Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his military’s ongoing attack in Russia’s Kursk area now involves 50,000 Russian troops.
In his daily address, Zelensky said this operation is diminishing Moscow’s capacity to launch attacks within Ukraine—a key objective of the offensive, despite some skepticism from Western allies.
The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based non-profit, reported that Russia initially had 11,000 troops stationed in Kursk when Ukraine launched its unexpected incursion in early August.
However, a New York Times report suggests that Moscow achieved this troop increase in Kursk without relocating soldiers from Ukraine, with additional support reportedly coming from North Korean troops for a planned Russian counter-offensive.
Zelensky also noted he was briefed by his Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyy, who announced earlier on Monday that he had inspected Ukrainian units stationed in Kursk.
“Our men are holding back… 50,000 of the occupier’s army personnel who, due to the Kursk operation, cannot be deployed to other Russian offensive directions on our territory,” the Ukrainian president said.
Gen Syrskyy said separately that were it not for Ukraine’s forces inside Kursk, “tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian assault units would have been storming” Ukrainian positions in Donetsk region, a key battleground since the conflict erupted a decade ago.
Fighting continues in Donetsk, where both sides accused each other on Monday of damaging a dam near the Ukrainian-controlled village of Kurakhove. For months, Russian troops have been quietly moving in the region towards the vital city of Pokrovsk, which serves as a major supply hub for Ukrainian forces.
According to the New York Times, which quotes unidentified US and Ukrainian officials, there are 50,000 Russian and North Korean forces preparing for the reported counter-offensive in Kursk.
“A new US assessment concludes that Russia has massed the force without having to pull soldiers out of Ukraine’s east – its main battlefield priority – allowing Moscow to press on multiple fronts simultaneously,” the publication reports.
Ukraine and the U.S. report that over 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia, though Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk—a longstanding ally since Soviet times.
Meanwhile, North Korea announced that leader Kim Jong Un has signed a decree ratifying a mutual defense treaty with Russia, formalized in June during a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang.
Since Moscow’s global isolation following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ties between North Korea and Russia have strengthened. The U.S. has frequently accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with significant military equipment, including ballistic missiles and launchers.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently suggested that Moscow is providing North Korea with military technology and other assistance to circumvent international sanctions.
Separately, with much attention on Donald Trump’s recent re-election, the Kremlin has denied reports of a phone call between him and President Putin. According to a report by the Washington Post, the call took place Thursday, with Trump allegedly cautioning Putin against escalating the Ukraine conflict and referencing America’s substantial military presence in Europe.
Trump’s team told the BBC it would not comment on the president-elect’s “private calls.”
