Comments come after Ukrainian forces detained two North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region who have since reportedly been sent to Kyiv for questioning.
A spokesperson for the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has said the arrest of two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region is “indisputable evidence” of Pyongyang’s involvement in the war.
The two unnamed men were captured by Ukrainian forces and have since reportedly been sent to Kyiv for questioning.
“They are held in proper conditions that meet the requirements of international law. The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian, so communication with them takes place through Korean interpreters in cooperation with South Korean NIS. At the time of his capture, one of the foreigners had a Russian military ID card issued in the name of another person registered in the Republic of Tuva,” said Artem Dekhtyarenko.
He also said that both men were receiving “full medical care”.
In his nightly video address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the two North Koreans are being questioned by investigators with the help of Korean translators.
Zelenskyy said their capture was “not easy”, claiming that Russian and North Korean forces have tried to conceal the presence of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield, including by killing wounded comrades to avoid their capture and interrogation by Kyiv.
“Both are alive and have already been brought to Kyiv. Now these two are…talking to SSU investigators,” he said.
Zelenskyy went on to say their presence is proof of Russia, “doing everything to prolong and escalate the war.”
There has been no comment from Pyongyang about the capture of the two soldiers but North Korea hasn’t publicly confirmed it has sent troops to support Russia’s war effort.
A senior Ukrainian military official said last month that around 200 North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk have been killed or wounded in battle.
The official was providing the first significant estimate of North Korean casualties, which came several weeks after Ukraine announced that Pyongyang had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in its almost 3-year war against its much smaller neighbour.
The White House and Pentagon last month confirmed that the North Korean forces have been battling on the front lines in largely infantry positions. They have been fighting with Russian units and, in some cases, independently around Kursk.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy spoke to outgoing US President Joe Biden following the announcement of a new sanctions package on Russia’s critically important energy sector, according to Zelenskyy’s Telegram account.
The sanctions target more than 180 oil-carrying vessels that are suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilized by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions, as well as Russian energy majors, traders, oil field service firms and energy officials. Several of the vessels targeted are also suspected of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil, according to the Treasury Department.
“It is very important that America has now struck at Russia’s shadow tanker fleet and at companies such as Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, which accumulate money for Putin personally. He must feel the price of his war, losing from his wallets,” Zelenskyy said, referencing two Russian energy giants blacklisted along with dozens of subsidiaries.
In response to the sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “Washington’s hostile actions will not go unanswered,” but did not provide details of any planned countermeasures.
Cross-border strikes
And in Russia, Ukrainian drones slammed into apartment blocks in western Tambov province overnight, blowing out windows and damaging balconies in two five-story blocks, acting regional Governor Yegveniy Pervyshov said.
There were injuries, he said, without giving details.
Russia shot down 85 Ukrainian drones, mostly targeting the south and west, the Defence Ministry reported on Saturday.
At the same time, Russia attacked Ukraine with 74 drones overnight into Saturday, according to Ukraine’s air force.
