WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's Zelenskiy says North Korean officers deployed alongside Russians

Ukraine's president accused North Korea on Thursday of deploying officers alongside Russia and preparing to send thousands of troops to help Moscow's war effort, although NATO's chief said there was no evidence of Pyongyang's presence at this stage.

Western countries have long accused North Korea of sending weapons to Russia, and in recent days President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said it was also sending personnel, a significant escalation of foreign assistance for Moscow's invasion.

"We have information from our intelligence that ... some officers of the North Korean army are already on Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian enemies. So they joined the Russian army," Zelenskiy told a press conference in Brussels.

He said he could not give the exact number that were on the ground.

"We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea, that they are preparing to send to fight against us," he said, describing it as a "first step to the World War".

Ukraine's Western allies have yet to confirm Kyiv's assertion that Pyongyang is sending troops, though they say they are studying it.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a press conference alongside the Ukrainian leader on Thursday that "we have no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in the fight".

"We do know that North Korea is supporting Russia in many ways – by weapon supplies, technological supplies, innovation – to support them in the war effort, and that is highly worrying," he said.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said on Tuesday any North Korean troop involvement in Ukraine, if true, would mark a significant increase in the Moscow-Pyongyang defence relationship.

Zelenskiy said Russia needs to fill a gap in mobilisation and cover its own personnel losses.

Ukraine and the West say hundreds of thousands of Russians have been killed or wounded fighting in Ukraine, while Ukraine's own military losses, a closely guarded secret, are also high but smaller. Moscow's forces have advanced over the past several months in Ukraine's east.

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Ukraine has called on allies to respond firmly to North Korean aid for Russia, including by imposing new sanctions and further isolating Pyongyang.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Yearly plan for staffing of armed forces with contract servicemen 78% complete — Medvedev

The Russian Armed Forces’ yearly staffing plan for contract servicemen has been fulfilled by 78% by mid-October, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said, calling this rate "rather good."

"Today, we will continue our work on the staffing of the armed forces with contract servicemen. By mid-October of this year, the set yearly goal has been fulfilled by 78%. Overall, this rate is rather good," Medvedev said during a meeting. The video was published on his VK page.

He called to prevent delays and other staffing problems.

Medvedev disclosed that he visited a recruitment station in the Yaroslavl Region together with employees of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday.

"Compared to the previous year, the situation looks much better now. No systemic violations in the accounting of servicemen have been found, but individual problems are still there. We will talk about them, of course. We will definitely need to work to eliminate all problems," the official said.

Earlier in July, Medvedev said that 190,000 people signed up for the contract service in the Russian Armed Forces in the first six months of 2024.

Reuters/Tass