Zelenskyy says over 8,000 North Korean troops in Russia, 10,000 more preparing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that more than 8,000 North Korean troops are on Russian territory and that preparations are under way to deploy another 10,000, according to RFE/RL and The Korea Herald (citing Reuters).

Zelenskyy’s claim and prior estimates

Citing “new data,” Zelenskyy said in a social-media post that the additional personnel were “being selected for training and subsequent deployment to Russia.” RFE/RL noted that North Koreans were brought in by Moscow in 2024 to help counter Ukraine’s Kursk incursion and reportedly suffered heavy losses. The Korea Herald said Ukrainian and South Korean estimates put earlier North Korean deployments at roughly 14,000–15,000 since 2024. Zelenskyy had said in August that up to 50,000 North Koreans could be sent to fight for Russia; those figures are Ukrainian claims and have not been independently confirmed in the cited reports.

Mobilisation dispute and decree

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) indicated Russia had launched a new wave of recruitment, urging foreign governments to act against recruitment of their nationals. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected reports of a new mobilisation as “utter nonsense,” RFE/RL reported, though on 28 September he signed a decree increasing authorised armed-forces strength by 15,500 to 2,441,630, including 1,550,500 military personnel, without stating a reason.