Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a further increase in the size of the country's army, boosting the number of active service members by 15,500 to 1,550,500, with total armed forces reaching 2,441,630. This is the fourth such order this year. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia is preparing to deploy an additional 10,000 North Korean troops, adding to the estimated 8,000 already on Russian territory. Zelenskyy claims Russia is compensating North Korea with technology, including technical support for Shahed-type attack drone production.