Ukraine, Kiev captures first North Korean soldier: he is wounded

For the first time a North Korean soldier is taken prisoner by the Ukrainian army, Putin reaffirms alliance with Pyongyang

The Ukrainian army has captured for the first time a North Korean soldier fighting alongside Russian forces. The news was confirmed by South Korean intelligence, while Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his intention to strengthen the strategic partnership treaty with North Korea, signed last June during his visit to Pyongyang. The agreement includes a mutual defence pact between the two countries.

This development represents a major escalation in the conflict, which began almost three years ago with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The situation becomes even more complicated in view of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, expected in less than a month.

According to the South Korean intelligence agency, the North Korean soldier was captured wounded, but without revealing more details about the circumstances of the arrest. Kiev reported that around 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals, are present in the Russian Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have cleared hundreds of square kilometres since last August. Neither Russia nor North Korea has officially confirmed the presence of this contingent.

The losses for Russia continue to be devastating. The Ukrainian General Staff announced that since the beginning of the war on 24 February 2022, Russia has lost 782,510 soldiers, including 1,650 in the last 24 hours. In addition, Russia reportedly lost 9,644 tanks, 19,951 armoured vehicles, over 21,000 artillery systems, and tens of thousands of vehicles and drones.

On the other side, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that its air defence systems shot down 13 Ukrainian drones overnight. The shoot-downs occurred mainly in the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Tula and Astrakhan regions. No damage or casualties were reported as a result of the downing of the drones, while brief restrictions on the use of airspace were introduced at the airports of Volgograd and Astrakhan.

THE LATEST NEWS

[recent_post_slider design=”design-07″ show_author=”false” slider_height=”390″ lazyload=”progressive” limit=”6″ category=”11728″]

(Photo: © AndKronos)