Thread by @ZelenskyyUa

I gave an interview to South Korea’s KBS, stressing North Korea’s official role in this war. It’s not just weapons or workers in Russian factories—North Korean soldiers are in Kursk, our occupied territories, preparing to fight Ukraine. This is a war of two countries against one.

More than two years into this war, and soon, we’ll reach 1,000 days of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, against our people, our cities, and our very way of life. It is no surprise that, as the war drags on, Russia seeks to escalate in new ways.

One of these escalations is the involvement of North Korean forces. Russia has begun to openly partner with North Korea, even boasting about this alliance. They started by acquiring millions of artillery shells—around 3.5 million—from North Korea.

Those artillery shells and missiles were used against our people, but now it’s no longer just weapons. We have information that 3,000 North Korean troops are currently in a training camp, and that number is expected to rise to 12,000 soldiers and officers soon.

Russia is also arranging for North Korean engineering units and civilian workers to operate in its military factories. I see a disturbing parallel here. When Russia invaded and occupied Crimea 10 years ago, there was little global reaction, aside from a few quiet statements. It’s the same today with North Korea’s involvement—Putin is testing the world’s reaction.

He’s testing the West, NATO, and even South Korea, observing their response to North Korean forces joining his campaign. If the response is weak, we should expect the numbers of foreign soldiers on our soil to increase.

North Korean troops have not yet engaged in combat, but this is a matter of days, not months. When deployed, they will be pushed forward, sustaining heavy losses, as Russia tries to minimize its own troop mobilization—a politically sensitive issue for Putin domestically. This hurts his approval rating. The majority within his country do not support mobilization.

North Korean soldiers are valuable to both Russia and North Korea. For Russia, they help avoid politically damaging domestic mobilization. North Korean soldiers lack combat experience in modern warfare, as no such war exists in their region today.

For North Korea, their troops gain invaluable combat experience, learning artillery, drone warfare, and modern combat tactics. For the North Korean leader, much like Putin, human life holds little value. However, this combat experience is crucial for his army’s preparation and training.

As for how Ukraine will treat captured North Korean soldiers, our stance is clear. Unlike Russia, which has tortured our POWs, we follow international law and will treat all prisoners humanely. We aim to use captured soldiers to negotiate the release of Ukrainians.

We await an official team from South Korea, as they have confirmed their plans to send specialists to Ukraine. We are eager to share data and collaborate closely, as this war poses challenges not only for Ukraine but for the Asian region as well.

The combat experience North Korea gains from supporting Russia will ultimately work against stability and peace in the Asian region. We understand North Korea’s ambitions well, which is why we strongly support deeper relations with South Korea.

We are particularly interested in South Korea’s expertise in air defense and hope to collaborate further in the defense sector. North Korea aids Russia with artillery and missiles, so it’s in our mutual interest to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses with South Korea’s support.

Russia’s alliance with North Korea is built on an exchange of warfare technologies—drones, long-range munitions, ballistic systems, and artillery. North Korea will gain access to military technologies and the invaluable experience of its people—both military and civilian—working in Russian factories. Additionally, they will be compensated financially for this involvement.

Our partnership with South Korea is important. We are open to cooperation on intelligence and hope to deepen our defense collaboration. North Korea is helping Russia, and it is in South Korea’s interest, as well as ours, that Ukraine receives defensive support.

We are already working closely with the US, Europe, and the UK. I believe it’s time for us to work with South Korea as well. If South Korea wants to understand the real capabilities of North Korea and its soldiers, it would benefit them to be here, to see and analyze the reality firsthand.

Regarding North Korean forces, we are prepared to take legal action, should North Korean forces engage in combat against Ukrainian citizens. If South Korea support our approach, together with our allies, we are ready to take the necessary steps.

South Korea has approached this war with caution. But this isn’t just our war. Russia has brought in North Korea, and they won’t stop there. Iran, or even others, may be next.

Strong allies are essential. If Russia backs North Korea, South Korea and other allies should stand together. Facing Russia and North Korea alone would be dangerous. You could find yourself in the same position we did: they attacked us, nearly occupied us, and we fought back. We managed to defend our freedom, but victory isn’t guaranteed. Sadly, this tragedy shows the harsh reality of going it alone.

Consider how close North Korea is to Seoul—just 40-50 km, the range of modern artillery, not even missiles. Air defenses can’t counter artillery strikes. Our own towns were obliterated by artillery. I hope South Korea never faces this, but preparation is critical.

North Korea’s actions aren’t random; they have strategic goals. I’m surprised by China’s silence. I can’t say that China is on our side, but as a regional security guarantor, its silence is striking.

It may be time for an Asian Security Alliance. Both Japan and South Korea are strong, civilized nations, and reaching out to China could be essential in countering North Korea’s aggression, as North Korea is actively pulling that region into a war. Their actions aren’t coincidental—they want Russia’s support in return.

Turning to potential negotiations, I must clarify: Ukraine’s territories are not negotiable. Our constitution doesn’t allow us to abandon our rightful lands, regardless of Russia’s claims or constitutional manipulations.

The next U.S. president may strengthen or weaken support for Ukraine. If that support weakens, Russia will seize more territory, it would prevent us from winning this war. That is the reality. Our stance isn’t about territorial compromises but exploring potential diplomatic paths that rely on the U.S. maintaining its commitment. A genuine desire from the United States to end this war swiftly is crucial.

The Victory Plan is designed to strengthen Ukraine’s position. We have always stated that Ukraine is ready for diplomacy from a position of strength. Diplomacy means finding one format or another for negotiations. Regarding this, we have proposed the Peace Summit and our Peace Formula.

So far, we have not heard any concrete solution to end this war from world leaders—only bold political statements. We, however, have made it clear that we are open to including proposals from other countries in our Peace Formula, with no exceptions. It is open to contributions from Brazil, Africa, China, the US, Arab nations, and the Global South.

If, from this position of strength, Russia is willing to negotiate, then we, along with our supporting nations, are ready to engage in dialogue. But if Russia chooses to continue the war, this strong position will allow us to defend ourselves, to survive, and to put Putin in his place.

Russia has deployed its entire army on Ukrainian territory, leaving itself defenseless. Only weak, unprepared units remain within Russia, unable to defend their own state. Our first operation in the Kursk region proved this. Where Russia once had just a few thousand troops, they now have around 45,000 concentrated along the Kursk axis, and they are likely to increase this number further.

They are even bringing in North Korean soldiers because they lack sufficient forces of their own. Our strategy has been to counter their attempts to invade and kill our people in northern Ukraine near Sumy. We made a preemptive move to prevent this, denying them the opportunity to inflict harm.

They tried to capture Kharkiv, but we stopped them, forcing a redeployment to the Kursk direction. We simply created a buffer zone like they aimed to create against us. Our only interest is in reclaiming our territories, not theirs. If this operation proves advantageous by the end of the war, we’ll use it to our benefit.

North Korea’s actions are state-sanctioned, with direct support from Russia, confirmed through intelligence channels. Russia has even informed Western partners of North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine.

South Korea should understand this: North Korea is fully involved in combat preparations against us. Whether these forces are in Kursk or on our occupied lands, they are preparing to fight Ukrainian soldiers. The world must recognize the gravity of this alliance.