War in Ukraine: heavy North Korean losses, Slovakia “offers its soil” for negotiations… update on the situation

North Korean troops suffer heavy losses on the front, White House says

North Korean troops fighting alongside the Russian army against Ukraine are suffering massive losses on the front, with around 1,000 soldiers killed or wounded last week in Russia's Kursk region, it said Friday. White House spokesman John Kirby spoke to the press. This figure far exceeds those that US officials had previously communicated.

“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders view these troops as expendable and order them to carry out hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses”said John Kirby, describing the offensive by North Korean troops as “massive assaults on foot”. North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia's mission to the UN declined to comment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed or injured in Russia's Kursk region, adding that Pyongyang could provide more military personnel and equipment to the Russian army. Reuters was unable to independently verify the information relating to this human toll.

Slovakia says it offers talks with Moscow

Slovakia, whose nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow this week, declared on Friday that it was ready to host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, despite the hostility of kyiv which accused it of wanting “help” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be a “platform” for possible peace negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians, while maintaining that his country would achieve “all its objectives in Ukraine”, almost three years after the start of the invasion and one month before the inauguration of American President Donald Trump, whose intentions remain unclear with regard to kyiv.

“We offer Slovak soil for such negotiations”Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar wrote on Facebook on Friday. “We consider the Russian president's statement as a positive signal to end this war, bloodshed and destruction as quickly as possible”added Juraj Blanar.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the very few European leaders who remained close to the Kremlin, and who stopped all military aid to Ukraine when he came to power in 2023, met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on December 22, provoking the anger of kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Mr. Fico on Monday of wanting “help” Vladimir Poutine “to earn money to finance the war with kyiv”in full tension around the transit of Russian gas to Eastern Europe, which kyiv has announced it wants to stop. The Slovak Foreign Minister said that Bratislava had informed its “Ukrainian partners” of his availability for peace negotiations.

Several wounded and captured North Korean soldiers died in Ukraine, says Zelensky

“Several” Wounded North Korean soldiers died in Ukraine after being taken prisoner, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday evening, accusing Russia of having offered these soldiers “minimum protection”.

“Several North Korean soldiers died today. Our soldiers managed to capture them. But they were very seriously injured and could not be saved,” he said during his daily speech, denouncing “the madness of which dictatorships are capable”sending soldiers to die “in battles in Europe”.