North Korean troops have begun fighting alongside Russians, a U.S. State Department spokesman said during a briefing.
“Over 10,000 DPRK (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops were facing 50,000 troops, including 11,000 North Korean troops deployed by Russia to its Kursk region, although Moscow will neither confirm nor deny their involvement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov “to discuss battlefield dynamics and provide an update on U.S. security assistance” for the Eastern European country, according to Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder.
Ryder said, “The secretary reaffirmed President [Joe] Biden’s commitment to surge security assistance to Ukraine.”
The Pentagon also clarified the amount of money that remains available for Ukraine’s military assistance.
There is about $7.1 billion left in the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which includes $4.3 billion approved by Congress in April, plus $2.8 billion that became available after recalculations.
Additionally, there is about $2.2 billion available under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program. Ryder again underscored that the U.S. would rush aid to Ukraine and use all available funds.
Ryder said the two defense leaders also talked about the implications of the thousands of North Korean troops now assessed to be mostly in western Kursk Oblast.
