The losses of the DPRK troops involved in the war against Ukraine have reached 4,000 people in killed and wounded, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said on Thursday.

"Putin is not only saving his investment in aggression. He doubles it. He even started to hire North Korean soldiers to continue this war. North Korea is learning modern methods of warfare. They do not value their people. They have lost 4,000 people as of today," he said at the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

According to the head of state, "Pyongyang is acquiring cheap experience for reexporting war, probably, to the Pacific Ocean," however, at the same time, North Korea's collusion with Russia shows Vladimir Putin's weakness as "no ruler in Moscow would ever go down to supporting Pyongyang if he did not face critical problems."

Zelenskyy called on all partners, especially the United States and the EU, to strengthen their pressure on the Russian energy sector.

"It is necessary to sanction every component of the Russian energy sector. […] Russia's military budget for 2025 is 25% larger than last year. If we want to stop murders, we must cut Putin's financial flows," he said.