Russia plans to deploy another 30,000 North Korean troops — Zelenskyi
According to the president, Moscow expects to receive around 30,000 additional service members from North Korea. Preparatory work to receive and house them is already underway in the Voronezh region.
The president also said North Korea is preparing to hand over new ballistic missile launchers to Russia, likely along with ammunition.
"This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war and is improving their weapons — giving them experience in the real-world use of weapons," he said.
According to Zelenskyi, the deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang poses a danger not only to Ukraine but also to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
"All of this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles. We will counter it," he stressed.
Amid a shortage of personnel in the Russian army, additional units from North Korea could become one way for Russia to make up for its recruitment problems. Indeed, during the first half of 2026 Russia trained about 8,000 specialists for its unmanned systems forces — roughly a quarter of its planned target of 34,400 people.
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service also reported that the pace of contract recruitment for the war against Ukraine has slowed in Russia. As of early July, Russian recruiters had not even fulfilled half of their annual plan, and to make up for losses the Kremlin is increasingly turning to students, residents of occupied territories, and foreign migrants.
In addition, in July 2026 Russia has already used more ballistic missiles than it is able to produce in a month. As of July 19, the occupiers had used 107 ballistic missiles and 20 3M22 Zircon missiles since the start of the month.
According to estimates by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and Defense Intelligence (GUR), in 2026 Russia is producing around 60 9M723 ballistic missiles per month for the Iskander-M system and 40 RM-48U missiles launched from S-400 systems. Their combined monthly production volume is about 100 units.
As a reminder, in late May ISW noted that Ukraine has broken Russia's strategy of numerical advantage: drones and medium-range strikes are allowing it to destroy enemy personnel and equipment faster than Moscow can replace them.
- Last
- July, 26
-
-
-
-
-
- July, 25
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
News by day
27 of July 2026
