Over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded while fighting against Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, AFP reported, quoted by BNR.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce the Russian army, including in the Kursk border region, where Ukraine carried out a shock invasion along the border in August.
The Ukrainian president said he had received a report from the army's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, on the situation in the Kursk region. He also warned of "the risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army".
Zelensky said the world should understand that "growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang" leads to a proportional increase in the "risk of destabilization around the Korean Peninsula and in neighboring regions or waters".
Zelensky said in his regular video address to the nation last night that he had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to establish contacts with the new authorities in Syria, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
"I have instructed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work more actively to establish all necessary contacts with representatives of the people of Syria and to correct Assad's mistakes in relation to Ukraine and the whole of Europe", Zelensky said.
He added that Ukraine would support Syria's food program.
"This is our moral advantage - Ukraine helps many countries ensure the normality of their lives, especially in terms of food security. "We need this region, like any other region in the world, to be stable and peaceful," the Ukrainian president said.
The regime of Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8 after rebel groups led by "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" entered the capital Damascus.