MADRID 18 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, has assured that Russian forces have not stopped growing despite the losses they have had in combat, first using “mercenaries from Africa and Asia” and now helped by North Korean troops, as part of the security agreement ratified by Moscow and Pyongyang.
“Russian forces will continue to grow. They are strengthening, they are creating new brigades. As of June 1, they had achieved half of what they tried to set as their goal,” Umerov reported at a press conference this Monday.
Umerov explained that given the mobilization problems it has had during the course of the war, “Russia has used many people as mercenaries from Africa and Asia”, while now it uses North Korean soldiers.
“Although they have problems, they do not stop. They are growing. We know the exact number and it is an important number,” said the Minister of Defense without giving further details, reported the Ukrinform news agency.
The presence of mercenaries on both sides has been widely denounced by both sides since almost the beginning of the conflict. Regarding the presence of regular units of the North Korean Army, it is estimated that some 10,000 soldiers have been deployed in the Russian province of Kursk.