Two North Korean soldiers taken hostage in Russia’s Kursk
- 11 January, 11:00
Ukrainian troops have captured two North Koreans fighting alongside Russian troops in Kursk region where Kyiv staged incursion in August.
Ukrainian President announced the capture of North Korean soldiers in his Facebook account on Saturday. "Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine.” Zelenskiy thanked soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces of Ukrainian Armed Forces and paratroopers who captured the two me.
The Ukrainian leader said he has instructed the country’s security service, SBU, to provide journalists’ access to the hostages, stressing that "the world needs to know the truth about what is happening.”
“As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance.”
The capture of Pyongyang troops comes amid Ukraine’s renewed offensive on Kursk last week. Ukraine claimed last week that its troops captured three districts in Kursk. On January 9, Zelenskiy claimed that t North Korea's losses in the Russian war against Ukraine have already reached 4,000 soldiers. Earlier, on January 5, Zelenskiy said “up to a battalion” of Russian and North Korean soldiers were destroyed in Kursk region. Russia has been deploying Pyongyang troops in Kursk since Ukraine’s incursion into the region in early August.
