Zelensky says Russia preparing to deploy more North Korean troops, receiving additional ballistic missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russia is preparing to deploy additional North Korean troops on its territory.

In a national address that day, Zelensky said Russia — unable to secure a safe rear — can no longer wage war without North Korean reinforcements, according to the presidential office.

"Russia has also received additional ballistic missiles from North Korea," he said, adding that North Korean ballistic missiles and other weapons are being improved through cooperation with Russia.

Ukrainian intelligence assessments of North Korea's troop contributions continue to rise. Zelensky said up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers could be deployed on Russian territory — far exceeding the previous estimate of 30,000.

Zelensky warned that the more North Korean missiles and troops are used, and the more North Korea fills its experience gap, "the greater the danger that other countries in the region — Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and others — will face."

He said calls for allied air-defense support were meant to "break North Korea's desire and drive to come to our land and airspace to learn war."

Zelensky also said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Tobolsk, Siberia, more than 2,500 kilometers away. "This region is now within our strike range," he said.

Overnight, the city of Nizhnekamsk in the Republic of Tatarstan came under a Ukrainian drone strike, killing 13 people — including children — and wounding 75 others.

Ukraine has recently intensified strikes on Russian rear cities, following earlier attacks on civilian retail supply chains. The campaign aims to bring the war home to ordinary Russians and pressure Vladimir Putin's government ahead of parliamentary elections in September.

Zelensky said Ukraine had obtained internal Russian polling data showing a growing number of Russians want the war to end. "Putin and FSB agents must come to the same understanding — that there is no alternative to peace," he said.