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Ukrainian troops capture two North Korean soldiers

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 12 Jan 2025, 03:56 am Print

Ukrainian troops capture two North Korean soldiers North Korea

Ukrainian troops capture two North Korean soldiers. Photo Courtesy: Volodymyr Zelensky X page

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said two North Korean wounded soldiers were captured as prisoners of war by the Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

"Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region," the President wrote on X.

He said: "Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine."

He said capturing the soldiers was not an 'easy task'.

" Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine," he said.

The President thanked the Ukrainian Army for capturing the two soldiers.

"I am grateful to the soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as our paratroopers, who captured these two individuals," he said.

Giving an update on the status of the soldiers, he said they are receiving necessary medical assistance.

Zelenskyy said: "I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to grant journalists access to these prisoners. The world needs to know the truth about what is happening."

According to media reports,   some 11,000 North Korean troops were fighting for Russia against Ukrainian forces.

Meanwhile, one of the captured soldiers said he thought he was going for a training and not to fight a war.

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said one of the soldiers had a Russian military identification card in the name of another person registered in Russia, reported Yonhap news agency.

"It is noteworthy that the prisoner ... emphasizes that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine," the SBU said in a release as quoted by the news agency.

According to the UN monitoring mission in Ukraine, since February 2022, conflict there has killed more than 12,300 civilians, including more than 650 children, with at least 27,800 injured.

Over 700 medical facilities and 1,500 schools and colleges have also been damaged or destroyed.