Ukraine claims it inflicted over 30 North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk region

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine claimed on Monday that its forces inflicted over 30 North Korean casualties in Russia’s border region of Kursk, where Kyiv launched an incursion back in August.

A statement by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) on Telegram claimed that at least 30 North Korean soldiers were either killed or wounded on Dec. 14 and 15 by the country’s forces near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka.

The statement further claimed that at least three North Korean servicemen also went missing near the village of Kurilovka.

It added that due to these losses, assault groups in the region are being “replenished with fresh personnel” from the North Korean army.

Neither Russian nor North Korean authorities have yet commented on the claims, and independent verification of Ukraine's claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.

Kyiv's incursion into the Kursk region began on the night of Aug. 5-6, when Ukrainian forces entered near the town of Sudzha, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the incursion as a “large-scale provocation” and an act of “indiscriminate shooting,” calling it a “terrorist attack.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said the aim was to create a “buffer zone” to protect against cross-border attacks from Russia.

In November, both Ukrainian and Western officials claimed that over 10,000 North Korean troops were deployed in Kursk to push out Kyiv's forces from the border region.

Neither North Korea nor Russia has commented on the allegations, though the Kremlin has asserted its right to build relations with Pyongyang, describing it as a matter of Russian sovereignty.