Several North Korean troops fighting for Russia were killed in a gun and drone battle in Kursk, shortly after Ukraine launched a fresh incursion in the border region.
Ukraine's Special Operations Forces announced on Tuesday that 13 North Korean soldiers were killed in Kursk.
Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Ukraine's Special Operations Forces' photos of the aftermath of the battle in Kursk, where Kyiv launched a surprise offensive over the border in August 2024, serve as further evidence that Pyongyang has deployed an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 servicemen to southern Russia to fight Ukrainian forces.
The soldiers, some of whom are thought to belong to Pyongyang's special forces, were sent by Kremlin ally Kim Jong Un, arrived in the country in October 2024, and were assessed to have entered combat in early December.
What To Know
In a post on social media on Tuesday, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said soldiers from its 8th Separate Special Operations Regiment killed eight North Korean troops using drones, and five in a gunbattle.
After the battle, the Ukrainian soldiers went through their personal items and documents, and found a drone detector, an assault rifle with a collimator sight, and a Chinese-Russian Azart radio station.
On Saturday, slightly before reports of a renewed offensive in Kursk by Ukraine emerged, Zelensky said in a video address that over the course of a few days, "near just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops. This is significant."
A battalion can include as many as 1,000 soldiers.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in December that North Korean troops had been killed in Ukraine.
Who Said What
Ukrainian President Zelensky on X, formerly Twitter, said late on Monday: "Today marks exactly five months since the start of our actions in the Kursk region, and we continue to maintain a buffer zone on Russian territory, actively destroying their military potential there. During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost over 38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses.
"The Russians have deployed their strongest units to Kursk, including soldiers from North Korea. Importantly, all this manpower cannot now be redirected to other fronts—neither to the Donetsk region, nor against Sumy, the Kharkiv region, or Zaporizhzhia.
"I thank all our warriors who are bringing the war back home—to Russia—and giving Ukraine more security and strength."
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in December: "We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk, with Russia, alongside Russian forces. We do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded...As we've said all along, those forces are legitimate military targets for the Ukrainians given that they are engaged in active combat ops,"
What Happens Next
As battles continue in Kursk, and Russia attempts to roll back Ukrainian control in the region, the reported casualty counts of both Russian and North Korean soldiers, as well as Ukrainian troops, will very likely climb.
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