Ukraine-Russia live: North Korea ‘sends 3,000 troops’ to Putin’s rescue as Kyiv says Brics backfired on Russia
There’s evidence North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia in a potential escalation of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, American and South Korean officials have said.
This marks the first time a third country has put boots on the ground in the war if the soldiers fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops were being trained to use equipment including drones before being sent to fight in Ukraine. Lloyd Austin, US defence secretary, said “we are seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops” who have gone to Russia.
It would be “very, very serious” if they are preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged.
In Kyiv, the foreign ministry said the Brics summit has backfired on Moscow as Russian officials have failed to win support for its invasion of Ukraine as Putin faced direct calls to end the war.
“The Brics summit, which Russia planned to use to split the world, has once again demonstrated that the world majority remains on the side of Ukraine in its quest to guarantee a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace,” the ministry said.
