President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow wants to bring in thousands of North Korean soldiers again for its invasion of Ukraine, with preparations in Russia having been under way since early summer.
"Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops," Zelenskyy wrote in Telegram on July 25, adding that "preparations have been under way in Russia's Voronezh region since June to receive them."
There was no immediate comment on the Ukrainian president's claim from either Russia or North Korea.
A potential deployment of North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine would mark the second such development since 2024, when they were deployed to fight in Russia’s Kursk region following a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces.
Zelenskyy's statement came as Kyiv and Moscow continued to exchange daily air attacks amid near stalemate on the front line.
Since the beginning of the year, Russia has managed to capture a little amount of territory, marking a sharp slowdown from previous months. Some researchers concluded that Ukraine has actually recaptured land, a noteworthy feat more than four years into the war.
Separately, Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to target defense-industrial facilities, oil infrastructure, and logistics hubs deep inside Russia in an effort to curb Moscow’s energy revenues, which help fund its invasion.
On July 25, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces had achieved “very good results” in strikes on Russian targets in the Caspian Sea, including vessels involved in transporting military cargo to Iran and a Russian warship.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said the Caspian Sea operation included drone strikes on the Filanovsky offshore oil platform, operated by Russian oil company Lukoil. According to the SBU, two cargo vessels -- Port Olya 2 and Begey -- were also targeted. It said the ships had been used to transport military cargo between Russia and Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry said the Ukrainian attack on July 25 targeted an Iranian commercial vessel, adding that the strike killed one sailor and injured another. Russia has not commented on the reported strikes.
Describing the Ukrainian attacks as "long-range sanctions" in response to Russian strikes, Zelenskyy said Kyiv also targeted "an enterprise in Kirov" that supplies components for Russian weapons, "a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg," an oil refinery in Tyumen, and a fuel depot in Rostov-on-Don.
Ukrainian media reported that the target in Yekaterinburg was a logistics warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, which is allegedly used to support the country’s military logistics, a claim Moscow has denied.
The attack could be the latest in a number of similar strikes on the retailer’s facilities over the past week.
Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed 328 Ukrainian drones overnight on July 24-25, without saying how many reached their targets. Separately, Russia's regional officials reported injuries and damage in the country's southern Rostov region.
The Ukrainian strikes came as Kyiv observed a day of mourning after a Russian ballistic missile strike near Kyiv that killed at least 10 people and left almost 100 injured at the exhibition of drone technology near the Ukrainian capital in July 24.
Condemning the attack as a "terrorist act," acting Kyiv Regional Military Administration head Ruslan Oliynyk said "the enemy cynically struck a place where people were," adding that flags would be flown at half-mast across the region.
Elsewhere, six people were killed in Russian glide bomb attacks on the key frontline city of Slovyansk in the Donetsk region on July 24.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, an injured Slovyansk resident with a bandaged head said he had lost his wife in the strikes, on what would have been her 50th birthday.
"My wife was supposed to turn 50 today. She was killed. My mother-in-law and daughter are in the hospital," he added, standing beside his blood-stained car with shattered windows.
In the Sumy region on July 25, three drivers working for a private postal and parcel delivery company were killed after a Russian drone struck one of the company's facilities.
Regional Governor Oleh Hryhorov said "the Russians deliberately struck a civilian facility where people were staying and working." He added that a large fire broke out and rescuers were initially unable to fully respond because of the threat of further attacks.
Two men were found dead at the scene, while a third died on the way to hospital after suffering critical injuries.
