In response to Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised what he called his allies’ “zero” response, claiming that a lacklustre response would incite Vladimir Putin of Russia to increase the number of North Korean troops.
In an interview with South Korea’s KBS news network, Zelenskiy expressed his belief that Moscow was already attempting to reach an agreement for North Korea to send a “large number of civilians” and engineering forces to work at Russian military facilities.
“Putin is checking the reaction of the West … And I believe that after all these reactions, Putin will decide and increase the contingent … The reaction that is there today is nothing, it is zero,” Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy began publicly warning of North Korean involvement in the war on October 13 and even though Western allies have since described the move as a major escalation, they have not announced retaliatory measures or said they are preparing to implement any.
South Korea has offered intelligence assistance and wider cooperation on the matter, and it is considering sending a team of military monitors to Ukraine, according to South Korean officials.
Ukraine’s delegation listed three North Korean generals in prepared remarks to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, claiming they are travelling with hundreds of KPA soldiers sent to Russia to support Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine. With the clock ticking down to Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, Zelenskiy’s blunt words suggested growing Ukrainian dissatisfaction with the level of Western support for Kyiv at a pivotal juncture in the conflict with Russia.
For months, Russian forces have been gradually moving into eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv’s outnumbered and outgunned forces have been unable to stop them.
Russia has not denied that North Korean forces are fighting the conflict. After first denying any involvement, North Korea has since justified their of deploying troops as being in line with international law.
