North Korean troops are struggling heavy losses throughout preventing in Russia’s Kursk area and dealing with logistical difficulties because of Ukrainian assaults, Ukraine’s army intelligence stated Thursday.
The intelligence company, recognized underneath its acronym GUR, stated Ukrainian strikes close to Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean items.
It stated North Korean troops additionally confronted provide points and even shortages of consuming water.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed and wounded within the preventing within the Kursk area.
It marked the primary important estimate by Ukraine of North Korean casualties a number of weeks after Kyiv introduced that North Korea had despatched 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to assist it within the virtually three-year conflict.
In the meantime, South Korea’s Yonhap information company reported early on Friday that the nation’s spy company stated an injured North Korean soldier had been captured alive.
The company appeared to confirmed earlier experiences that a North Korean soldier dispatched to struggle for Russia had been captured by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into the Kursk area in August, dealing a big blow to Russia’s status and forcing it to deploy a few of its troops from jap Ukraine, the place they had been urgent a slow-moving offensive.
The Russian military has been capable of reclaim some territory within the Kursk area, however has failed to totally dislodge Ukrainian troops.
Russia steps up assaults in Ukraine
On the similar time, Russia has sought to interrupt Ukraine’s resistance with waves of cruise missiles and drone strikes in opposition to Ukraine’s energy grid and different infrastructure.
The most recent assault on Christmas morning concerned 78 missiles and 106 drones hanging energy services, Ukraine’s air drive stated. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones and jammed 52 different drones.
On Thursday, Russia attacked Ukraine with 31 exploding drones. Twenty had been shot down and one other 11 did not attain their goal because of jamming, the Ukrainian air drive stated.
Russia launched a large missile and drone barrage focusing on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure on Wednesday, hanging a thermal energy plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated greater than 70 missiles and 100 assault drones had been used to strike Ukraine’s energy sources, in an announcement on X.
As a part of the every day barrage, Russian forces additionally struck a central market in Nikopol within the Dnipropetrovsk area with a drone, wounding eight folks, in keeping with native authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Thursday that Russia might once more hit Ukraine with the brand new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile that was first utilized in a Nov. 21 strike on the Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro.
Chatting with reporters, Putin stated Russia has just some Oreshnik missiles, however added that it would not hesitate to make use of them on Ukraine.
“We aren’t in a rush to make use of them, as a result of these are highly effective weapons meant for sure duties,” he stated. “However we would not exclude their use at the moment or tomorrow if mandatory.”
Putin stated Russia has launched serial manufacturing of the brand new weapon and reaffirmed a plan to deploy some Oreshnik missiles to Russia’s neighbour and ally Belarus, the place authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko advised reporters Thursday that his nation might host 10 or extra.
Vladimir Putin says his forces will regain full management of the western Kursk area, the place Ukrainian troops launched an offensive final summer time. However the Russian president, who held an annual press briefing in Moscow on Thursday, wouldn’t present a selected date.
Ukraine hit again with drone strikes of its personal. Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications stated the army struck a plant in Kamensk-Shakhtynsky in Russia’s southern Rostov area that produces propellant for ballistic missiles.
“This strike is a part of a complete marketing campaign to weaken the capabilities of the Russian armed forces to hold out terrorist assaults in opposition to Ukrainian civilians,” it stated in an announcement.
