Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, claimed that the country’s troops in the northeast are engaged in combat with foreign “mercenaries” recruited by Russia from various nations and that they would “reply.”
On Monday, the Ukrainian president made a visit to front-line troops in the Kharkiv region after hearing rumors from his “warriors” that Russia had ties to fighters from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and other African nations.
Russia is well-known for receiving thousands of North Korean troops’ assistance in the defense of its Kursk region, and Ukraine has already accused Moscow of recruiting Chinese fighters, a charge that Beijing has refuted.
The additional nations Zelenskyy claimed participated in Russia’s war effort at the time of reporting had no comment.
According to Charles Stratford, a reporter for Al Jazeera in Kyiv, Zelenskyy’s claims could not be verified.
He added that “a lot of foreign fighters” were also willing to fight for Ukraine while they were on the front lines.
Near the front-liner village of Vovchansk, Zelenskyy had met Ukrainian’s 17th Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion of the 57th Brigade.
He claimed in a post on X that he had discussions with commanders about “the frontline situation, the defense of Vovchansk, and the dynamics of the battles” and that he was also considering “drone supply and deployment, recruitment, and direct funding for the brigades.”
According to Stratford, Ukraine’s troops were engaged in “ongoing heavy fighting” around the Donetsk township Pokrovsk as it battled to repel Russian forces in the Kharkiv region.
Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, Turkiye, have held a number of meetings in recent months as the conflict has persisted.
Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that the most recent meeting had resulted in an agreement to exchange 1,200 prisoners.
President Donald Trump announced that Steve Witkoff, the country’s ambassador to Russia, would accompany him to Russia to continue discussions on the conflict in Ukraine that day.
Sources who reportedly said the visit would take place on Wednesday were cited by Russian state news agency TASS on Monday.
Source: Aljazeera
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