Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia may have shared technology behind its jet-powered drones with North Korea, deepening concerns over growing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.According to news agency Reuters, when asked at a press conference whether Russia had shared its latest jet-drone technology with North Korea, Zelenskyy gave a direct response, “Yes, of course.”“They (Russia) are sharing with North Korea all the technologies. I don’t know about the ballistic and etc, but I think, yes, because North Korea helped them with missiles,” he added.The comments come as Russia has intensified its offensive against Ukraine, including a surge in drone attacks on Kyiv. A Russian drone struck the Pivnichnyi Bridge in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday, while Moscow warned it would further step up strikes after Kyiv pledged to target Russian oil refineries. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces would increase attacks on “military and military-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure”, as Ukraine’s air defences face mounting pressure.Zelenskyy said Russia and North Korea had expanded weapons cooperation during the full-scale war. North Korea has supplied Russia with artillery shells and ballistic missiles that Moscow has used in attacks on Ukrainian cities, while thousands of North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia to gain combat experience.His remarks also came a week after he warned that Moscow was preparing to recruit another 10,000 North Korean military personnel to fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.Russia has also sharply increased its use of jet-powered drones in recent weeks. According to the Kyiv Independent, Russia’s Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones can reach speeds of up to 500 and 600 kilometres per hour respectively, making them harder for Ukrainian FPV drones and mobile fire teams to intercept.Ukraine has said the increased deployment of such drones is placing additional pressure on its already strained air-defence network. In some recent attacks on Kyiv, jet-powered drones reportedly accounted for around two-thirds of all drones launched.Zelenskyy said on September 26 that Russia planned to spend $12 billion next year on producing jet-powered drones and loitering munitions.South Korea and Western countries have previously raised concerns that Moscow could be assisting Pyongyang’s weapons development in return for military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
