Ukraine war briefing: Putin orders army expansion as Zelenskyy says more North Koreans to be deployed in Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered ⁠an increase ​in the size ⁠of the army to 1.55 ⁠million ​active ‌servicemen, according ‌to a ‌presidential decree on Monday. The order comes as both Russia and Ukraine suffer mounting casualties in the more than four-and-a-half-year Ukraine war. The expansion, which follows a similar increase ordered in August, ‌will put the size ​of Russia’s armed forces at ⁠2,441,630. Of those are 1,550,000 ​active ​servicemen, an increase of ​15,500.

Ukrainian president ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ​on X ​on ‌Monday ‌there were now more than 8,000 ‌North Korean ​troops on ⁠Russian territory ​and preparations ​were ​under way ​to ‌deploy ​another ​10,000 troops. Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un confirmed for the first time last year that North Korea had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine, with both leaders describing the soldiers as “heroes”.

Citing “new data” on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, ⁠Zelenskyy said they were “being selected for training and subsequent deployment to Russia”. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 ⁠troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2024, ​according to Ukrainian ​and South Korean estimates, ​with most deployed in the Kursk region to ​help repel a ‌Ukrainian incursion.

Explosions ⁠were heard in the Ukrainian capital of ⁠Kyiv early ⁠on ​Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, as Russia ⁠continues its near-daily attacks. Missile ‌debris fell in the ‌courtyard of a residential building, among other damage, and a non-residential building caught fire in another ‌part of the city, Kyiv mayor ​Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. On Monday, Zelenskyy said nine ⁠people had been killed and more ​than ​80 injured ​in Russian drone strikes ​throughout ‌the country, ​including ​in Kyiv.

Pope Leo urged Russia and ⁠Ukraine to sit down and discuss how to end their war, hours after ⁠he had urged ⁠European leaders ​seeking to end conflicts to make concessions to achieve peace. Addressing a press conference aboard his ​flight to Rome on Monday after ‌a four-day trip ‌to France, Leo said the 1.4-billion-member Catholic church had an obligation ‌to call for peace and respect of human life. “The Church has a responsibility to promote these values, continually inviting leaders – from Russia and Ukraine, as well as other countries – to come together, sit down, engage ‌in dialogue,” the pope said.

Nato’s top military commander said Russia’s sabotage campaign in Europe was failing to put countries off supporting Ukraine. “State-directed sabotage is growing increasingly brazen,” US general Alexus Grynkewich told a committee of EU lawmakers on Monday. Nato’s supreme allied commander for Europe cited recent incidents including the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at a German airport and a Russian naval ship firing flares at a Danish helicopter. “These are clear examples of attempts to instil fear and fracture our unified support to Ukraine. It isn’t working,” he said.

Ukraine will postpone some spending commitments, including reconstruction work, because of delays in receiving aid from its foreign backers, Ukraine’s prime minister said. The government would carry out these projects eventually, “but for now, all resources must be directed toward critical areas”, Sergiy Koretsky said on Telegram on Monday. Russia’s offensive has battered Ukraine’s economy, causing billions of dollars in destruction and punching a huge hole in its neighbour’s finances.

Putin has ordered the Russian assets of German retailer Metro AG to be placed under temporary administration, amid Russian-German tensions over the Ukraine war. The order, posted on Monday on the government website, did not state a reason. The step follows similar steps against the Russia businesses of global food company Nestlé and French retailer Auchan under a 2023 decree aimed at businesses associated with “unfriendly countries”. Temporary administration has led to local owners taking over the Russia businesses of French dairy concern Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg at knockdown prices.

A Russian jet-powered drone struck a Ukrainian village near the Polish border earlier on Monday, damaging a border checkpoint, a regional Ukrainian official said. The official did not give details about the nature of the checkpoint or extent of damage from the blast. Russia has launched multiple attacks near Ukraine’s border with Poland in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Warsaw and its European allies.