Moscow already helped by Pyongyang; Zelenskyy says fighters from China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and African also on board.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that his country’s troops in the northeast are battling foreign “mercenaries” recruited by Russia from various countries, vowing to “respond”.
The Ukrainian president visited front-line troops in the Kharkiv region on Monday, hearing reports from his “warriors” that fighters from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries were on board with Russia.
Russia is already known to have been assisted by thousands of North Korean troops in the defence of its Kursk region, and Ukraine had already accused Moscow of recruiting Chinese fighters – a charge denied by Beijing.
At the time of reporting, there was no comment from the additional countries accused by Zelenskyy of joining Russia’s war effort.
