Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia has again deployed North Korean troops to Kursk Oblast, resulting in new assault attempts in the region.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported a day earlier that North Korean troops deployed to support Russia’s war against Ukraine have not participated in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast since mid-January 2025.
“There were new assaults in the Kursk operation areas – the Russian army brought in North Korean soldiers again,” Zelenskyy said in his address on 7 February.
He said that Ukrainian forces eliminated “hundreds of Russian and North Korean military personnel” in the area.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi briefed Zelenskyy on the situation in both Donetsk and Kursk oblasts, according to the president’s address.
“This is very important – fighting on Russian territory to prevent increased pressure on our cities, our land,” Zelenskyy said.
The president revealed that Russia has stationed 60,000 troops in the Kursk Oblast. These forces, he said, “have not been added to the already significant occupying forces in Pokrovsk and other directions of our Donetsk Oblast.”
The United States, South Korea, and Ukraine estimated 10,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops arrived in Russia in October. Moscow and Pyongyang never confirmed their direct participation in combat.
Ukraine reported capturing two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk Oblast on 11 January. South Korean intelligence confirmed this capture, citing one prisoner’s account of “significant” casualties among North Korean soldiers. The captured soldier reported going without food and water for four-five days before his capture.
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