"With North Koreans"

Kursk: Russia launches massive counter-offensive

A Russian army helicopter takes aim at Ukrainian positions in the Kursk border region.(Bild: Screenshot Telegram/MoD Russia)

According to Ukrainian sources, the Russian army has now launched a "massive" counter-offensive in the Kursk border region, where the Ukrainian army has been holding out since an unexpected advance in the summer. According to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, North Korean troops are also involved. 

"For three days, the enemy has been conducting intensive offensive operations in the Kursk region, actively deploying units of the North Korean army," said Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, in a televised video conference with regional officials. However, the North Korean units had already suffered "heavy losses".

Corpses of North Korean soldiers filmed?
On Monday, the Ukrainian secret service reported that at least 30 North Korean soldiers fighting on the Russian side had been killed or injured in battles in Kursk at the weekend. The Ukrainian unit "Madjar" deployed there published video footage of a reconnaissance drone on the X platform showing the bodies of soldiers lying next to each other in the snow. According to "Madjar", North Korean soldiers had collected their fallen comrades at a section of the front after heavy fighting. There has been no independent confirmation of this so far. According to the USA and South Korea, around 10,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in Russia.

Putin: "Entire front line firmly in Russian hands"
At a meeting with the army leadership on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russian soldiers were "firmly in control of the strategic initiative along the entire front line". According to Putin, his soldiers have been able to take control of 189 settlements so far this year.