Zelenskiy indicates significant troop losses for both Russian and North Korean forces in Russia’s Kursk region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Saturday that both Russian and North Korean troops experienced significant casualties during clashes in Russia‘s southern Kursk region. According to assessments from Ukrainian and Western sources, approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in the Kursk area, where Ukrainian forces have gained control over large territories following a major cross-border operation in August.

In his evening video address, Zelenskiy referenced a report from top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, indicating that the confrontations occurred near the village of Makhnovka, close to the Ukrainian border.

“During the battles yesterday and today near the village of Makhnovka in the Kursk region, the Russian military suffered losses equivalent to up to a battalion of North Korean infantry and Russian paratroopers,” Zelenskiy stated. “This is a considerable loss.” He did not provide specific figures, noting that a battalion typically consists of several hundred soldiers.

Last week, Zelenskiy had reported substantial losses among North Korean forces in the Kursk region, highlighting that they were not receiving adequate protection from the Russian troops they were allied with. He mentioned that North Korean soldiers were resorting to drastic measures to evade capture, with some reportedly facing execution by their own commanders. In his recent comments, Zelenskiy also noted that “intense fighting” has been ongoing along the entire 1,000-km (620-mile) front line, particularly in the area surrounding the city of Pokrovsk.

Russian forces, according to him, are “continuing to expend vast numbers of their own personnel in assaults.” A spokesperson for the Ukrainian military previously indicated that Pokrovsk is the “hottest” frontline area, with Russian troops initiating new offensives near the town to attempt to circumvent it from the south and sever supply lines to Ukrainian forces.

The city, which hosts a mine that was the only source of coking coal for Ukraine’s once-thriving steel industry, had a pre-war population of approximately 60,000. Ukraine estimates that around 11,000 residents still remain in the city.