A powerless appeal came from Kyiv on Saturday when Zelenskyj asked close allies to act more forcefully in supporting Ukraine. He repeated the need to attack targets in Russia with the weapons that have been donated to Ukraine.
"But instead: America is watching, the UK is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukraine", Zelenskyj wrote on Telegram, referring to the North Korean military presence in Russian service.
Near the border
Ukraine's intelligence service, Gur, said on Saturday that more than 7,000 North Korean soldiers are located near Ukraine's border. Furthermore, Gur claimed that additional soldiers from North Korea, equipped with Russian weapons and materiel, are being trained in eastern Russia.
The concern about the reinforcement of Russian forces in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian military previously captured territory, is combined with the risk of a new Russian front against the northeastern part of Ukraine.
Ukraine's military chief, Oleksandr Syrskij, warned in turn about the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, "one of the most powerful" since the Russian invasion war began on February 24, 2022.
Syrskij also indirectly warned that the Ukrainian military is suffering heavy losses and needs "constant renewal of resources". General Syrskij did not specify where Russia launched the offensive, but US media report clear Russian successes.
57,000 fallen
According to The New York Times, Russian forces have captured territory in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine and have retaken a third of the territory that Ukrainian military previously captured in a surprise attack.
Ukrainian military is also having increasing difficulties in recruiting soldiers and has problems equipping new combat units. 57,000 Ukrainian soldiers have fallen, which is half of the Russian losses, the newspaper estimates.
Military analysts note, according to the newspaper, that for example the number of Russian drone attacks has increased from 350 in July to 750 in August. In September, 1,500 Russian drone attacks were reported.
New such attacks were carried out on Saturday.
President Zelenskyj announced that air raid warnings were heard in several Ukrainian cities and that Russian drone attacks caused destruction in Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Charkiv.
