Zelenskyy: Russia plans to deploy 30,000 additional soldiers from North Korea

Kyiv – 26.07.2026: According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia is preparing to receive a further 30,000 soldiers from North Korea. Preparations have been underway since June in Russia’s Voronezh region, Zelenskyy said in his evening address on July 25. Pyongyang is also planning to supply Russia with additional launch systems for ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence services and information from partner countries. Moscow and Pyongyang initially did not comment on his account. It is therefore neither confirmed that a binding decision to deploy troops has already been made, nor is it known when and for which tasks the soldiers could come to Russia. The stated number also cannot currently be independently verified.

A deployment on this scale would have considerable military significance. North Korean units have already supported Russia in the fighting in the Kursk border region. According to South Korean and Western officials, around 14,000 North Korean soldiers in total have been sent to Russia since 2024, including combat troops, engineers and other specialists. Their deployment enabled the Russian leadership to move its own personnel to other sections of the front.

The Ukrainian president linked the possible troop transfer to closer military-technical cooperation between the two countries. Russia is thus helping North Korea evaluate lessons from the war and further develop weapons systems. This cooperation poses additional risks for East Asian countries: Pyongyang could gain Russian know-how as well as insights into missiles, drones and electronic warfare.

Zelenskyy’s remarks follow new diplomatic contacts between the two countries. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui was in Moscow on July 19 and met Russian President Vladimir Putin there. Russia and North Korea had already cemented their strategic rapprochement through a partnership treaty in June 2024. The agreement contains a mutual assistance clause in the event of an armed attack.

For Russia, the deployment of additional North Korean forces could reduce pressure to recruit its own personnel. Zelenskyy also said that the Kremlin was preparing a broader mobilization for the autumn. According to Ukrainian figures, Russia enlisted 221,000 people into its armed forces in the first nearly seven months of the year; during the same period, Russian losses reportedly amounted to nearly 225,500 soldiers. These figures have also not been independently verified.

Another large troop deployment would deepen the military entanglement of the two internationally sanctioned states and is likely to heighten concern in Seoul, Tokyo and Western capitals about Russian technology transfers to North Korea. As of July 26, neither Russia nor North Korea had officially confirmed the claimed troop strength.