“Putin Is Laying the Groundwork for Expanded Mobilization”: Zelenskyy Says Russia Is Once Again Cooperating with North Korea

He spoke about this in his address.

Russia’s Casualties and Preparations for Mobilization

According to the president, in just under seven months this year, 221,000 people have joined the ranks of the Russian army, while Russia’s losses during this period amounted to nearly 225,500 soldiers. Of these, about 131,000 were killed and nearly 93,000 were wounded, a significant portion of whom suffered severe injuries due to the poor quality of frontline medical care.

Zelenskyy added that Putin is preparing to simply draft more Russians into the war, masking his intentions with other words and signals.

Russia’s Cooperation with North Korea

In addition, Zelenskyy reported on Russia’s ongoing military cooperation with North Korea. According to intelligence reports, the Kremlin plans to receive approximately 30,000 more North Korean troops. Since June, infrastructure has been under construction in Russia’s Voronezh region to accommodate them. North Korea is also preparing to transfer new ballistic missile launchers to Russia.

This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, upgrading their weapons, and providing them with experience in the actual use of weapons. All of this poses a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles. “We will counter this,” the President of Ukraine added.

Russian Aid to Iran

President Zelenskyy stated that he would instruct intelligence agencies to “share with our partners the information we have regarding Russia’s new assistance to the Iranian regime.”

According to him, since early July, Ukraine has been documenting that Russia has been actively conducting satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities located there, after which these images are transferred to Iran. The president noted that there is a “clear correlation between Russian surveillance of these sites and strikes by Iranian forces.” Four air bases have come under the scrutiny of Russian satellites: two in Bahrain and one each in Jordan and Kuwait.

As a reminder, on the night of July 25, the Ukrainian Defense Forces, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, carried out a series of effective long-range strikes against naval, industrial, and defense facilities on Russian territory and in the waters of the Caspian Sea. Zelenskiy stressed that these attacks are a response to the daily shelling of Ukrainian cities and noted that “long-range sanctions” are aimed at targets that are fueling this war.