South Korean intelligence suggests that North Korea may deploy its troops on Ukrainian territory - a development that would mean a significant shift in the balance of power on the battlefield. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about this in its daily analysis, News.bg reports.
On June 26, "Reuters", citing a South Korean lawmaker with access to intelligence from South Korea's National Intelligence Service, reported that Pyongyang may send an unspecified number of additional forces to Russia as early as July or August 2025 to join combat operations against Ukraine. At the same time, North Korea continues to supply Russia with artillery shells and missiles.
If North Korean forces are allowed to operate on Ukrainian territory with the approval of the Russian and North Korean military command, this could significantly enhance Russia's ability to conduct simultaneous offensive operations on different fronts - something that the Russian military has traditionally struggled with.
On June 25, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed possible sales of US Patriot air defense systems, as well as joint weapons production.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin continues to use harsh and confrontational rhetoric aimed at shaking Western support for Ukraine and demonstrating Russia's firm stance in the conflict.
Satellite images of Russian armored repair plants show that Moscow continues to rebuild Soviet armored vehicles from stock. Due to significant losses of equipment in late 2023 and 2024, Russian forces are increasingly using motorcycles and buggies on the front lines in Ukraine as a substitute for standard armored vehicles.
According to data from the British International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) from February 2025, Russian forces lost over 3,700 units of equipment - including MTLBs and APCs - in 2024 alone.
It remains questionable whether the use of motorcycles and buggies will be able to compensate for these losses in the medium or long term.