Sat Nov 02 13:07:10 UTC 2024: ## Zelenskyy Urges Allies to Act as North Korean Troops Prepare for Ukraine Deployment
**KYIV, November 2, 2024:** Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a stark warning to Western allies, urging them to take action before North Korean troops, currently training in Russia, reach the battlefield.
Speaking on Friday, Zelenskyy expressed frustration at the lack of support for a preemptive strike on North Korean training camps, which Ukraine claims to have located. He asserted that Ukraine is unable to act without permission from allies to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.
“America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Zelenskyy stated on the Telegram messaging app.
The Biden administration has confirmed that around 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now stationed in Russia’s Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border, and are preparing for deployment in the coming days.
Western leaders have described this deployment as a significant escalation of the conflict, potentially jolting relations in the Indo-Pacific region and enabling technology transfers from Moscow to Pyongyang that could bolster North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.
Ukraine has repeatedly requested permission to utilize Western weapons to strike Russian arms depots, airfields, and military bases far from the border, believing this would incentivize Russia to pursue peace. However, U.S. defense officials argue that the number of missiles is limited and Ukraine already employs its own long-range drones to target locations further into Russia.
Moscow has consistently warned that any such strikes would be viewed as a major escalation, with President Vladimir Putin stating in September that Russia would be “at war” with the U.S. and NATO states if they were approved.
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