In a stern warning about the consequences of North Korean involvement in Russia’s conflict against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the lackluster international response, comparing the situation to early days of Crimea’s occupation.
According to Ukrinform, on 30 October, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with representatives of media outlets from Northern Europe that international response to the presence North Korean soldiers at the frontlines is not strong.
North Korea has provided Moscow with approximately 2,000,000 artillery rounds and at least 11000 ammunition containers since 2023, during the ongoing RussoUkrainian War. South Korea’s intelligence reports also claim that Pyongyang sent 3,000 troops to Russia and plans to send 10,000 by December. According to the Ukrainian army, the first North Korean units have already arrived at the Russian Kursk Oblast battle zone after training on Russia’s eastern grounds.
“The voices of the US, NATO and Western partners, as well as the Global South and China, are not as loud as they should be regarding the presence on Russian soil of North Korean troops. This is a very dangerous situation. This opens a new chapter of this war. It will be like the beginning of Russia’s occupation in Crimea. The West was silent. No one wanted a reaction. I don’t understand why, but everyone feared escalation. They use the phrase “to avoid escalation.” And Putin, after having tried this with Crimea, realized he could carry on,” said Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president said that Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, had tested such tactics in Donbas with success.
“Donbas was occupied. After eight years of occupation, he started a full-scale conflict. He tests and experiments constantly to see what works. How will the West react? Zelenskyy noted that the same applies to North Korean soldiers.
He stressed the need for a swift and decisive response.
“So far we have heard reactions but they are not strong.” Putin is testing this, and I do not know how many soldiers more will arrive from North Korea or Iran. “There may be more,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy suggested that the West could respond to the North Korean soldiers fighting on the front line by allowing partner countries to use long-range weapons to attack bases and airfields inside Russian territory.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine currently does not have the ability to stop North Korean troops on Russian soil.
“We can only defend the land we live on when they are destroying, occupying, or killing our children. Zelenskyy continued, “Only at that point are we allowed to act.”
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