Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country has captured two injured North Korean soldiers from the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region and transferred them to Kyiv. This marks the first time Ukraine has detained North Korean troops since Pyongyang deployed an estimated 11,000 soldiers to support Russia. Zelenskyy shared photos of the prisoners, showing them receiving medical assistance for their wounds.
Ukraine’s military has raised concerns about Russia trying to conceal the presence of North Korean military personnel by issuing false documents. South Korean intelligence services have also reported that North Korean soldiers received Russian military uniforms and fake identification documents to make it appear as if they were from Russia’s Far East. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of journalists having access to the prisoners to reveal the truth about the situation.
Zelenskyy previously stated that 4,000 North Korean soldiers have died or been wounded in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been engaged in conflict since August. There have been reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives to avoid capture, possibly out of fear for their families’ safety back in North Korea. The capture of these soldiers sheds light on the complexities of the conflict involving multiple parties and the efforts to reveal the truth to the world.
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