Ukrainian forces have captured two North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday.
The capture follows Ukraine’s recent push in Kursk, building on its surprise cross-border raid last August, when Ukrainian forces overwhelmed Russian border guards and seized several towns and villages in the region.
Despite the involvement of North Korean troops, brought in by Russian President Vladimir Putin to bolster Russian forces, Moscow has struggled to reclaim the lost ground.
Zelenskyy confirmed that the two North Korean soldiers, who are wounded, are receiving “necessary medical assistance.” They are currently in the custody of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) in Kyiv.
The SBU described the prisoners as “irrefutable evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine” in a separate post on Telegram.
As the soldiers do not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, communication with them is being facilitated through Korean translators with the help of South Korean officials, the SBU added.
Zelenskyy emphasized the difficulty of capturing the soldiers, noting that Russian and North Korean forces typically eliminate their wounded to prevent any evidence of foreign participation in the conflict.
