Cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang once again recalls that it is necessary to strengthen defense cooperation between European countries, particularly through the production of high-tech military products and creation of a joint brigade engaging North European and Baltic states, as well as the UK and the Netherlands, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in his address to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Summit Participants on Tuesday.

"Right now, Ukrainian soldiers are holding off assaults with North Korean soldiers taking part. Their numbers could grow, and we all need to be aware of this. This clearly shows that Putin can't cope alone, so he's pulling others into a bigger war. Pyongyang disregards human life just as much as Moscow does, paying Russia with people in exchange for goods and military technologies," he said.

According to the head of state, "this brings us back, again and again, to the need to strengthen our defense cooperation – in producing all types of weapons that enable standoff warfare. We need to protect our people. We must do everything possible to destroy Russia's ability to wage war from as far away as possible."

For this, more drones, more modern artillery, and long-range missiles are needed, he said.

"I thank you, friends, for investing in our defense production and for increasing weapons manufacturing in your own countries. Our arsenals must match the threats we face, and European industry is fully capable of achieving this," Zelenskyy said.

"But we need to scale up this cooperation – and these investments," he said.

The President also mentioned the training of a joint brigade and called on partners to implement this plan.

"We've also previously discussed, in our different meetings, preparing our joint brigade – with contributions from the Nordic and Baltic states, as well as the UK and the Netherlands. I ask you to make this happen," he said.