Aug. 21 — North Korea has sent a new group of 8,500 soldiers to Russia, including 400 drone operators, Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, told CNN.

According to Skibitskyi, Russia has asked North Korea to send an additional 50,000 soldiers to assist Moscow’s military operations, as they have been doing since 2024, following the signing of a NATO-style mutual defense pact.

The first North Korean deployment began in the Kursk oblast, Russia, in October 2024, to repel a Ukrainian advance there. North Korea confirmed its soldiers’ participation in the Russia-Ukraine war only in April 2025. An estimated 10,000 North Koreans were deployed and suffered significant casualties.

Ukrainian intelligence believes that the new group of North Korean soldiers sent to Russia will not fight on Ukrainian territory. They will occupy rear positions, freeing up Russian troops for assaults inside Ukraine.

Skibitskiy said that the North Korean troops already deployed are spread mostly across the Kursk Oblast and include 1,000 engineers and deminers. As for the 400 North Korean drone operators, their drones will likely be used for reconnaissance and attacks on targets in Ukraine.

Back in October 2025, Ukraine warned that North Korean military forces might use attack drones on its territory. But this is the first info that a new wave of troops will have this capability.

Skibitskiy also added that North Korea has been assisting Russia in the missile sector. By August of last year, they had transferred at least 150 KN-23 or KN-24 ballistic missiles and had promised to deliver another 120.

Such missiles are more difficult for Ukrainian forces to intercept, while stocks of American Patriot interceptors — which could have helped in this — are almost exhausted.

Russians already used two North Korean missiles on Jul. 30 during an attack on the Radushne settlement in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, killing at least four children from a single family.

In exchange for missiles, North Korea has asked Moscow for Russian S-400 air defense systems and has already received one Pantsir-1 anti-aircraft missile system, Skibitskiy said.

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