Putin wants more troops from North Korea as he expands mobilization — Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing the conditions to expand mobilization in Russia. He also intends to bring in additional troops from North Korea.
The president says Ukrainian intelligence has obtained information about Russian plans for the fall, adding that those plans contain no signs of peace. According to him, Putin is laying the groundwork for broader mobilization.
"The figures on Russia's losses speak for themselves. In less than seven months this year, 221,000 people have joined the Russian armed forces. During the same period, Russian casualties totaled nearly 225,500, including 131,000 killed and almost 93,000 wounded. A significant number of those injuries are severe because frontline medical care in the Russian military is catastrophically poor," Zelenskyy said.
The head of state added that Putin is preparing to simply send more Russians to war. For now, the Russian president is disguising these plans behind different wording and signals, but that is what he is preparing for.
In addition, Russia is working with North Korea to obtain more troops from the country, while Pyongyang is preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles.
"Russia wants to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea. Preparations have been underway since June in Russia's Voronezh region to host them. North Korea is also preparing to transfer new launchers for ballistic missiles to Russia. This is a threat not only to Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added that Russia is helping North Korea learn modern warfare, improve its weapons, and gain real combat experience. According to him, this poses a threat to every country in Asia within range of North Korean missiles. Ukraine, he said, will continue to counter this cooperation.
In conclusion, the president stressed the importance of increasing pressure on Russia together with international partners so that Moscow chooses to end the war.
"It is important that, together with our partners, we apply enough pressure on Russia so that the idea of ending this aggression becomes the dominant one—the idea of peace, not another wave of Russian mobilization. Our long-range operations and our mid-strikes are contributing to that. More and more Russians are noticing Putin's war, suffering because of it, and realizing that the war should not be prolonged. We see that," he concluded.
Volodymyr #Zelenskyy says Vladimir #Putin readies the conditions to expand #mobilization in #Russia and intends to bring in more troops from North Korea pic.twitter.com/dxPz3TXlte
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) July 25, 2026
Russian mobilization
As previously reported, several days ago Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence has clear information indicating that the Kremlin is planning an additional military recruitment drive in the coming months. According to him, the new wave of mobilization will be on a large scale.
Also, new reports emerged yesterday that Russia has prepared missiles for new strikes against Ukraine. He said another large-scale attack could take place within the next 48 hours.
