KYIV – Ukraine’s military intelligence revealed on Thursday that North Korean troops are currently facing heavy losses in the ongoing battles in Russia’s Kursk region. The Ukrainian attacks have not only inflicted significant casualties on North Korean units near Novoivanovka but have also caused logistical challenges for them.
According to the intelligence agency, known as GUR, the North Korean soldiers have been encountering difficulties in receiving essential supplies due to the relentless Ukrainian strikes along the front line. Shortages of drinking water have further compounded the challenges faced by the North Korean troops as a direct consequence of the Ukrainian offensive.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine also provided insights earlier this week, indicating that approximately 3,000 North Korean troops have suffered casualties, either being killed or wounded, during the clashes in the Kursk region. This disclosure marks a significant update from Ukraine regarding the impact on North Korean military personnel, following earlier reports of 10,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops being deployed to Russia to support its military efforts in the prolonged conflict.
The casualty disclosure came as the Biden administration was pressing to send as much military aid as possible to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes over.
Ukrainian forces launched a foray into the Kursk region in August, dealing a significant blow to Russia’s prestige and forcing it to distract some of its troops from eastern Ukraine, where they were pressing a slow-moving offensive.
The Russian army has been able to reclaim some of the territory in the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, but has failed to fully dislodge them.
At the same time, Russia has sought to break Ukraine’s resistance with waves of strikes with cruise missiles and drones against Ukraine’s power grid and other vital infrastructure.
The latest massive attack on Christmas morning involving 78 missiles and 106 drones struck power facilities and prompted Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning, Ukraine’s air force said. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones and jammed 52 other drones.
On Thursday, Russia again attacked Ukraine with 31 exploding drones, 20 of which were shot down and another 11 didn’t reach their target due to jamming, the Ukrainian air force said.
As part of the daily barrage, Russian forces also struck a central market in Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region with a drone on Thursday, wounding eight people, according to local authorities.
Ukraine struck back with drone strikes of its own.
Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications said Thursday that the country’s military has struck a plant in Kamensk-Shakhtynsky in Russia’s southern Rostov region that produces propellant for ballistic missiles. “This strike is part of a comprehensive campaign to weaken the capabilities of the Russian armed forces to carry out terrorist attacks against Ukrainian civilians,” it said in a statement.
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