"We also see Russia's cooperation with North Korea. Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops," Zelensky said in his nightly video address. "Preparations have been under way in Russia's Voronezh region since June to receive them."

Under a mutual defense pact between the two countries, North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Kursk region in 2024 after a major Ukrainian incursion into the area.