Claimed image, from Ukrainian military, of a North Korea soldier in Kursk region in western Russia

Thursday’s Coverage: Biden Orders Surge of US Military Aid to Kyiv

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1303 GMT:

The Azerbaijani Presidency has refused assistance from the Chechen authorities after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane en route to Chechnya’s capital Grozny.

“Four sources close to the investigation” by Azerbaijani authorities and a US official have said that the plane, which crashed in Kazakhstan when it could not land in Chechnya, was hit by fire from a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system. Of the 62 passengers and five crew, 38 were killed.

Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday that the preliminary investigation showed the plane was subjected to “external physical and technical interference”.

“Azerbaijan does not need any assistance. Neither the state nor the citizens will accept such assistance….Azerbaijan demands recognition of the fact [that the plane was shot down], an apology, and payment of appropriate compensation,” a source from the Azerbaijani President said.

The Chechen administration, led by Vladimir Putin’s associate Ramzan Kadyrov, said all families of those killed and injured in the crash would be provided with financial aid and “all other assistance they need.”

Azerbaijani Airlines has cancelled flights to seven Russian cities. The Kazakh airline Qazaq Air is suspending flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg from December 28 to January 27.

UPDATE 1252 GMT:

The South Korean intelligence service has updated its report on the North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region in western Russia:

We confirmed through a friendly nation’s intelligence organization that a North Korean soldier, captured alive on 26 December, died a short while ago as his wounds worsened.

UPDATE 0947 GMT:

Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR claims it killed three Russian captains in a precision strike on a meeting of the command of Russia’s 4th Guards Military Base.

HUR said the gathering of officers and their vehicles was hit by a US-made HIMARS rocket, followed by Ukrainian drone strikes.

Video released by HUR shows drone footage of several vehicles parked near a road. There is a large explosion and then the apparent detonation of a cluster munition.

UPDATE 0930 GMT:

Six civilians were killed and six wounded by Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

Two civilians have been killed and two injured by a Russian drone strike on a multi-storey apartment building in Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Chasiv Yar is near the frontline of Russia’s 15-month offensive.

Another civilian was killed in Novoekonomichne near Pokrovsk.

Two people were slain and four injured by a guided bomb attack on the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

One civilian was killed and a home destroyed amid 169 attacks on the Sumy region in northern Ukraine.

Russia launched 24 drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Air defenses downed 13 of the UAVs, and the 11 others were lost because of electronic counter-measures.

One missile struck a factory in Zaporizhzhia city in southern Ukraine.

UPDATE 0820 GMT:

NATO has supported Finland and Estonia as they investigate possible Russian sabotage of a Baltic Sea cable.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte posted after a call with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal:

The Estlink-2 power cable went down just after noon on Wednesday. As the Estonian Government held an extraordinary meeting, Michal thanked Finnish counterpart Petteri Orpo: “We managed to act decisively and stop the suspected vessel for further investigation.”

Finnish authorities seized the Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker Eagle 5, which sailed from a Russian port, on suspicion of “aggravated sabotage”. They said four internet lines had also been broken or damaged.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, meeting the heads of national police and border guards, tweeted, “We must be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: South Korean intelligence has confirmed Ukrainian reports that an injured North Korean soldier has been captured fighting alongside Russian forces.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said in a statement on Friday: “Through real-time information sharing with an allied country’s intelligence agency, it has been confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured.”

A photo of the North Korean soldier is circulating on the Telegram platform. Details of his condition are unknown.

The Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi said special forces had captured the soldier in the Kursk region in western Russia.

South Korean, Ukrainian, and US intelligence estimate that around 11,000 North Koreans are deployed. Most are in Kursk, part of which has been held by Ukraine since a cross-border incursion on August 6.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR said on Thursday that North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses, including from strikes near Novoivnovka and facing logistical difficulties and supply issues such as shortages of drinking water.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that more than 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded. South Korean intelligence put the number at 1,100.

Russian Secrecy About Injured North Koreans

Pjotr Sauer of The Guardian reports on Russian efforts to hide the presence of the North Koreans, and how news is breaking through because of casualties among the troops.

Staff said that two dozen wounded North Korean soldiers were brought to a main hospitals in Kursk city at dusk last week. They were taken to a specially-designated floor, guarded by police, with access limited to translators and medical personnel.

A medic said:

We were told in the morning to prepare for a special type of patient.

We’d heard rumours that North Koreans were fighting there, but I didn’t believe it. No one had actually seen them before.

I thought it was all fake news until they arrived.

A second medic said communication with the North Koreans, most of whom had shrapnel injuries, was impossible without translators. Some looked “frightened and nervous”.

The North Korean troops have reportedly been given uniforms and fake IDs to disguise themselves as Yakuts and Buryats from eastern Russia.

The troops have been largely unnoticed in Kursk city, with about 500,000 people. Some residents questioned why Russians would need to rely on North Koreans to reclaim territory.

“I don’t think the North Koreans exist; our army is strong enough without them,” one told the Guardian.