The Russian army benefits, according to Ukraine and the West, from the support of North Korean soldiers on the front. Two of them were captured alive and are currently being questioned.
Two North Korean soldiers were captured and interrogated by Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this Saturday, January 11 on his X account.
“Our soldiers captured North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, although injured, survived and were transported to kyiv, where they are currently in discussions with the Ukrainian security services,” writes the head of state .
“It was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North Korean soldiers generally execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine,” says Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The world needs to know the truth about what is happening”
“I have instructed the Ukrainian security services to allow journalists to meet these prisoners. The world must know the truth about what is happening,” announced the Ukrainian president, also assuring that “like all prisoners war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance.
In the Russian region of Kursk, the Russian army has benefited from the support of North Korean soldiers for several weeks, according to the West and kyiv. One of them was captured in late December, but died of his wounds before he could be interrogated.
-John Kirby, spokesperson for the American presidency, estimated at the end of December 2024 that “more than 1,000” North Korean soldiers, deployed in Russia to fight against Ukraine and used as troops “that could be sacrificed”, would have been killed or injured during “hopeless” assaults.
“A lot of losses” on the North Korean side
North Korean soldiers are suffering “a lot of losses. A lot. And we see that the Russian army and the North Korean supervisors are not at all interested in the survival of these Koreans,” the Ukrainian president said on December 27 .
“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, before denouncing “the madness of capable of dictatorships” by sending soldiers to be killed “in battles in Europe”.
“Everything is being done to make it impossible for us to capture Koreans. The Russians are sending them to attack with minimal protection,” insisted Volodymyr Zelensky.
