Ukraine battle briefing: Ukraine ‘captures two North Korean troopers in Russia’ | Ukraine

Ukraine has mentioned it was interrogating two North Korean troopers after capturing the pair in Russia’s Kursk area – the primary time it has introduced the seize of North Korean troopers alive since their entry into the battle final 12 months. The president, Volodymyr Zelensyy, mentioned on X on Saturday the troopers had been captured by Ukraine’s particular forces and had been being interrogated by the SBU home intelligence company in Kyiv. The SBU launched a video displaying the 2 males in hospital bunks, one with bandaged palms and the opposite with a bandaged jaw. It mentioned their questioning was being completed in Korean with the assistance of South Korea’s NIS intelligence company. Neither Russia nor North Korea instantly reacted to the announcement.

The SBU mentioned the 2 captured North Korean males had instructed interrogators they had been skilled military troopers, and one mentioned he was despatched to Russia for coaching, to not combat. It mentioned one PoW carried a Russian navy ID card “issued within the title of one other particular person” whereas the opposite had no paperwork. The SBU confirmed an ID issued to a 26-year-old man from Russia’s Tyva area bordering Mongolia, including that he was a rifleman born in 2005 and had been within the North Korean military since 2021. The opposite man, who wrote his solutions due to his injured jaw, mentioned he was born in 1999, had joined the military in 2016 and was a scout sniper, the SBU mentioned.

South Korea’s intelligence company on Sunday backed up Ukraine’s account of getting captured the troopers. The NIS mentioned it has “confirmed that the Ukrainian navy captured two North Korean troopers on 9 January within the Kursk battlefield in Russia”. It equally mentioned one of many captured troopers revealed throughout his interrogation that he acquired navy coaching from Russia after arriving there in November. The soldier mentioned North Korean forces had skilled “vital losses throughout battle”, NIS mentioned. Based on the NIS, one of many males “went with out meals or water for 4 to 5 days earlier than being captured”.

Zelensyy mentioned it was troublesome to seize North Koreans alive as a result of “Russians and different North Korean troopers end off their wounded” to cowl up “proof of the participation of one other state, North Korea, within the battle”. He mentioned he would supply media entry to the prisoners of battle as a result of “the world must know what is going on”. Ukraine’s overseas minister, Andriy Sybiga, wrote on-line: “We want most strain in opposition to regimes in Moscow and Pyongyang.”

Russia mentioned its military had gained management of a village close to the japanese Ukrainian logistical centre of Pokrovsk, a key goal in its advance by means of the Donetsk area. Ukraine’s navy made no point out of the village of Shevchenko in its newest account of frontline exercise, however mentioned Russia had launched greater than 50 assaults in opposition to its forces’ positions close to Pokrovsk previously 24 hours. The Russian navy report mentioned its troops launched strikes with plane, drones and missiles on Ukrainian navy airfields and vitality infrastructure that service its military. Ukraine’s common employees mentioned its forces repelled 46 of 56 Russian assaults round a couple of dozen cities within the Pokrovsk sector. Ten clashes had been persevering with. The governor of the a part of Donetsk area held by Ukrainian forces, Vadym Filashkin, mentioned one resident was killed and 4 injured when a village north of Pokrovsk got here below Russian shelling.

Russia launched 74 drones at Ukraine in a single day, Kyiv’s air pressure mentioned early on Saturday, including it had downed 47 of them, whereas 27 others disappeared from radar with out reaching their targets. The air pressure mentioned buildings and autos in seven completely different areas had been broken by falling particles from downed drones, however there have been no casualties.

Ukraine launched drone assaults throughout a number of areas of Russia, hanging two homes within the Tambov area and injuring a number of folks, Russia mentioned on Saturday. Ukraine denies attacking civilian targets in Russia. The regional head, Evgeny Pervyshov, mentioned on Telegram that individuals had been handled for injures ensuing from shattered home windows as drones hit two homes within the city of Kotovsk, 480km (300 miles) south-east of Moscow. The Russian defence ministry mentioned it intercepted and destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones in a single day in a number of areas of the nation, together with 31 drones over the Black Sea, 16 every within the Voronezh and Krasnodar areas and 14 over the Azov Sea.

Vladimir Putin awarded Russia’s highest honour for bravery on Saturday to Cpl Andrei Grigoryev after a broadly posted video confirmed him killing a Ukrainian opponent in hand-to-hand fight. Ukrainian media recognized the soldier killed as Dmytro Maslovsky from the southern Odesa area.