Zelenskiy reports heavy Russian, North Korean losses in Kursk
- 5 January, 10:08
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in southern Russia.
“In the battles today and yesterday in the area of just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion worth of North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers. And this is tangible," Zelensky said, without providing any further details about Russia’s losses in Kursk. Russia deployed around 11,000 North Korean troops in its border Kursk region where Ukraine’s staged large-scale incursion in early August and captured swathes of lands. Kyiv last month reported that several thousands North Korean troops were killed or wounded in the battles in Kursk.
Battles in embattled Pokrovsk
Elsewhere in his speech on Saturday, Zelenskiy spoke about fierce battles along the 1,000-km frontline, particularly in Pokrovsk city in eastern Donetsk region.
“Fierce fighting continues along the entire front line as the situation is the hottest is in the Pokrovsk direction. The invaders continue to spare a huge number of their people in assaults. And I thank each of our units, all of our brigades, who are defending Ukrainian positions, ensuring that the invaders are being destroyed," Zelenskiy said. With a pre-war population of 60,000 people, Pokrovsk is a major logistics base and transport hub for Ukraine’s armed forces with multiple rail lines and roads intersecting in the city. Pokrovsk has been a major ground of battles since April last year when Ukrainian forces withdrew from Avdiivka in mid-February.
The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of launching terrorist attacks on a daily basis. "Every day we must support our army, all of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, remain pro-active in relations with partners not to lose ties and build new ones, as well as increase our own defense production and attract the required defense assistance," Zelenskiy stressed.
Peace talks with Russia
He also spoke about possible peace talks that will take place after the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump who has pledged to end the war as swiftly as possible.
"There will certainly be a lot of diplomacy this year, and Ukraine more than anyone else wants peace. Real diplomacy – the kind we need – can only be based on our strong positions: certainly, our Army, all our people, our state," the Ukrainian president concluded.
It should be noted that earlier on Saturday, Russian Defence Ministry claimed ATACMS missile attack on its border Belgorod region.
