Zelenskyy urges the governments of 47 countries to prevent their citizens from fighting on Russia’s side in Ukraine: “Don’t let Putin draw you into this war”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the governments of 47 countries on Wednesday, from the podium of the UN General Assembly, to prevent their citizens from becoming involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The leader in Kyiv said that people from dozens of countries had ended up fighting for the Russian army after allegedly being lured “through deception and trickery.”

In his speech in New York, Zelenskyy listed Ghana, Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Sudan and South Africa among the countries of origin of foreign fighters. According to him, Ukrainian soldiers encounter citizens of these countries on the front lines, and Kyiv sometimes receives requests to repatriate captured foreign prisoners.

The Ukrainian president accused Russia of using people from these countries to support its war effort and urged representatives of the respective governments not to allow the recruitment of their citizens.

Zelenskyy also spoke about North Korea’s involvement, saying that North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside Russian forces. He announced that Ukraine had recently transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea and said that one of them had allegedly attempted suicide before being captured.