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Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers and transported them to Kyiv for questioning in what the country’s security services say is “irrefutable evidence” of Pyongyang’s involvement with Russia.
Both soldiers were captured on 9 January in the Russian border region of Kursk. Another North Korean soldier was captured last month but died from their wounds shortly after being detained.
The Ukrainian security service, known as the SBU, said one of the two latest soldiers captured had fake Russian identification documents. The other had none at all.
Russia and North Korea both deny their soldiers are working together in Kursk. The US, Ukraine, UK and South Korea have all said they believe otherwise.
Communication with the two prisoners is being done through translators and in cooperation with South Korean intelligence.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, posting pictures of the two prisoners of war, said “the world needs to know the truth about what is happening”.
Meanwhile, the Russian military claimed to have taken control of the town of Shevchenko in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, located near the outskirts of the city of Pokrovsk.
The city is a key defensive position protecting the wider region. Ukrainian war trackers suggested the town had been, if not occupied, almost completely captured.
Tom Watling11 January 2025 14:57
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country’s military has captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia, adding that they had survived and were communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine.
“As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” Zelensky said on X.
Photos shared by Volodymyr Zelensky showedthe North Korean POWs (@ZelenskyyUa/X)
(@ZelenskyyUa/X)
Tom Watling11 January 2025 13:17
Tom Watling11 January 2025 11:19
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed the army has gained control of the settlement of Shevchenko in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
The town is just a few miles from the outskirts of Pokrovsk, a city that has been the object of Russia’s wider offensive in the Donetsk region for months.
It is a linchpin of the region’s defence, sitting on key logistical routes feeding the rest of the wider area.
Russia often prematurely claims control of area in Ukraine but DeepState, a Ukrainian war tracker with close ties to the military, records Shevchenko as almost completely occupied.
Tom Watling11 January 2025 10:39