Imprisoned North Koreans

Zelenskyi wants to show journalists “the truth”

This is one of the two prisoners.

(Bild: x.com/ZelenskyyUa)

Two North Korean soldiers have fallen into the hands of Ukrainian troops during the fighting in the Russian border region of Kursk. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday, the two men are wounded. They are now to be taken to Kiev.

There they will receive "the necessary medical assistance", the Ukrainian head of state explained in a post on the short message platform X. At the same time, he thanked the special forces who had managed to take the two fighters into custody alive in the service of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. "That was no easy task. After all, the Russian and North Korean armed forces usually execute their wounded in order to cover up the evidence of North Korea's involvement in the Ukraine war," Selensky continued.

Moscow and Pyongyang remain silent
In addition to medical treatment, the President also promised that journalists would be given access to the two North Koreans. Because: "The world needs to know the truth about what is happening."

One of the prisoners is in this cell.

(Bild: APA/AFP/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/Handout)

Ukraine had already reported the capture of a wounded North Korean soldier at the end of December. An alleged picture of the soldier, which was circulated on Ukrainian social media channels, showed an emaciated, wounded man. A short time later, it was reported that the prisoner had succumbed to his injuries. There has been no confirmation of the man's arrest or death from either North Korea or Russia. Nor has the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk or eastern Ukraine been officially acknowledged.

According to estimates by the USA and its allies, however, around 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been mobilized to reinforce the Russian troops. These have been deployed on the front line in the Kursk region, primarily for so-called "human wave tactics". This involves sending a large number of soldiers into battle, even if it is clear in advance that many of them will die.

Moscow reports further conquest in Donetsk
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of another settlement in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk on Saturday. The Russian army had taken control of Shevchenko. It also attacked Ukraine's military airfield and energy infrastructure with drones, missiles and aircraft. 

According to Russian reports, Ukraine attacked several regions of Russia with swarms of combat drones on Saturday night. According to reports on Russian Telegram channels, the Krasnodar region on the Black Sea was a focal point. A fire broke out in the city of Novorossiysk, which is important as a naval base and oil port. Anti-aircraft fire and explosions could be heard over the port city of Anapa. 

Most recently, both sides attacked each other almost daily with drones. However, the consequences of the Ukrainian attacks are disproportionate to the damage and casualties caused by Russia in the neighboring country.