North Korean troops taken off Russian frontline after heavy losses, says Ukraine

According to Ukrainian military officials, North Korean troops who had previously fought alongside Russia on the Kursk front have "withdrawn." Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, stated that in the past three weeks, Ukrainian forces have not "seen or detected any activity or military engagement involving North Koreans."

Kindratenko believes, "We believe they were withdrawn due to suffering significant losses." This deployment of North Korean troops, while never officially confirmed by either Russia or North Korea, occurred after Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive in the Kursk region in August.

Approximately three weeks ago, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy claimed that two wounded North Korean soldiers were captured in the Kursk region and transported to Kyiv. Zelenskyy stated in late December that Ukraine had captured several severely wounded North Korean soldiers who later died. Ukrainian officials also indicated that wounded North Korean soldiers preferred to detonate grenades to commit suicide rather than be taken alive.

According to Ukrainian and Western analysts, North Korean soldiers were first deployed to Russia in October to support Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with an estimated 11,000 troops. The Kremlin has declined to comment on the matter. "There are many different arguments, both correct and incorrect," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday. "It is not worth commenting on every time," he said.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian military also stated on Friday that its drones had attacked a large oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd region, causing explosions and fires. The military said in a statement that it would continue to target Russia's strategic infrastructure to undermine Moscow's ability to continue the war in Ukraine. Last week, Ukrainian drone strikes forced a refinery in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, to suspend operations.