The number of North Koreans fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine remains unknown. The Ukrainian side confirmed for the first time that it had taken North Korean prisoners. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, many North Koreans had been captured in the meantime, but were seriously injured and died of their wounds.
Zelensky accused Russia and North Korea of purposefully killing North Korean soldiers so that they would not fall into Ukrainian captivity. North Korean guards and the Russian army have no interest in their survival, Zelensky stressed. In his speech last night, he called on China to exert influence on North Korea so as not to escalate the war even further. The president said that North Korean soldiers are being sent into battle with "minimal protection".
Huge losses among North Koreans
"They are suffering huge losses. We see that the Russian army and the North Korean command are not at all interested in the survival of these Koreans," Zelensky pointed out.
Previously, there were media reports about a North Korean soldier who was captured in the Russian Kursk region. Parts of this area have been under the control of Ukraine since the summer, ARD recalls.
It is believed that North Korea has sent over 10,000 soldiers to Kursk to support Russia's offensive war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, there have been numerous reports of losses among North Korean soldiers. Zelensky mentioned over 3,000 wounded or killed. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that last week alone, the North Korean army lost 1,000 soldiers in the fight against Ukraine.
"They are sending them to hopeless operations"
The US government believes that North Koreans fighting on the Russian side are being sent to apparent death - they are being thrown into "hopeless" operations involving huge human casualties. John Kirby also said that the military leaderships of Russia and North Korea apparently view North Korean soldiers as something "inferior" and are sending them to carry out desperate actions along Ukrainian defense lines - such as in Kursk. Kirby also had data that North Koreans were more likely to commit suicide than surrender to the Ukrainian army - “probably because they fear that if they are captured, their families in North Korea will be exposed to repression by the regime”.
German security expert Nico Lange, quoted by ARD, believes that the North Koreans are not well prepared for their action. “They serve as cannon fodder, Russia uses them by sending them into minefields and exposing them to drone attacks.” In reality, the North Koreans have a role similar to that of criminals released early from Russian prisons, who are also sent to the most difficult areas of the front, the German public-law media outlet points out.
Heavy attacks on the Donetsk region continue
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army is under increased pressure on the front - especially in the eastern part of the Donbas region. The Ukrainian General Staff speaks of tactical successes of the Russian army near the city of Pokrovsk. Residents who remain in these regions are exposed to heavy attacks almost daily.
This also applies to the city of Liman. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, over 22,000 people lived there, now there are about 4,000. Olena is one of them and - as she tells ARD - she gets her water from a well, since the drinking water supply is no longer functioning.
"How will we survive the winter?"
The heating in her home has not been working for three years, the woman says. "Currently, firewood and electricity are our gold. How will we survive the winter? The temperatures are still above zero, but soon the degrees will drop to minus 20." Olena also explains that she cannot leave Liman - she has to take care of her 83-year-old mother.
Nina also stayed in Liman, ARD writes. The elderly woman is still wearing a thick jacket at home and says that the time before the Russian aggression was happy. “My dream is for the war to end - for my children to return and for there to be peace again. I don't want any more."