President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukraine’s allies to stop “watching” and take action to tackle the presence of North Korean troops in Russia before they start confronting his country in combat.

Zelenskiy, in a video posted on Telegram, said North Korea had made progress in its military capability, missile deployment and weapons production and “now unfortunately they will learn modern warfare”.

“The first thousands of soldiers from North Korea are near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainians will be forced to defend themselves against them,” he said. “And the world will watch again.”