KYIV, November 5 — In the wood-panelled press conference hall of the Mariinsky Palace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dropped what may be the most serious escalation allegation of the war: Iran and North Korea, he charged, are no longer merely supplying Russia with weapons — their soldiers are now fighting alongside Russian forces inside Ukraine. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelenskyy claimed that Iranian military personnel are operating drone systems on the battlefield and that North Korean troops have taken on combat roles.
He offered no immediate evidence for the assertion, but said it was based on intelligence reports from the Ukrainian military and allied intelligence services. The statement marks the first explicit claim by a top Ukrainian official that foreign forces from these two nations are directly engaged in fighting, not just providing materiel.
Against this backdrop, the allegation shifts the narrative of a war that has already drawn in multiple international actors.
The wider picture of arms transfers
To understand what is at stake, one must consider the wider picture that has been taking shape since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Iran has supplied Russia with hundreds of Shahed-136 loitering munitions, a fact first confirmed by US officials in August 2022. North Korea, for its part, has sent artillery shells and short-range ballistic missiles.
The first US intelligence disclosure on those transfers, in
The allegation of direct foreign troop involvement comes after months of mounting evidence that Russia has deepened its military partnerships with both Tehran and Pyongyang. Since the invasion began, Moscow has faced increasing international isolation and sanctions, pushing it to seek arms and support from other states similarly at odds with the West.
Both Iran and North Korea have been under extensive UN and Western sanctions for years over their nuclear and missile programs, giving them incentives to align with Russia. The potential presence of Iranian and North Korean soldiers on Ukrainian soil would represent a significant escalation, moving beyond the covert operations and proxy support that have characterized much of the war.
While Russia has relied on mercenaries from the Wagner Group and other private military contractors, the confirmed presence of uniformed foreign state troops could fundamentally alter the nature of the conflict, drawing in those countries more directly and raising the risk of a broader confrontation beyond Ukraine’s borders. For Ukraine, the claim is part of a sustained effort to pressure allies to increase military assistance.
Kyiv has repeatedly warned that the war is not merely a bilateral conflict but a struggle against an axis of authoritarian states. If verified, direct involvement by Iranian and North Korean forces would validate that narrative, potentially spurring harder-hitting Western support and new rounds of sanctions against the supplier nations. It also raises the stakes for international diplomacy, as any miscalculation could trigger a dangerous expansion of the war’s geographic and political scope.
