The Ukrainian president says his country and its allies must evolve their response in light of Russia’s deepening alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused North Korea of ​​sending not only weapons but also soldiers to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

“We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea,” Zelenskyy said in his video address on Sunday evening. “This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It’s actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying forces.”

He said Ukraine and its allies must develop their response in light of Russia’s deepening alliances and reiterated his call for more military support to prevent a bigger war.

“The frontline needs more support,” he said. “When we talk about giving Ukraine greater long-range capabilities and more decisive supplies for our armed forces, it is not just a list of military equipment. The point is to increase the pressure on the aggressor – a pressure that will be stronger than what Russia can handle. And it’s about preventing an even bigger war.”

Zelensky’s pleas to Ukraine’s allies to allow the country to use long-range missiles to attack military targets deep inside Russia and reduce its warfighting capabilities have so far failed.

He said he would continue to try to secure that approval.

“True peace can only be achieved through strength and the entire next week will be dedicated to working with our partners for the sake of that strength, for the sake of true peace,” he said.

Western leaders were due to meet in Germany last week on the issue, but US President Joe Biden postponed his trip as Hurricane Milton hit Florida.

He is now expected to travel to Germany this week with the war in Ukraine high on the agenda.

South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun said last week that there was a “strong possibility” that North Korea would send soldiers to help Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine.

He also said it was “highly likely” that reports that North Korean officers had been killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-held territory were true.

Russia dismissed the comments as “fake news.”

Relations between North Korea and Russia have deepened since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare visit outside his country in September 2023, traveling by train to eastern Russia, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin and visited military bases and weapons factories.

Putin, meanwhile, traveled to Pyongyang in June for his first visit to the country in 24 years, with Kim pledging his “full support and solidarity” for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The US, South Korea and Ukraine have all accused North Korea of ​​sending weapons to Russia for use in the war.

In April, United Nations sanctions monitors said the debris from a missile that hit Kharkiv on January 2 came from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile.