LONDON — The Ukrainian Protection Ministry’s Essential Directorate of Intelligence stated on Monday that at the very least 30 North Korean troopers had been killed and wounded in weekend battles in Russia’s western Kursk area, prompting commanders to ship reinforcements to frontline models.
“North Korean military models are being re-equipped after losses in assaults” across the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka within the Kursk area, the GUR wrote in a publish to its official Telegram channel.
On Dec. 14 and 15, the GUR stated, “models of the DPRK military suffered vital losses — at the very least 30 troopers had been killed and wounded,” utilizing the acronym for the nation’s official title of the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea.
A minimum of three North Korean troops went lacking round ​​the village of Kurilovka in Kursk, the publish added.
A Ukrainian tank is pictured on Sept. 16, 2024 within the Kursk area of Russia.
International Photographs Ukraine by way of Getty
“Resulting from losses, the assault teams are being replenished with recent personnel, specifically from the 94th separate brigade of the DPRK military, to proceed lively fight operations within the space,” the GUR wrote.
Pyongyang is believed to have despatched as much as 12,000 troops to Russia in latest months, in keeping with a November briefing by Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. Their focus is believed to be the Kursk area of western Russia, the place Ukrainian forces seized floor in a shock August offensive.
Sources informed ABC Information in November that North Koreans could also be among the many roughly 50,000 troops being readied for a major counteroffensive in Kursk.
Russian leaders have stated they won’t think about any peace talks whereas Kursk stays partially occupied, although officers in Kyiv body their retention of Russian territory as vital negotiating leverage.
North Korea’s provision of troops marked a brand new stage of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. The 2 neighbors have drawn nearer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with North Korea already offering Moscow with artillery munitions and ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Saturday that Kyiv has “preliminary knowledge that the Russians have begun to make use of North Korean troopers of their assaults — a major variety of them.”
Troopers are pictured throughout a army parade at Kim Il Sung Sq. in central Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023.
Xinhua Information Company by way of Getty Photographs
“The Russians embrace them in mixed models and use them in operations within the Kursk area,” Zelenskyy stated in an announcement posted to his Telegram web page. “To this point, solely there. However we’ve got data suggesting their use may prolong to different components of the frontline. There are additionally already noticeable losses on this class.”
“We are going to defend ourselves, together with in opposition to these North Koreans,” Zelenskyy added. “And we’ll proceed to behave in coordination with all our companions to cease this battle — to cease it decisively, with assured peace.”
