Zelenskyy criticizes West for delaying its response to North Korean troops in Russia
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukraine, like the rest of the world, is closely monitoring every location where Russia is amassing soldiers from North Korea. However, instead of providing the necessary long-range capabilities, partners are merely observing, according to a statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy emphasized that with information about all the locations where Russia is preparing North Korean troops, Ukraine could launch a preemptive strike.
"If we had this opportunity - to strike sufficiently far. And it depends on the partners. But instead of this necessary long-range capability, America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start striking Ukrainians," he stated.
The President stressed that everyone in the world who really wants to prevent this war of Russia against Ukraine from expanding and to prevent the war from spreading from Europe to other regions of the world must not just watch.
"Action is needed. It is necessary for the words about the unacceptability of escalation and the expansion of the war to coincide with actions," Zelenskyy concluded.
North Korean soldiers in Russia
North Korea began deploying its military personnel to Russia in early October. According to Ukrainian intelligence, over 10,000 soldiers from North Korea were spotted on Russian territory last week.
On October 31, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that 8,000 of these troops are currently located in the Kursk region. They are not yet participating in combat operations, but the situation may change in the coming days.
Previously, Zelenskyy noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is testing the West's reaction to the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. If the response proves to be weak, the number of North Korean military personnel in Russia may increase.
