SOn a snowy plain, around thirty dark silhouettes advance in single file under artillery fire. Later, other soldiers are filmed advancing under the thin cover of vegetation. The scene, captured by a Ukrainian drone a few days ago, reportedly shows the first attack by North Korean soldiers in the Kursk sector.
“On December 14 and 15, 2024, units of the North Korean army suffered significant losses in the regions of the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martinovska,” announced the GUR, Ukrainian military intelligence, specifying that at least 30 soldiers were killed or wounded. A second video, again taken by a drone, shows 23 bodies, presented as killed North Koreans, in a line in the snow next to a tank carcass. These corpses were undoubtedly grouped together before being transported to the rear.
10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed
“In connection with the losses, the assault groups are supplemented by fresh personnel, in particular from the 94th separate brigade of the North Korean army, to continue active combat operations in the Kursk region,” adds the GUR. On
ALSO READ Between Russia and North Korea, a marriage of convenienceRussia and North Korea have not confirmed this information. “We cannot yet know if they are North Korean soldiers or not,” judges a French officer who watched the videos. In November, a Storm Shadow missile strike reportedly killed 500 troops and injured two North Korean officers.
Arriving in Russia at the end of October, 10,000 soldiers from Pyongyang had until then provided support to the Russian forces, who are trying to retake the 2.15% of the Kursk oblast still under the control of Ukraine. A derisory territorial gain, but which could weigh in future negotiations. The fighting is therefore fierce between Ukrainian forces who are holding on to the ground and Russian forces who are increasing their attacks.
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
The Russian army is increasingly led by dismounted infantry, with little or no armor support. A tactic costly in human lives, but which saturates the defenders. If the rise of North Korean soldiers to the front line were to be confirmed, it would show that Russia is struggling to replace its losses – 30,000 men killed and wounded on average per month in 2024. In recent weeks, more than 1,000 Russian soldiers are killed or injured per day.
ALSO READ War in Ukraine: Hungary supports new EU sanctionsCoordination or interoperability between Russian and North Korean forces will undoubtedly be made difficult in terms of communication, with different languages, but also probably from a doctrinal point of view. “The North Korean army has not fought since 1953 and the Korean War. And she is surely a war behind, rewinds the French officer. Pyongyang is seeking to gain this experience it lacks. » Despite everything, Russia is progressing slowly in Donbass and is massively bombing Ukraine: between December 2 and 8 alone, 630 glide bombs, 550 drones and 100 missiles were fired.
