Two wounded North Korean troopers have been captured as prisoners of struggle by Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned on Saturday.
The 2 males are receiving “essential medical help” and are within the custody of the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv, in response to Zelensky.
The president mentioned he was “grateful” to Ukrainian paratroopers and troopers from the Particular Operation Forces for capturing the North Koreans.
He added that “this was not a simple job”, claiming that Russian and North Korean troopers normally execute wounded North Koreans “to erase any proof of North Korea’s involvement within the struggle in opposition to Ukraine”.
The Ukrainian intelligence service mentioned in an announcement that the prisoners had been captured on 9 January and instantly after had been “supplied with all the required medical care as stipulated by the Geneva Conference” and brought to Kyiv.
“They’re being held in acceptable situations that meet the necessities of worldwide regulation,” the intelligence service’s assertion learn.
The intelligence service mentioned the prisoners don’t converse Ukrainian, English or Russian, “so communication with them is carried out by interpreters of Korean, in cooperation with South Korean NIS (Nationwide Intelligence Service)”.
In an announcement posted on Telegram and X, Zelensky mentioned the troopers had been “speaking to SBU investigators” and he had instructed the Safety Service of Ukraine to grant journalists entry to them.
“The world must know the reality about what is going on,” he added.
Zelensky additionally posted 4 images alongside his assertion. Two present wounded males. One of many photographs confirmed a crimson Russian army card.
The place of origin on the doc is given as Turan, within the Tuva Republic, which is near Mongolia.
The intelligence service mentioned that when the prisoners had been captured, one of many troopers had a Russian army ID card issued within the identify of one other individual with registration within the Tuva Republic. The opposite had no paperwork in any respect.
The intelligence service mentioned that in interrogation, the soldier with the ID card instructed safety personnel that he had been issued the doc in Russia in the course of the autumn of 2024.
He’s alleged to have said that at the moment, a few of North Korea’s fight items had one-week interoperability coaching.
“It’s noteworthy that the prisoner…emphasises that he was allegedly going for coaching, to not struggle a struggle in opposition to Ukraine,” the SBU assertion mentioned.
The intelligence service reported that he mentioned he was born in 2005 and had been serving North Korea as a rifleman since 2021.
The second prisoner is reported to have given a few of his solutions in writing as a result of he had an injured jaw, in response to SBU. The intelligence service mentioned it believed he was born in 1999 and had been serving North Korea as a scout sniper since 2016.
The Geneva Conference states that the questioning of prisoners ought to be carried out in a language they perceive and prisoners should be protected in opposition to public curiosity.
Zelensky’s workplace mentioned in an announcement that the Russians “are attempting to cover the truth that these are troopers from North Korea by giving them paperwork claiming they’re from Tuva or different territories underneath Moscow’s management”.
“However these individuals are truly Koreans, they’re from North Korea,” the assertion from the president’s workplace mentioned.
In 2014, Russian forces working in Ukraine – regardless of Kremlin denials – had been despatched with out figuring out markings on their uniforms.
Final 12 months, when President Vladimir Putin was requested about Russia utilizing North Korean troops in its struggle on Ukraine, he didn’t deny it. He mentioned it was Russia’s “sovereign determination”.
In December, South Korea’s intelligence company reported that a North Korean soldier believed to have been the primary to be captured whereas supporting Russia’s struggle in Ukraine had died after being taken alive by Ukrainian forces.
Individually, the White Home mentioned North Korean forces had been experiencing mass casualties.
The Safety Service of Ukraine mentioned it “is at the moment conducting the required investigative measures to determine all of the circumstances of the DPRK army’s participation in Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine”.
“The investigation is being carried out underneath the procedural steerage of the Prosecutor Basic’s Workplace underneath Article 437 of the Felony Code of Ukraine (planning, preparation, unleashing and waging an aggressive struggle).”