The Ukrainian president announced on Monday an intensification of strikes on targets inside Russia, following Kyiv's confirmation of a strike on the oil industry in Siberian Tobolsk. At the same time, he warned of growing military support from North Korea to Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday evening new strikes on targets located deep within Russian territory. In a video address, he stated that Ukraine will continue such operations to demonstrate to Moscow that peace is essential.
"Peace is necessary," Zelensky declared. This announcement came after Kyiv confirmed a successful strike on Russia's oil industry in the Siberian city of Tobolsk, demonstrating its ability to reach targets thousands of kilometers from Ukraine's borders.
Zelensky again drew attention to the increasingly significant military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. He claimed that Moscow has already received additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang and is preparing for the arrival of a new contingent of North Korean troops. However, he provided no concrete evidence for these claims.
The Ukrainian president emphasized that North Korean weapons have been upgraded in cooperation with Russia, making them a serious threat to Asian countries as well. Over the weekend, he also presented a new estimate of the number of North Korean troops that could be deployed in the war against Ukraine, raising the figure to as many as 50,000, significantly higher than earlier assumptions.
It is worth recalling that North Korean troops were deployed on Russian territory during 2024 and 2025. Their primary task was to support Russian forces in operations to push Ukrainian units out of the western Russian region of Kursk. This cross-border offensive was one of the most significant Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory since the start of the invasion.
In recent months, Ukraine has significantly intensified its counterstrikes on Russian targets, relying heavily on the use of drones. The war, which has lasted more than four years, has entered a phase where both sides are seeking to secure the most favorable negotiating position possible.
