Putin's faltering strategy: Russia turns to North Korean aid

He emphasised that Russia's decision to send North Korean military personnel to the front confirmed its recruitment problems. He described Pyongyang's dispatch of reinforcements as Putin's act of desperation.

Russia's main objective was to change the government in Kyiv and use Ukraine as a buffer state. Instead, the admiral emphasized in an interview published on Friday by the Finnish broadcaster Yle that it is suffering huge losses in the eastern territories of Ukraine. Bauer also said that Ukraine failed to achieve its intended goal with the attack on the Kursk region: to force Russia to disperse its troops in Donbas.

According to the experienced commander, the number of poorly trained soldiers in the Russian army is growing, and increasingly older equipment is reaching the front line. However, as he pointed out, Russia's human resources are still large, and this is concerning, just like the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

NATO will receive intelligence data from South Korea next week concerning the potential presence of North Korean soldiers on the Ukrainian front, the admiral informed. He also added that cooperation with Russia may allow North Korea some activity in international politics.

Admiral Rob Bauer is an officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy and has chaired the NATO Military Committee since mid-2021. During his visit to Finland—the country that joined NATO in spring 2023—Bauer familiarized himself with the operational capabilities of the Finnish armed forces.

"And that you need never again navigate the darkness alone," said Bauer during the national defence course, referring to the situation of the Finns during the Winter War and their repelling of Russian aggression in 1939-1940.