Zelenskyy Condemns Allies for 'Zero' Response to North Korean Troop Deployment

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Facts

  • Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday condemned allies for, as he described, giving 'zero' response to North Korea's decision to send troops to Russia.[1][2]
  • In an interview with South Korea's KBS television channel, Zelenskyy said that Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin 'is checking the reaction of the West' to the move, adding: 'I believe that after all these reactions, Putin will ... increase the contingent ... The reaction that is there today is nothing.'[1]
  • There is no evidence of North Korean troops fighting inside Ukraine at this stage, but earlier in the week, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said that Washington was 'concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk.'[3][4]
  • 'We continue to monitor closely and are consulting with our Ukrainian partners, as well as other allies and partners,' Ryder added.[3]
  • In separate remarks, Zelenskyy also lashed out at US officials who leaked information about a Ukrainian request for Tomahawk missiles — weapons with a range of 2.4K miles (1.5K km) — to the New York Times.[5]
  • Zelenskyy also criticized Poland this week for failing to transfer previously promised MiG fighters. Polish Pres. Andrzej Duda said his country was unable to provide more weapons without compromising its own security needs, but this was not looked on favorably by the Ukrainian leader.[6]

Sources: [1]Reuters, [2]Euractiv, [3]FOX News, [4]Guardian, [5]POLITICO and [6]Euromaidan Press.

Narratives

  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Kyiv Post. Putin is watching the reaction of the West to the involvement of North Korean troops — a major escalation of the conflict — and so far, nothing has been done. As a result of this failing, we can be confident that Putin will only increase this contingent as time moves on.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FOX News. The US remains concerned about North Korean troop deployments near Ukraine's borders and will remain in close contact with Ukraine to ensure that this threat is responded to accordingly. Should North Koreans become belligerents in the war, there will be nothing to stop Ukraine attacking them with US weapons.