Zelenskiy’s top aide talks assistance, N.Korea with Blinken, Sullivan

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KYIV (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s top aide discussed support for Ukraine and the reported North Korean involvement in the Russian war against Kyiv with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

“We discussed Ukraine’s Victory Plan, the implementation of the Peace Formula, the frontlines, weapons, and North Korean soldiers whom Russia is preparing for war,” Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said on X after meeting Sullivan.

“Military assistance to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and increasing pressure on Moscow’s allies are essential.”

The 2-1/2-year Russian war in Ukraine appeared to take a dangerous new turn, with NATO and South Korea expressing alarm that North Korean troops could soon be joining in on Moscow’s side.

Visiting Washington just a week before the next U.S. presidential vote, Yermak also talked U.S. military and economic assistance with Blinken, according to a statement on the State Department’s website.

“The Secretary reiterated the United States’ enduring support for Ukraine’s sovereignty amid its fight against Russia’s brutal war of aggression and support for a just and lasting peace on the basis of the United Nations Charter,” according to the statement.

The U.S. has been a staunch ally of Ukraine under Joe Biden’s presidency, with Washington having provided more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022 when Russia launched full-scale invasion on Ukraine.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa and Lidia Kelly, Editing by William Maclean and Michael Perry)