South Korea is keeping lethal aid to Ukraine off the table while continuing humanitarian and reconstruction support, Yonhap reported on 10 August. The outlet cited a senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official.

South Korea’s response maintains its established policy of providing humanitarian and nonlethal support to Ukraine, but not direct weapons. Seoul previously helped move artillery shells to Ukraine through the United States. While South Korea arms NATO members with K2 tanks and K9 howitzers to free up older kit for the Ukrainian front, it still draws the line at any direct transfer to Kyiv. Seoul rejects Ukraine’s purchase requests as North Korea sends Russia ammunition and troops in exchange for money and military technology.

South Korean law bars direct exports of lethal weapons to countries in active conflict, a rule rooted in constitutional principles and Seoul's wariness of antagonizing Moscow and Beijing while managing the threat from the North.

Ukraine is seeking South Korean interceptor missiles for its air defenses. The official neither addressed the request specifically nor formally rejected it:

“South Korea’s supply of defense materials to any country has always been carried out in accordance with domestic law,” the official said. Seoul will continue to support Ukraine’s recovery through assistance in energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and education. 

The official also declined to confirm whether Seoul and Kyiv were discussing military support. However, he said Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation “is directly related to our security and violates the United Nations resolutions” and should stop immediately.

Seoul’s indirect aid stopped short of direct arms transfers

In 2023, Seoul transferred hundreds of thousands of 155 mm shells to the United States under a confidential arrangement. Washington then arranged for them to reach Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.

South Korean exports have also helped NATO members replace weapons sent to Kyiv. Poland bought South Korean K2 tanks and K9 howitzers while transferring older tanks and Polish-built Krab artillery systems to Ukraine.

Yet Seoul rejected Ukraine’s request to buy air-defense systems, radars, and artillery propellant in November 2024. In February 2026, it still limited support to humanitarian and nonlethal aid while considering NATO’s request to help purchase US weapons for Ukraine.

North Korean deployments bring the war closer to Seoul

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a decision had been made to deploy 30,000–50,000 more North Koreans to Russia. He warned that they would gain modern combat experience and Russian technology that could later threaten Asian countries. Kyiv wants South Korean air defenses and has offered cooperation on drones.

The South Korean official cited by Yonhap declined to confirm either the reported deployment or Zelenskyy’s statement that Ukrainian and South Korean diplomats were discussing possible cooperation.

North Korea is already believed to have sent approximately 20,000 combat troops and military engineers to Russia’s Kursk region, according to Yonhap. Pyongyang has earned as much as $22 billion from arming Russia, helping it finance conventional and nuclear forces.

The Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported in November 2025 that North Korea had transferred about 6.5 million rocket and artillery munitions in exchange for Russian air-defense, space, and nuclear technologies.  Moscow and Pyongyang’s 2024 mutual defense pact formalized the expanding military relationship.

Seoul says no again to Ukraine’s weapons request as Pyongyang gets ready to send Russia more troops

Ukrainians place the most trust in Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, according to a nationwide survey the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted between 16 and 31 July. Some 66% of respondents said they trust him, against 24% who do not—a net balance of +42%.

Close behind sits Mykhailo Fedorov, the former defense minister who previously led the Ministry of Digital Transformation and launched the Diia app. Pollsters recorded 63% trust and 16% distrust for him, producing the strongest net balance in the survey at +46%.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the President's Office and former chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, rounded out the top three. He drew 61% trust and 22% distrust, for a balance of +39%.

Zelenskyy ranks fourth

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy followed the three military and government figures, trusted by 56% of respondents and distrusted by 38%, for a net balance of +18%. At the opposite end of the ten-name list, former president Petro Poroshenko drew the weakest result—20% trust against 76% distrust, a balance of −56%.

The institute also flagged a rise in confidence in Fedorov as the standout shift since its May 2026 telephone survey, the only change it called significant.

Firm trust versus tentative trust

Sociologists further split the responses into "completely" and "rather" trust. Across the leading figures, roughly half—or fewer—of those expressing trust chose the softer "rather" option rather than "completely," the institute noted, a distinction it argued carries political weight.

Those who "completely" trust Zelenskyy mostly want to see him as president after the war—while those who "rather" trust him mostly want someone else.
— Kyiv International Institute of Sociology

KIIS interviewed 1,808 respondents using a mixed-mode design, splitting the sample evenly between computer-assisted telephone interviews and face-to-face tablet interviews on territory controlled by Ukraine.

Russia has decided to bring between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops onto its territory, up from initial deployments of hundreds and then thousands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the "Yedyni Novyny" telemaraphon on 8 August.

The figure marks a sharp rise from what Zelenskyy gave two weeks earlier. In a 25 July address, he said Russia wanted 30,000 additional North Korean troops and that preparations to receive them had been underway in Russia's Voronezh region since June.

Rising troop estimates

"North Koreans appear on the territory of the Russian Federation from time to time. We see this, we know this," Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia had now made "a decision for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be on the territory of Russia." He said North Korea "will build up experience of modern warfare" and would receive licenses from Russia.

Russia and North Korea have not announced plans to expand their cooperation, Radio Svoboda reported.

Missile deployment already underway

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces used a North Korean missile for the first time in a long period last week, striking Radushne, near Kryvyi Rih.

A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying in western Russia and may be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes on Ukraine, Reuters reported on 5 August, citing Andrii Cherniak, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence directorate (HUR). Pyongyang has already sent a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles along with personnel, Cherniak said, though the final deployment configuration and total missile count are to be settled at high-level talks next month.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha separately said North Korean missile launchers would "immediately become a legitimate target" if deployed in Russia, Radio Svoboda reported.

Kyiv seeks South Korean support

Zelenskyy argued the deployments carry risks beyond Ukraine. "They are studying this war," he said, warning that North Korea could apply lessons learned to future "crises and escalation" in the Pacific that would threaten "other states in the Asian direction."

He said Ukraine wants closer cooperation with South Korea, "primarily" on air defense systems, and said Kyiv is ready to work with Seoul on drone technology as well. Zelenskyy acknowledged that South Korea faces "a legal restriction under the Constitution" on such cooperation but said Ukrainian diplomats remain in contact with South Korean counterparts, as well as with Japan, over the Russia–North Korea partnership.

Military alliance since 2024

Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in 2024, cementing a military alliance between the two countries.

Zelenskyy confirmed on 14 December that North Korean soldiers were fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast, and Ukrainian intelligence reported that North Korean troops had been placed on high alert the following day. Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) captured North Korea's first documented prisoner of war in the war on 26 December, Militarnyi reported. The SSO described the raid as an operation "to destroy the enemy in the Kursk sector," in which its forces also seized a Russian BTR-82 armored personnel carrier along with weapons and documents. That prisoner died of his wounds, South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed on 27 December.

On 11 January 2025, Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian forces had captured two more North Korean soldiers, also wounded, in Kursk Oblast; both survived and were taken to Kyiv, where they were questioned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Ukraine's Defense Intelligence directorate had previously reported that the first North Korean units arrived in the war zone on 23 October 2024.

South Korea's intelligence agency confirmed the capture on 12 January and pledged cooperation with Ukraine. Two days later, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said Seoul was open to discussing relocating the two men, citing a constitutional provision under which North Koreans are considered South Korean nationals, Yonhap reported. At the time, neither soldier had expressed an intention to defect.

In late February 2025, the two soldiers — identified by the Wall Street Journal as Ri, 26, and Paek — gave the first Western interviews of North Korean troops captured in the war, published 27 February. They said they had been told they would be fighting South Korean forces, not Ukraine, and that they were not paid for their service. Paek was shot and lay wounded for five days before capture, later having several toes amputated due to gangrene; Ri was shot in the arm and jaw. South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirmed on 19 February that it would accept North Korean POWs who sought asylum, saying "they should not be sent against their will to a place where there's a threat of persecution."

By late February 2025, Zelenskyy said around 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded fighting for Russia; North Korea's overall troop commitment was estimated at roughly 11,000–12,000 by early 2025. Losses continued to mount — by January 2026, Ukraine put North Korean dead in Kursk Oblast at 6,000, where the contingent remained stationed and continued carrying out strikes on Ukrainian border communities. Ukrainian soldiers have described North Korean troops as reluctant to surrender, with some reportedly attempting suicide rather than be captured.

The flag came down from a building in central Prishtina on 9 August, Mayor Përparim Rama said in a Facebook post, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked on Kosovo during his visit to Serbia. Rama said "the state of Kosovo must be respected."

"Our compassion and solidarity will always be on the side of peoples facing war, violence, and persecution," Rama wrote. "Because we, better than many others, know what it means to fight for freedom, dignity, and the right to exist as a state."

What Zelenskyy said in Belgrade

The exchange was reciprocal: Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine's refusal to recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, while Vučić reiterated Serbia's backing for Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Crimea.

At the 8 August joint news conference in Belgrade, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's position had not shifted. "Our position on what you said, about the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence, remains unchanged," he said. "We have always emphasized this, and Ukraine's policy has not changed. Likewise, we are grateful to our partners for respecting Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including, of course, Crimea's belonging to Ukraine. This position of Serbia is also unchanged, including in the UN General Assembly."

Vučić's position

Vučić, in turn, tied his support for Ukraine's territorial integrity to Serbia's own stance on Kosovo. "We support the UN Charter, UN resolutions, and that means the territorial integrity of all UN members, which means the territorial integrity of Ukraine as well," he said. "Likewise, we are very grateful to Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. And as far as we are concerned, we will continue this principled policy. There are no 'buts' about this. This is being stated very clearly and firmly now."

Kosovo's recognition status

Kosovo is a partially recognized state on the Balkan Peninsula, in the Kosovo and Metohija region, with a population of about 1.7 million, according to Suspilne. Its capital and largest city is Prishtina. Kosovo is recognized by 22 of the European Union's 27 member states. Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first official visit to Serbia, meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on 8 August 2026, according to Ukraine's Presidential Office. The two agreed to deepen trade and energy cooperation, and Serbia pledged fresh humanitarian aid and help rebuilding a war-hit Ukrainian city.

The visit drew attention because Serbia remains one of the few European states still close to Moscow. At the same time, Serbia is itself seeking EU membership and backs Ukraine with financial and humanitarian aid, though it provides no direct military support.

A first visit, and a message to two capitals

Zelenskyy arrived in Belgrade on Friday, 7 August, and the next day received an honor guard welcome, then met Vučić at the Presidential Palace. It was his first official trip to Serbia since he became president in 2019. Ukraine's First Lady had made her own first trip to Belgrade in May 2024.

Serbia is a candidate for accession to the EU, and so is Ukraine. Belgrade also keeps close ties with Moscow and still refuses to sanction it, relying on Russia for most of its energy. Thus the reception sent a signal to both Brussels and Moscow. 

Vučić said Serbia upholds the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of every UN member, including Ukraine. At the joint news conference, Zelenskyy tied that to Crimea belonging to Ukraine, and he said Ukraine's stance against recognizing Kosovo's unilateral independence stays unchanged. Russia has occupied the Crimean peninsula since 2014.

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Aid for the winter and a city to rebuild

Zelenskyy thanked Serbia for a new humanitarian package in the medical and energy sectors, his office said. Belgrade offered to help rebuild one war-damaged Ukrainian city, which neither side named. The two leaders discussed the coming winter, when Ukraine's power system faces heavy Russian strikes. Serbia has sent Ukraine generators and financial support before.

The leaders discussed infrastructure, ports, railways, and food security, and Serbia showed interest in Ukraine's railway experience. They want to finalize a free-trade agreement between the two countries by the end of 2026. Trade reached about $346 million in the first half of 2026, after $442 million for all of last year, according to Zelenskyy's office. In the presidents' presence, Ukraine's food-safety service and Serbia's agriculture ministry signed a cooperation memorandum on animal health and food safety. 

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An EU path, and Vučić's doubts

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine would welcome a faster EU path for Serbia. Vučić said Serbia backs Ukraine's European course and will not block it, but he doubted Serbia could join soon, "for many political reasons." 

He said not everyone in the EU views membership for Ukraine or the Western Balkans positively. 

"For us they'll find Croats, Bulgarians, Dutch, and for Ukraine they'll find someone else," he said, suggesting that for any candidate, some existing EU member can always be found to object to its accession.

Ukraine has reached concrete agreements with the United States for monthly deliveries of interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on 8 August.

The commitment does not close Ukraine's gap. Zelenskyy said the monthly volume remains insufficient and laid out a parallel effort to secure interceptors from Europe, the Middle East and further afield, as US shipments have thinned this year.

The US as the primary supplier

Repelling ballistic missiles has been a problem since the start of the full-scale war, and the search for a solution begins with the country that builds the systems, Zelenskyy said.

"From the first days of the war in Ukraine there was nothing to repel ballistic missiles. This is very difficult work. In which directions can this problem be solved? Well, first of all, who has anti-ballistic missiles and systems? The manufacturer. That is the United States of America, first of all. Can they help? We are working. Will they allocate us missiles every month? Yes. We have agreements," he said.

Asked whether that supply met Ukraine's needs, he answered: "Are these missiles enough? No." He added that the monthly volumes of American missiles had decreased this year compared with 2025.

Where else Kyiv is looking

Patriot missiles are also held by European countries, Zelenskyy said, naming Germany and Poland as able to substantially strengthen Ukraine's air defense. Kyiv is also in talks with Norway, the Netherlands and Middle Eastern states.

South Korea and Japan could potentially help but do not currently hand over such systems, which Zelenskyy attributed to restrictions in their domestic legislation and constitutions. Ukraine is separately discussing air defense with Israel; the president said Ukraine is ready to buy but that no such option exists at present.

"Every day I speak with one European state or another and with Middle Eastern states so that Ukraine receives additional missiles outside the American package. We are simply at the level where all our institutions must work on this, not only the president. Everyone must work, otherwise there will not be enough missiles," he said.

The Belgrade remarks came a day after Zelenskyy arrived on his first official visit to Serbia.

Zelenskyy had bilateral meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Vucic voiced support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and its path to the European Union.

What esle Zelenskyy and Vučić discussed

The two presidents held talks that ran across the countries' European integration, trade and energy cooperation, a prospective free-trade zone, and diplomatic paths to ending Russia's war on Ukraine. Vučić had said ahead of the meeting that he would discuss both countries' route to EU membership, along with economic and energy cooperation and other opportunities

On the economy, Vučić said the sides had reviewed infrastructure projects and the involvement of Ukrainian companies in Serbia. On peace efforts, Zelenskyy said the leaders had discussed diplomatic instruments capable of bringing the war closer to an end.

Before the press conference, the sides held a ceremony to sign a memorandum on cooperation in animal health and food safety. The document was signed by Serbia's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan Glamočić and Ukraine's ambassador to Serbia Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

Territorial integrity

Vučić framed Serbia's position as a matter of UN principle and tied it to Ukraine's reciprocal stance on Serbia.

"We support the UN Charter, UN resolutions, and this means the territorial integrity of all UN members, which means the territorial integrity of Ukraine as well. Likewise we are very grateful to Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. And as far as we are concerned, we will continue this principled policy. There are no 'buts' on this question. This is being said very clearly and resolutely now," Vučić said.

Support on the road to the EU

Vučić said Ukraine could always count on Belgrade's support in EU accession, and the two discussed both countries' European path during the meeting.

"We wish for Ukraine to open all negotiating clusters as quickly as possible, to close them as quickly as possible, because this is the wish of the Ukrainian people, of the Ukrainian leadership. And speaking of ourselves, we have not had and will not have any problems regarding this in the future. On the contrary, everything we can do to help Ukraine on its European path, we will do," Vučić said.

Trade at $321 million in six months

Vučić said trade between the two countries is growing rapidly: while it stood at $450 million for all of last year, it had already reached $321 million in the first six months of this year.

"The most important import item is iron ore from Ukraine. And I believe that cooperation in the sphere of agriculture, but also in other spheres of energy, everywhere trade turnover can be greater. We discussed projects in the sphere of infrastructure, involving Ukrainian companies on the territory of Serbia. I believe we can have serious and good results in the future," the Serbian president said.

Vučić said he hoped cooperation between the countries would become "significantly stronger and larger-scale" after the war ends. In future, he said, Serbia and Ukraine could jointly export certain goods and enter third-country markets, in particular in Africa and Asia.

"I think we will yet see agreements on such cooperation. Yesterday we had long discussions, today the discussions were really good. I am grateful to President Zelenskyy for the visit to Serbia. I hope we received you properly. And I want to believe that our meetings in the future will be incomparably more frequent than they were before," Vučić added.

A free-trade zone by the end of 2026

Zelenskyy said negotiations on creating a free-trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia are under way, and expressed hope the agreement could be concluded by the end of 2026.

"Our teams must work well to speed up the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia. These negotiations are progressing, this is positive. And it would be good to prepare everything by the end of this year for concluding the agreement on free trade between Ukraine and Serbia," the Ukrainian president said.

Damaged energy grid and a Serbian humanitarian package

Zelenskyy described the state of Ukraine's infrastructure under Russian strikes.

"For the fifth year now we in Ukraine are forced to go through all these strikes. Russian strikes are aimed mostly at facilities that work precisely for the life of the people. We have virtually no undamaged power plants left. Many railway stations are destroyed, hospitals, universities, ordinary civilian enterprises. In a time of such a war we appreciate and are very grateful for all the support that Ukraine receives from other countries, from other peoples," Zelenskyy said.

He said Ukraine continues to expand all formats of cooperation with partners to give communities and people "more resilience, more capacity to hold out despite all the challenges of the war."

Zelenskyy said Serbia would provide Ukraine with a humanitarian aid package. "We are grateful that there will be a new package of humanitarian support from Serbia for Ukraine, in particular in the sphere of medicine, in the sphere of energy. This is very important for us," he said.

Diplomacy to end the war

Zelenskyy said the leaders had discussed diplomatic instruments that could bring the war closer to an end, and pointed to capitals with influence over the process.

"It is important that everywhere in the world they know what we want, and this is true, and this is a fact, we want a dignified peace, that every opportunity be used for the sake of peace, for the sake of guaranteed security. All available opportunities that exist in Washington, and in Beijing, in the capitals of Europe, our partners in the Middle East, in the Gulf, in all the capitals of the world that have influence over the relevant processes," Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine's president has aired a pointed suspicion about why its air-defense missiles are running short. On 5 August, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said political motives may be one reason for the reduced supply of anti-ballistic missiles, including a wish to make Ukraine more compliant, he said at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

The claim points a finger at Ukraine's partners over a shortage now measured in civilian deaths. Since the start of 2026, Ukraine has begun receiving three times fewer anti-ballistic missiles, Zelenskyy said.

The deficit left Ukraine without the possibility to down any of Russia's missiles on 5 August, leading to the deaths of 17 people in Kyiv Oblast.

His suggestion that the cut may be deliberate leverage escalates a supply problem into a question about his allies' intentions.

The official reason is the Middle East

Zelenskyy first cited the explanation Ukraine has been given. The reduction was connected to war, or today it would be fair to say hostilities and wars in the Middle East, the official reason received from partners, primarily the US and also European partners, he said.

But he did not treat that as the whole story. He suggested the cut may have other causes beyond the diversion of missiles to the Middle East, where US air-defense stocks have been drawn down through the war involving Iran.

The suggestion of political pressure

Zelenskyy then made the pointed claim.

"Maybe these are also political steps to make Ukraine more compliant. In my view, not without that," he said, stating that Ukraine is in a situation of shortage of missiles able to intercept ballistics.

It is a notable accusation to level publicly, implying that a partner may be throttling the weapons Ukraine needs to survive Russian strikes in order to pressure Kyiv at the negotiating table. Zelenskyy offered it as his own view, hedged with "maybe," rather than as an established fact.

The response is to build and to beg

Zelenskyy turned the complaint into instructions. He urged the Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry to do everything possible to ensure that partners increase supplies of relevant air-defense missiles, and told defense-industry enterprises to speed up work on Ukraine's own anti-ballistic project.