Ukrainian president calls on countries to step in before troops sent to Russia by Pyongyang reach battlefield

Ukraine’s president urged allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield, while the army chief said his troops were facing “one of the most powerful offensives” by Moscow since the full-scale war began.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the prospect of a pre-emptive Ukrainian strike on camps where the North Korean troops are being trained and said Kyiv knows their location. But he said Ukraine can’t do it without permission from allies to use western-made long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.

“But instead … America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Zelenskyy said in a post late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app.

  • IndustryStandard@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    It is highly unlikely North Korea will cross the Ukrainian border. Putin can let them do defense while Russians do the offense. As we have learned in the middle east, defending and enabling war criminals does not equate being complicit in their war. Don’t ask me how that works.

    • jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 months ago

      So having western troops in Ukraine should also be fine if they stop at the russian border right?

          • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            I wouldnt be presumptious enough to say we, but I would really prefer the war not escalate further. Im all in for ukraine, and definitely fuck east-ukraine, but I don’t want American troops deployed in ukraine outside of advisory and training positions. I dont have great jusitifcations as to why, politics are hard, but I don’t feel its the US’ job to directly police the rest of the world, so Id prefer us to not directly combat other countries unless they’ve directly attacked us.

            History certainly has a role to play here, which sucks because its always been my worst subject, but an eye for an eye seems to be at odds with peace which is obviously ideal. That is why I said my justifications arent great. It doesnt help that I do support foreign benevolent intervention, but not directly through force. And, as always, defining ‘benevolent’ in terms of an authoritarian regime engaging in foreign intervention of any kind is… difficult.

            Edit: i forgot to mention: what we should be doing is allowing ukraine use of any non-warcrime western version of any weapon that east-ukraine is confirmed to use against them. We should also be quietly investing massive amounts of cyber resources into disabling russias nuclear launch systems and crippling putins stranglehold on their government by fucking with his finances specifically.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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              2 months ago

              As the phrase goes, Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war).

              Russia doesn’t care that you want peace. They don’t care how nice you are. They care if they’re going to lose. Putin wants power, and if he is going to lose that power he’ll stop this war. There are many ways to do this, but I’m not opposed to NATO troops helping out. If Russia brings in foreign troops, that’s more than enough justification for NATO to get more directly involved too.

              We won’t have peace by asking nicely. We’ll have peace by ensuring an end to the invasion. If Russia wins then they’ll continue. Ukraine winning is the only outcome that can bring peace.

              • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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                2 months ago

                The issue is that a direct war with russia would lead to the next world war guaranteed. It may not be nuclear, but it likely will. Even if it wasnt, an invasion of russia would be possibly the most difficult, drawn out, and costly war the US has ever faced.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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                  2 months ago

                  I don’t think so. I believe Russia would say that, but I don’t think that is accurate. China likely wouldn’t back them up because they’d have nothing to gain. They’d rather try to gain influence over whoever takes over after Putin.

            • taipan@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              I agree with you on preferring the US sending support to Ukraine in the form of equipment and strategic guidance instead of troops at this stage. European countries have a different balance of considerations due to their proximity to Russia, and I trust them to make the right choice on the level of support to provide.

      • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        This will start ww3.

        Sorry but Ukraine is not my problem, no matter how the military industrial complex tries to push the narrative.

        • tired_n_bored@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          The rise of ductators who want to seize other countries’ territories is your problem, and the sooner it’s stopped, the better it is.

          When will it become your problem? I think you’re a US citizen so probably for you Lisbon (in Portugal, extreme West of Europe) could have Russian troops in it and you still wouldn’t care, right?

          Well, thinking this way has proven to be so wrong because sooner or later you will be the next in line.

          • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            Everyone tries to find some historical parallels.
            There aren’t any, completely different times and different situation.

        • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          It wouldn’t start ww3, Russia is a joke power, they’d fold faster than superman on laundry day.

          They are not serious people.

          • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            I think they absolutely will.

            And Biden as well believes that and repeatedly said that he believes that.

            All the red lines were talked over in private prior to 2022.

            • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              BTW, ww3?

              We are literally infinitely more powerful than the worthless pieces of shit, and they will just keep needling us and trying to provoke responses elsewhere until we finally turn and stomp their balls in.

              This is how they work ‘escalate to deescalate’, because they believe everyone else is weak, only they are truly strong, so everyone will always back down.

              The nazis were exactly the same. We are still shamed for waiting as long as we did to do what was right.

              We need to teach them a lesson in a language they understand. Pain and terror.

                • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  When’s the last time Russia did?

                  We won both world wars.

                  China, otoh lost to Vietnam.

                  But I’m sure Russia is so confident, they should attack, let’s see how this goes, should be quick.

                  • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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                    2 months ago

                    We won because we were allied with Russia.

                    Now we can’t be poor farmers in decades long wars. And you think the west is gonna be able to beat a superpower? You think that rabid nationalism is gonna protect you from nuclear arms?

              • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                You are repeating propaganda lines from bygone days.

                US can’t even build a hypersonic missile, after Iran, north korea China and Russia have already possessing them for years.
                Our nukes are obsolete and so far US just started arsenal update. It’s gonna take a lot of time, years.

                Also - US capitalists sold out it’s manufacturing to China, so what are u gonna do when China sanctions you? New genius capitalist idea - move manufacturing to India hahhahahhaha. Can’t make this shit up. Build up India too.

                Just remember - Biden knows the real situation, and he’s sitting tight and not making too much noise.

                • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  Oh dude, oh dude.

                  You have no idea.

                  We need to go to war, we absolutely need to go to war.

                  You think we’re as broken and pathetic as Russia is? Really?

                  We need to make an example.

            • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              They said they’d use nukes if Russian territory was violated.

              They’re Russians, all talk, no balls.

              And I would never send troops.

              But we should send bombers and erase any ground forces like we were having fun, they’re a joke country and 50 years behind us, they cannot stop us.

              End the war now, don’t let it drag on, that is the larger risk.

      • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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        2 months ago

        I’m pretty sure they also thought he’d get spanked relatively quickly, and backpeddle within like a year after he lost enough war criminals and starving peasants who participated in his “special military operation”.

        And it’s still going.

        We really would be foolish at this point to make any more “It’s unlikely that…” assertions at this point… It’s all out crazy town now.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      They already have, with the enormous amount of weapons and ammunition they’ve been supplying to Russia. And they’re about to cross it again because North Korean soldiers are going to fight for Russia.