The president of Ukraine says that the North Korean forces returned on the front line in the region of western Russia, after reporting that they were withdrawn last month due to heavy victims.
Friday, in a video address, Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Russian army had “brought back to North Korean soldiers” who realized “”New assaults “in the region partially occupied by Ukraine.
He added that “hundreds of members of Russian and North Korean military staff had been” destroyed “.
In January, Western officials told the BBC that they thought that at least 1,000 of the 11,000 soldiers sent from North Korea had been killed in the last three months. North Korea and Russia have not commented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The fighting led to heavy losses on both sides.
A spokesperson said it was likely that they had been withdrawn after undergoing strong combat loss.
The spokesperson added that he only referred to areas where his forces were fighting, without giving details on the duration of this first line.
Recent reports attributed to South Korean information suggested that North Korean soldiers are not prepared for modern war and are particularly vulnerable to Ukrainian drones.
Military experts say that reports from North Korean victims, if they continue at this rate, are not durable.
The soldiers were deployed after the Russian president Vladimir Putin and the chief of North Kim Jong, one, have deepened bilateral links in recent months, in particular by signing a security and defense treaty.
The help of Pyongyang in Moscow also also extends to large amounts of ammunition and weapons.
Troops were also considered to be sent to stimulate Russia’s combat forces that have experienced significant losses.
The army of Russia has not publicly revealed its victims on the battlefield since September 2022, when it declared that 5,937 soldiers had been killed.
But the president of Ukraine said that this week up to 350,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, and that other reports suggest that the number could be considerably higher.
Zelensky made military victims of Ukraine at 45,100 – but a number of military experts in Ukraine and West believe that losses are much higher.
Ukrainian troops launched an offensive from Lightning in Kursk six months ago, entering more than 1,000 km2 (386 miles m²) of Russian territory.
Since then, the Russian forces have managed to resume an important part of the region.
However, Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers have reported a new push of Ukrainian troops in Kursk over the past two days.
The Russian army said that the attacks had been postponed, but some reports suggest that the Ukrainians have managed to seize more Russian territory. These have not been verified independently.
In other key developments on Friday:
- The Russian army said that its forces had captured a key city of Totretsk in the Donetk region of eastern Ukraine – but a Ukrainian military spokesman said that the fighting continued in the industrial center
- US President Donald Trump said that he would probably meet President Zelensky next week, and I would like President Putin. I would like to see this end of war. ”
