North Korean troops in Kursk: Zelensky urges global action
- Everyone is merely waiting for North Korean troops to commence attacking Ukrainians - said Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to the situation with North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. - Everyone in the world who genuinely wants the Russian war with Ukraine not to escalate cannot simply watch; they must act, he explained.
3 November 2024 13:54
On Thursday, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin reported that approximately 8,000 of the 10,000 troops sent by North Korea are already in the Kursk region and are expected to join the fighting in the coming days.
- We currently estimate there are around 10,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia overall, and the latest information indicates that roughly 8,000 of them have been deployed to the Kursk region - said Austin, adding that “if these troops engage in combat operations or provide combat support against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets."
"Instead, everyone is watching"
Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by "Politico," stated on Saturday that Ukrainian partners should permit Kyiv to target North Korean units inside Russia.
- We see all the locations where Russia gathers North Korean soldiers on its land, all their camps. We could strike preemptively if we had the capability to reach far enough - he said.
- But instead of providing such necessary long-range weapons, America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching... - listed Zelensky in a post on Telegram, emphasizing: - Everyone is merely waiting for the North Korean military to begin attacking Ukrainians.
- Everyone in the world who genuinely wants the Russian war with Ukraine not to escalate... cannot simply watch. They must act. Words about the unacceptability of escalation and expansion of the war must be accompanied by actions - urged the Ukrainian leader.
As "Politico" reminded, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, underscored that Ukrainian troops are currently holding back one of the "most powerful" Russian offensives since the invasion began nearly three years ago.
