Ukraine reports first combat engagement with North Korean troops in Russia, marking a significant shift in the ongoing conflict. (AP/Russian Defense Ministry)
- Ukrainian defense minister confirms small-scale fighting with North Korean units deployed to aid Russia in the war.
- Western intelligence estimates up to 12,000 North Korean combat troops are being sent to Russia under a pact with Moscow.
- Russian forces continue to make gains in eastern Ukraine, putting pressure on Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk region.
Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian troops have for the first time engaged with North Korean units that were recently deployed to help Russia in the war with its neighbor, Ukraine’s defense minister said Tuesday.
Another Kyiv official said Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region.
The comments were the first official reports that Ukrainian and North Korean forces have engaged in combat, following a deployment that has given the war a new complexion as it approaches its 1,000-day milestone.
Neither claim could be independently confirmed.
Related Story: Russia and Ukraine Exchange Drone Strikes as North Korea’s Top Diplomat ...
Small-Scale Fighting Marks North Korea’s Direct Involvement
The Ukrainian and North Korean troops engaged in “small-scale” fighting that amounted to the start of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS in an interview.
North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian troops and are misidentified on their uniforms, Umerov was quoted as saying by KBS. That makes it hard to say whether there were any North Korean casualties, he said.
Umerov reportedly said he expects that five North Korean units, each consisting of about 3,000 soldiers, will be deployed to the Kursk area.
Meanwhile, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation branch of Ukraine’s Security Council, said “the first North Korean troops have already been shelled, in the Kursk region.”
He provided no further details.
Related Story: North Korea Has Sent About 10,000 Troops to Russia to Fight in Ukraine, ...
Western Governments Anticipate North Korean Troop Deployment
Western governments had expected that the North Korean soldiers would be sent to Russia’s Kursk border region, where a 3-month-old incursion by the Ukrainian army is the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments say up to 12,000 North Korean combat troops are being sent by Pyongyang to the war under a pact with Moscow.
The Pentagon said Monday that at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia near Ukraine’s border.
More troops from North Korea’s 1.3-million-strong army may be slated for deployment in Russia, according to an analysis published Tuesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank.
The ramifications extend far beyond Europe, it said.
“Despite integration challenges — including communication barriers and differing military doctrines — the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia represents a significant shift in European and Asian security relations,” the analysis said. “For the first time in generations, troops from East Asia are actively engaging in a European conflict.”
Related Story: Zelenskyy Says 10,000 North Koreans Could Join Russian Forces in Ukraine as He ...
Ukraine Faces Mounting Pressure on the Battlefield
The North Korean troops, whose fighting quality and battle experience is unknown, are adding to Ukraine’s worsening situation on the battlefield.
Ukrainian defenses, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, are buckling under the strain of Russia’s costly but relentless monthslong onslaught.
Russian advances have recently accelerated, with battlefield gains of up to 9 kilometers (more than 5 miles) in some parts of Donetsk, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Tuesday on the social platform X.
It said Russia has superior troop numbers, and despite heavy casualties the Kremlin’s recruitment drive is providing enough new troops to keep up the pressure.
Russia has held the battlefield initiative in Ukraine for the past year. Ukrainian officials have long complained that Western military support takes too long to arrive in the country.
In early October, Russian forces drove Ukrainian troops out of Vuhledar, a town perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine.
It was part of a key belt of Ukrainian defenses in the east. Russia’s next targets likely are the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk and the strategically important city of Chasiv Yar.
In the meantime, Russia has kept up its long-range aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine, authorities say.
A Tuesday morning attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed six people and injured 23 others, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak, said the Russian attacks “must be stopped with strong action.”
“A stronger position by (Ukraine’s Western) allies is needed,” he wrote on Telegram.
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno State Tossed by Northern Illinois in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
4 hours ago
Spain Faces Threats of Terrorism and Unrest, US Warns in Travel Advisory
5 hours ago
Bill Clinton Is Hospitalized With a Fever but in Good Spirits, Spokesperson Says
5 hours ago
Media Relations Expert Leaves City Hall for Valley Children’s Hospital
6 hours ago
SE Fresno Voters Have Their Pick of Familiar Candidates to Succeed Chavez
7 hours ago
Fresno Residents Will Get an Extra Day to Put Out the Trash
7 hours ago
Illegal Immigrant Faces Murder Charges in Death of Woman Lit on Fire in NYC Subway