North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with troops during an inspection at a military training base at an undisclosed location in North Korea, October 2, 2024
Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky Calls For “Massive Reaction” To Russia’s “Massive Attacks”
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1807 GMT:
Two Russian tankers carrying oil products have sunk in the Black Sea near Ukraine.
The cargo ship Volgoneft-212 broke in half after it was hit by a large wave off the east coast of Russia-occupied Crimea, 5 miles from the Kerch Strait.
The 55-year-old tanker was carrying 4,300 tons of mazut, a low-grade heavy fuel oil.
Shortly afterwards, another cargo transporter, the Volgoneft-239, sank with 4 tons of fuel oil.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukraine Navy, said, “These are quite old Russian tankers. You can’t go to sea in such a storm. The Russians violated the operating rules. The result is an accident.”
UPDATE 1400 GMT:
Ukraine military intelligence has reportedly attacked Russian logistic routes in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine.
An attack with US-supplied HIMARS rockets hit a supply train moving with 40 fuel tanks.
L’#SBU taglia le rotte logistiche dei russi:
è stato distrutto il treno di rifornimento, nella regione di Zaporizhja, mentre con 40 cisterne di carburante era in movimento.Quando si fermò è stato raggiunto con HIMARS colpendo la locomotiva+ portando al termine la missione… pic.twitter.com/sWDQCaR1SO
— VADYM (@VadymVietrov) December 15, 2024
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says a “significant number” of North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside Russian forces.
In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said the North Koreans are on the frontline in the Kursk region in western Russia, part of which has been held by Ukraine since a cross-border incursion on August 6.
Ukrainian, South Korean, and US officials have estimated that around 11,000 North Koreans are deployed in Russia, most of them in Kursk.
Zelensky said:
Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults — a significant number of them.
The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk Oblast.
Losses among these North Korean troops are already noticeable.
Citing Vladimir Putin’s expansion of his 33 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine — “he wants the world to face additional problems in Asia as well” — the President warned, “Whenever there is no firm global response, Russia exacerbates the war. It has always been this way.”
Preliminary data indicates that Russia has begun using a significant number of North Korean soldiers in its assaults. These troops are being integrated into combined units and deployed in operations within the Kursk region. For now, their involvement is limited to this area, but… pic.twitter.com/7vBp4VAJlR
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 14, 2024
Ukraine: North Koreans Kill Russians in “Friendly Fire” Incident
North Korean troops in Kursk killed eight members of a Russian unit in a “friendly fire” attack, claims Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR.
HUR said a group of North Korean soldiers opened fire on members of a Chechen Akhmat unit.
The agency HUR said the incident was the result of the language barrier between Russian and North Korean troops.
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