Zelenskyy condemns 'zero response' to North Korean deployment; Kharkiv bomb kills three
A look back at 31 October 2024, when Ukraine's president criticised Western silence over North Korean troops and a Russian glide bomb hit a residential building in Kharkiv.
What did Ukraine's allies do about North Korean soldiers being sent to fight against it? On 31 October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the answer was nothing. He strongly condemned the United States and European nations for what he described as a "zero response" to Russia's deployment of North Korean troops against Ukraine.
The criticism came as Western countries were already the main source of support for Kyiv. Later assessments put military aid from the United States at about €64.6 billion and from other international allies at about €84.7 billion as of 30 June 2025, largely drawn from existing stockpiles and delivered to Ukrainian forces. Against that record, Zelenskyy's remarks on 31 October 2024 pointed to the absence of any reaction to the arrival of a new foreign force on Russia's side.
Deadly strike in Kharkiv
The same day, a Russian glide bomb struck a residential building in Kharkiv. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the attack killed three people and injured 35 others.
The two developments reflected different sides of the war on 31 October 2024: a diplomatic dispute over how Ukraine's partners should respond to widening foreign involvement, and the continuing toll of Russian attacks on civilian housing in Ukraine's second city.
