North Korean soldiers opened fire on Russian forces in the Kursk region, the UNIAN agency reported, citing Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky.
He spoke with a Russian prisoner of war captured by the ZSU in the Kursk region. The Russian soldier said that the incident happened near the village of Glushkovo, near the Ukrainian border. “We cannot talk to them. "They started shooting at us, they took us for enemies," said the captured Russian soldier.
In his words, among the Russian army there is dissatisfaction with the deployment of North Korean troops at the front, but the Russian military command does not respond to the complaints.
According to US estimates, there are up to 12,000 North Korean servicemen in Russia, with 10,000 of them in the Kursk region, DPA reported, citing a statement by Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder, BTA reported.
"If these troops engage in combat support operations against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets," Ryder said yesterday, echoing what US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week. Ryder said the Pentagon is "exploring" the reports of alleged North Korean combat operations.
According to official data, North Korean servicemen arrived in Russia last month. Moscow's forces trained them in infantry and artillery tactics, trench clearing and drone operation, Washington said. The Russians have provided the North Korean troops with Russian uniforms and equipment.
"All indications are that they will provide some sort of combat capability or combat support,'' Ryder said in a statement. "We fully expect that the Ukrainians will do what is necessary to protect themselves and their personnel," the Pentagon spokesman added.
The first North Korean troops came under fire in Russia's Kursk region, Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Center for countering disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, announced yesterday, as quoted by Ukrinform.
11,000 North Korean troops are now deployed in Russia's Kursk region to assist Kremlin forces trying to push Ukrainian forces out of Russian territory bordering Ukraine, AFP and Ukrinform reported, citing a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky . "There are already 11,000 in the Kursk region. We are seeing an increase in the number of North Koreans, but no increase in response from our partners" from the West, Zelensky emphasized in his daily address. He announced that he also held a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Sirsky, and with the Chief of the General Staff, Anatoly Barilevich.