Russia has launched an intensive counteroffensive in the Russian Kursk region, partially occupied by Ukrainian forces, involving North Korean soldiers, Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky announced today, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
"Over the past three days, the enemy has been conducting intensive offensive operations in the Kursk region, actively using units of the North Korean army“, which have already suffered heavy losses, said General Syrsky. He assured that Ukrainian troops "are firmly holding the line and destroying enemy soldiers and equipment".
Yesterday, Ukraine's Military Intelligence Service reported that at least 30 North Korean soldiers fighting alongside the Russian army had been wounded or killed in the previous two days in Russia's Kursk region. Ukrainian special forces said today that they had destroyed 50 North Korean servicemen and wounded 47 in the Kursk region.
According to the West, several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian army. The Kremlin has not confirmed the information. Pyongyang has neither confirmed nor denied the deployment of its troops in Russia, AFP notes.
In recent months, Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual defense agreement, which, according to Russian diplomacy, entered into force in early December. A clause in the agreement provides for "immediate military assistance" in the event of armed aggression by third countries.
A few days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia were carrying out attacks in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine still controls a few hundred square kilometers. Zelensky accused Moscow of taking the war to "another stage". Ukraine warned that Russia had gathered about 50,000 troops, including several thousand North Korean soldiers, to regain full control of the Kursk region.