North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia are using fake identification documents to hide the fact Moscow is using foreign forces in it’s war against Ukraine, Kyiv has claimed.
Ukrainian special forces said in a statement that they had recovered documents from three North Korean soldiers killed in the Russian border region of Kursk, which they said ID’d them as being Russian.
But the signatures on the documents are in Korean, which “indicates the real origin of these soldiers,” the statement added.
“This case once again confirms that Russia is resorting to any means to hide its losses on the battlefield and conceal foreign presence,” the statement said.
It comes as South Korean military officials alleged that around 1,100 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded since deploying to Russia to fight against Ukraine.
In a statement released on Monday, the South’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said: “We assess that North Korean troops, who have recently engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces, have suffered around 1,100 casualties.”
It’s difficult to feel festive, say Ukrainians marking third Christmas in UK
Ukrainians in the UK, marking their third Christmas away from home and another milestone since Russia’s invasion, have said it can be “difficult to be in a festive mood”.
Maria Romanenko, 32, left the Kyiv region for Manchester shortly after the Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022, alongside her Mancunian partner Jez.
The couple made a perilous journey to the Polish border, where they had to wait four days for confirmation that Maria would be allowed to enter the UK with Jez. They arrived on 2 March 2022.
Ms Romanenko, a reporter who is spending her third Christmas away from home, told the PA news agency: “Christmas has not been what it used to be for me since 2022 because Christmas, of course to me at least, means friends and family, and it’s also a time for celebration and a time for reflection.”
Namita Singh24 December 2024 02:57
What will it cost to defend Britain from a growing Russian threat?
Tom Watling24 December 2024 01:30
Where Putin’s forces are making gains on the frontline in east Ukraine
Tom Watling24 December 2024 00:01
Pope Francis calls for a ceasefire on all fronts in his prayer ahead of Christmas
Tom Watling23 December 2024 20:03
Divers due to check if one of the Black Sea Russian tankers is still spilling oil
Volunteers helping to clean up a major oil spill along Russia’s Black Sea coast appealed in a video released on Monday for President Vladimir Putin to urgently send federal aid, saying that they and local authorities were overwhelmed.
The pollution, which has coated sandy beaches at and around Anapa, a popular summer resort, has caused serious problems for seabirds and everything from dolphins to porpoises.
The oil is from two ageing tankers hit by a storm on 15 December. One of the vessels split in half, while the other ran aground.
On Thursday, Putin called the incident an ecological disaster and officials from Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry say over 10,000 people are now involved in the clean-up.
But a group of around 30 local volunteers, who filmed their appeal on a beach strewn with sacks full of polluted sand, told Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that they believed the scale of the disaster was too big for local authorities to cope and demanded Moscow send urgent help.
“The local authorities do not have the professional resources and technical means to neutralise the consequences of such a large-scale disaster and have been forced to compensate for the lack of manpower by using volunteers with shovels,” a spokesperson for the group said, reading out a list of demands.
He said professional clean-up workers needed to be sent in along with scientists specialising in pollution and veterinarians to treat seabirds. Russia, he said, should also appeal to other countries for help with equipment.
“This is a cry from the soul. Such a catastrophe cannot be defeated with shovels,” a female volunteer added in the same video appeal.
Tom Watling23 December 2024 18:09
North Korean troops likely to march in 2025 Moscow victory day parade, Kremlin aide says
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Monday that he thought it likely that North Korean soldiers would take part in next year’s Moscow’s Red Square parade to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
Ukraine says North Korean soldiers have fought on Russia’s side against Ukrainian troops trying to hold territory in Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops on its soil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June.
The pact includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.
Tom Watling23 December 2024 17:32
