Special Operations Forces operators killed 21 and wounded 40 North Korean soldiers as they attempted to break through Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
Points of attention
- SSO fighters successfully repelled an assault by 21 North Korean soldiers and wounded 40 enemy soldiers in Kursk.
- The militants used a variety of weapons and tactics to effectively operate against the enemy.
- Experts predict a further deterioration of the situation for the DPRK troops on the Russian side due to losses in battles.
- The Ukrainian military demonstrates high combat training and readiness to defend the territory from enemy aggression.
SSO showed repelling the assault of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region
Fighters of the 8th Regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with infantry units, held back the offensive of North Korean soldiers fighting on the side of Russia for over eight hours.
They used small arms, grenade launchers, and snipers to destroy the enemy.
By the ninth hour of the battle, the defenders had only a third of their ammunition left, the rest having been spent on destroying the enemy. In this regard, a decision was made to exfiltrate — the tactical withdrawal of the group from the battlefield to a safe place.
According to the SSO, the Ukrainian military left the combat area in an organized manner in two Humvee armored vehicles.
Casualties among North Korean soldiers are rising rapidly
The American Institute for the Study of War draws attention to the fact that North Korean troops fighting on the side of the Russian army in the Kursk region are suffering critically high losses.
If Russia does not intervene in this process in any way, the entire contingent of 12,000 military personnel could be killed or wounded by mid-April 2025.
According to the latest data, the DPRK troops are losing about 92 of their soldiers every day.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed in early January that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had already been killed or wounded.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service also shared its data. It claims that as of January 13, 2025, 300 North Koreans had been killed and another 2,700 had been injured.
According to the ISW team's forecast, the entire North Korean contingent of 12,000 soldiers could be destroyed by Ukrainian soldiers within the next 12 weeks.
