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Military personnel from the Southeast Asia country of Laos will be deployed to assist Russian forces in demining in Kursk, according to information released by the Ukrainian government.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has alleged that Russia is currently organising the deployment of engineering soldiers from the Lao People’s Army, a branch of the armed forces of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Russian military forces in Ukraine have previously been bolstered with troops from North Korea and support from the People’s Republic of China.
“Currently, the Kremlin is organising the involvement of a combined detachment of engineering troops of the Lao People’s Army in demining the territories of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation,” according to a statement from the Ukrainian government (translated).
“Given the significant dependence on external aid, the leadership of Laos at the initial stage expresses its readiness to send up to 50 ‘sapper soldiers’ to Russia and contribute to the demining of the Kursk region. Russia, hiding behind humanitarian rhetoric, is trying to legalise the presence of a foreign military contingent on its territory, actually using it to ensure hostilities against Ukraine.
“In addition to the mass involvement of mercenaries from Africa and Asia, as well as units of the DPRK, the Kremlin is working on the possibility of involving the so-called partners in the war under the guise of implementing humanitarian projects in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine.
“In addition, Laos provides free assistance to the Russian federation by conducting rehabilitation measures for wounded Russian servicemen who took part in hostilities against Ukraine.
“The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine continues to record the facts of international complicity in armed aggression against our state.”
A number of international military personnel marched alongside Russian troops in the annual Victory Day military parade held in May this year. These included personnel from Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Egypt, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the People’s Republic of China.
Numerous foreign dignitaries were also listed as attending from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Palestine, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, North Korea and Zimbabwe, among other nations.
