Russia for the first time officially recognized the participation of North Korean military personnel in the war against Ukraine.
This was stated by the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valeriy Gerasimov, in a report to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"The DPRK troops, acting side by side with the Russian military in the Kursk region, showed resilience and heroism," Gerasimov said.
Previously, Russia did not recognize the participation of North Koreans in the war, only talking about "strengthening cooperation" with the DPRK. The participation of North Koreans in the war against Ukraine was confirmed by Western intelligence services and South Korean intelligence. Two soldiers from the DPRK were captured by Ukrainian forces.
Gerasimov also said that the Russian military allegedly “completely liberated” the Kursk region from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But in the morning briefing, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops continue to hold back the Russians in the Kursk region — there were 30 battles there on April 25.
Official map of the fighting in Kursk as of April 25, 2025.
Gerasimov separately praised the DPRK servicemen. He emphasized that they took an active part in the liberation of Kursk and showed "professionalism and coordination". And the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova added that Russia "will never forget its Korean friends".
Participation of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24, 2024, that the first soldiers from the DPRK had already arrived at the front — in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12 000 soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals.
In late December 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3 000 soldiers from the DPRK had already been killed or wounded. South Korean intelligence estimates that 300 soldiers were killed and nearly 2 700 were wounded in the war.
Zelensky first reported on December 27, 2024, that the Defense Forces had captured North Korean soldiers, but then they died of wounds. The North Korean soldiers were captured for the second time in January 2025. Ukraine is ready to exchange them for its own soldiers.
In March, it became known that in January and February, North Korea sent at least 3 000 additional soldiers to Russia for the war against Ukraine. They took an active part in the fighting in Kursk.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky informed about a new Russian offensive in Kursk on February 7. In early March, Russian propaganda actively promoted theses about the mass retreat of Ukrainian troops in Kursk and their encirclement by the Russian army.
- On March 14, the US President Donald Trump repeated Russian propaganda — he said that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were currently completely surrounded by the Russian army and “in a very bad and vulnerable situation”. The General Staff denied the statement about the encirclement. In general, Ukraine confirmed the significant advance of the Russians in the region — this is visible on the official maps of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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