have reportedly increased the total number of North Korean personnel sent to Russia.
North Korea has acknowledged that its forces participated in Russia's campaign to retake territory in Kursk that had been seized by Ukrainian troops.
The deployment has provided North Korean forces with experience in drone warfare, artillery operations, electronic warfare and coordinated ground combat that would be difficult to acquire through military exercises alone.
South Korean security officials have warned that North Korea could apply those lessons to future military operations on the Korean Peninsula.
Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Moscow this month and expressed gratitude to the North Korean leadership for supporting Russia's war effort, according to the Kremlin.
Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes
Russia and Ukraine also exchanged attacks against civilian areas, military production facilities and energy infrastructure Saturday. Authorities on both sides reported at least 20 deaths, although some claims could not be independently verified.
Russian-installed authorities in occupied Zaporizhzhia said a Ukrainian attack struck a coastal recreation area, killing 11 people, including four children.
Russian officials also reported three deaths in border and Russian-occupied areas.
Zelensky said Russian strikes killed three people in Sloviansk and damaged more than 10 homes.
Three more people were killed in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine's Sumy region, he said. Russian forces also struck an apartment building in the Kharkiv region and a clothing market in Zaporizhzhia.
A Russian missile attack Friday struck a defense-related exhibition outside Kyiv, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 100, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine strikes targets deep inside Russia
Zelensky said Ukraine continued what he called "long-range sanctions" against Russia by striking military supply, energy and logistics facilities deep inside Russian territory.
He said Ukrainian forces struck a military production plant in Russia's Kirov region for a second consecutive day. The facility is about 750 miles from the Ukrainian border and supplies components used in Russian weapons, according to Zelensky.
Ukraine also attacked an oil refinery in the Tyumen region, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg and a fuel storage site in Rostov-on-Don, he said.
Ukrainian forces struck vessels allegedly involved in transporting Iranian-linked military supplies as well as a Russian warship in the Caspian Sea, Zelensky said.
The Wildberries online retail company said employees were evacuated from its Yekaterinburg logistics facility and operations were suspended for about four hours. The company said the facility did not sustain damage.
Zelensky separately accused Russia of providing Iran with satellite surveillance data covering Persian Gulf countries and U.S. military facilities in the region.
He said Ukraine had tracked the Russian satellite activity since early July and alleged that the imagery could be used to prepare attacks and assess damage afterward.
Russia and Iran did not immediately publicly respond to the accusation.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260726010009156