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Russia to Involve Laos Troops in Its War Against Ukraine. Here’s What We Know

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Roman Kohanets
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Laos army
Soldiers participate in a military parade during a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Armed Forces. (Photo: Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua).

Kremlin is organizing the deployment of up to 50 Lao sapper troops to clear landmines in Russia’s Kursk region under the guise of humanitarian assistance, a move Kyiv says is intended to legitimize the presence of foreign combat-support forces on Russian soil, as stated in the latest Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) report.

“Russia, hiding behind humanitarian rhetoric, is trying to legalize the presence of a foreign military contingent on its territory, effectively using it to support combat operations against Ukraine,” the intelligence directorate stated.

In addition to the mass recruitment of mercenaries from African and Asian countries and units from North Korea, the Kremlin is exploring the possibility of involving so-called partners under the pretext of implementing humanitarian projects in Russia’s border regions with Ukraine.

According to HUR, Moscow is now organizing a combined engineering detachment from the Lao People’s Army to conduct mine-clearing operations in the Kursk region.

The Laotian leadership, heavily dependent on external aid, has expressed readiness to dispatch up to 50 military sapper personnel.

They have also pledged to provide free rehabilitation services for Russian servicemen wounded in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, announced that North Korea will send 1,000 military deminers and 5,000 construction workers to support post-war reconstruction and demining in the Kursk region under “special instructions” from the Russian leader, deepening Moscow’s reliance on foreign manpower.

Earlier, Ukrainian intelligence and CNN revealed that North Korea plans to send an additional 25,000–30,000 troops to front-line operations alongside Russian forces, tripling its current contingent after an initial deployment of 11,000 soldiers in November 2024.

Losses among early deployments have been heavy, prompting Moscow to supply equipment and integrate Pyongyang’s forces into summer offensives.

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