Russia plans to enlist 30,000 North Korean soldiers for a fall offensive in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend, raising questions about the feasibility of such a deployment, Moscow’s military aims and Kyiv’s own strategy.

The announcement serves as an important curtain raiser to what the battlefield may look like in the coming months, but it is not the first time Ukrainian officials have sounded the alarm on DPRK troops joining their Russian comrades.

CNN reportedin July 2025, citing an intelligence assessment from Ukrainian officials, that Moscow planned to bring in as many as 30,000 North