Ukraine: Zelensky Warned That North Korea Would Gain Modern Combat Experience and Receive Military Technology From Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the number of North Korean troops deployed to Russia will reach 50,000, as he called on South Korea for support amid a lack of air defense systems. Zelensky warned that North Korea would gain modern combat experience and receive military technology from Russia. Ukrainian military intelligence reported that a North Korean missile unit has begun moving to western Russia, potentially equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launcher vehicles.

North Korea previously sent around 14,000 troops to the Kursk region, where they suffered thousands of casualties, and has ncher systems. In Ukraine, a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kharkiv's Saltivskyi district killed 2 people and wounded 13. Attacks in Odesa damaged energy infrastructure, the port, and homes. In Dnipro, a World Health Organization medical supply depot was destroyed in a strike; WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an end to attacks on health facilities.

Russia said Ukrainian drones killed 5 people and wounded 24 in the Belgorod region and targeted commercial facilities and a home in Novorossiysk. After a drone believed to be Ukrainian exploded in Bulgarian airspace, Sofia summoned Ukraine's ambassador; no casualties were reported. Debris from a military drone was also found near Moldova's Crocmaz village.

UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting urged allies to boost Ukraine's air defense capacity before winter. Pope Leo expressed sorrow over civilian deaths in Ukraine and Russia and called on both sides to stop strikes on civilian targets. UN data shows more than 16,000 civilians have died in the war so far.