Ukrainian Zelensky says Putin will use North Korean troops as “cannon fodder” in the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that North Korean soldiers stationed in western Russia to fight alongside Moscow in the war against his country have been killed and it is almost certain they will end up as “cannon fodder” at the front are used conflict.

In an exclusive interview with Kyodo News at the presidential palace in Kiev, Zelensky also said that support for Ukraine from its partners was “not enough” and called on NATO to invite Kiev to accession talks with the transatlantic military alliance as soon as possible.

Zelensky, who continues to see NATO membership as essential to Ukraine’s security and prosperity, stressed that the war had entered a “complicated phase” as Russia advanced more quickly in the eastern part of his country.

Zelensky expressed his appreciation for Japan, the United States, South Korea and numerous European and other countries that have provided aid to Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia. However, he stressed that more help is needed to strengthen Ukraine.

He did not answer all questions in Ukrainian about how many North Korean troops, originally deployed to eastern Russia in October, were killed or wounded fighting Ukrainian forces.

He said there was evidence that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers were now stationed in Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, but Kiev needed to “have evidence” before it could reveal the exact number of casualties.