Zelenskyy Says Russian, North Korean Troops Suffer Heavy Losses Following Battles In Kursk Region

Ukrainian and Western assessments show that around 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Source : PTI

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that over the past two days, battles near the village of Makhnovka in Russia's southern Kursk region, Russian and North Korean forces suffered heavy losses in fighting. In a nightly address, Zelenskyy stated that the Commander-in-Chief provided a detailed briefing on the ongoing actions at the front, highlighting the fierce battles along the entire front line, with the most intense fighting near Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian and Western assessments show that around 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold significant territory following a large-scale cross-border incursion in August.

The Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi briefed the Ukrainian president regarding the actions at the front. “Fierce battles continue along the entire front line, with the hottest spot being near Pokrovsk. The occupier continues to waste an insane number of its people in assaults. And I thank each and every one of our units, all our brigades defending Ukrainian positions and eliminating the occupier,” Zelenskyy said, according to ANI.

"In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops," Zelenskiy said. "This is significant," he further said, as per Reuters.

The president provided no specific details, according to Reuters. A battalion can vary in size but is generally made up of several hundred troops.

While speaking about Russian strikes in the Sumy and Kharkiv region, Zelenskyy said, rescue operations are underway in Svesa, a town in the Sumy region after the strikes. During which, a residential building was hit which destroyed an entire section of “apartments from the first to the fifth floors”. Several neighbouring buildings were also damaged.  

“Yet another Russian attack on the lives of ordinary Ukrainian families. Seven people were injured, including a child, and a two-year-old girl. She's currently in the hospital. All the victims are receiving the necessary assistance," said the Ukrainian president.

On Saturday, there were strikes with guided aerial bombs on villages in the Sumy region, including Myropillia and Vilna Sloboda, as well as on the Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, the rescue operation in Chernihiv has concluded after a missile strike, which destroyed or damaged more than forty buildings. This left one dead in Chernihiv.