North Korean Troops In Kursk Suffer First Heavy Losses, Pentagon Says

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North Korean Troops In Kursk Suffer First Heavy Losses, Pentagon Says

The Pentagon as well has Ukraine's military intelligence have said that some of the first North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk border region have been killed. Dozens of the foreign troops are reportedly dead and wounded.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, announced Monday that North Korean army units were beset with "significant losses" of "at least 30 soldiers" killed and wounded in the Kursk region over the weekend, in a significant first if confirmed.

The intense fighting and losses were said to be in the villages of Plekhovo, Vorobzha and Martynovka. "Also in the area of the village of Kurilovka, at least three North Korean servicemen went missing," the GUR wrote on Telegram.

Kiev was the first to make the claim, but there's been no comment from the Kremlin or Pyongyang; however, in a rarity the Pentagon has chimed in to say there are "indications" of casualties among North Korean troops in Russia. According to NY Times:

The Pentagon has seen “indications” that the North Korean forces who have been sent to Russia to help the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine have suffered their first casualties, according to a U.S. official.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Monday that the North Koreans had entered combat last week in the Russian region of Kursk.

Ryder continued, "We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk." He added: "We do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded."

In the wake of the reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a statement alleging that Russian troops are engaged in a ghastly and extreme practice to try and conceal the presence of the North Korean troops.

Zelensky on X alleged that Russian soldiers are burning the faces of slain North Koreans:

Russia not only sends the North Korean troops to storm Ukrainian positions, but also tries to conceal losses of these people. They tried to hide the presence of North Korean soldiers. It was prohibited to show their faces during training.

The Russians attempted to erase any video evidence of their presence. And now, after first combats with our warriors, Russians are trying… to literally burn the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in battle.

(Warning: graphic)...

Even after years of war, when we thought the Russians could not get any more cynical, we see something even worse.

Russia not only sends the North Korean troops to storm Ukrainian positions, but also tries to conceal losses of these people.

They tried to hide the presence of… pic.twitter.com/KYyGF1rxP8

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 16, 2024

There's been no outside or independent verification of either Zelensky's claims or concerning the authenticity of the video. Pentagon spokesman Ryder has emphasized, "As we’ve said all along, those forces are legitimate military targets for the Ukrainians given that they are engaged in active combat ops." Some analysts have pointed to the North Korean troop presence as evidence of the depletion of Russian forces. President Putin has all the while yet to declare a formal state of war.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/18/2024 - 02:45

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