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Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers and transported them to Kyiv for questioning in what the country’s security services say is “irrefutable evidence” of Pyongyang’s involvement with Russia.
Both soldiers were captured on 9 January in the Russian border region of Kursk. Another North Korean soldier was captured last month but died from their wounds shortly after being detained.
The Ukrainian security service, known as the SBU, said one of the two latest soldiers captured had fake Russian identification documents. The other had none at all.
Russia and North Korea both deny their soldiers are working together in Kursk. The US, Ukraine, UK and South Korea have all said they believe otherwise.
Communication with the two prisoners is being done through translators and in cooperation with South Korean intelligence.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, posting pictures of the two prisoners of war, said “the world needs to know the truth about what is happening”.
Meanwhile, the Russian military claimed to have taken control of the town of Shevchenko in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, located near the outskirts of the city of Pokrovsk.
The city is a key defensive position protecting the wider region. Ukrainian war trackers suggested the town had been, if not occupied, almost completely captured.
Mapped: Ukraine’s assault in Kursk
Tom Watling12 January 2025 02:25
Did sending aid to Ukraine leave LA Fire Department unprepared?
Cali wildfires: Did sending aid to Ukraine leave LA Fire Department unprepared?
As the worst wildfires in LA’s history continue to ravage the city, Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk suggested that the fires have been worsened by the LA Fire Department’s aid to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion, depleting local resources. This theory, gaining millions of views, claims surplus equipment sent to Ukraine left LA unprepared. Ivan O’Neill, co-founder of Wuuii and certified wildfire mitigation specialist, told The Independent that ‘this equipment had nothing to do with the outcome in Los Angeles.’ He added, ‘as soon as you have more than 10 houses burning on a block, your fire hydrants are going to run dry, no matter how much water you have.’
Tom Watling12 January 2025 01:52
Mapped: Russia’s advance in Donetsk
Tom Watling12 January 2025 00:52
Mapped: Ukraine-Russia frontline
Tom Watling12 January 2025 00:00
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
Tom Watling11 January 2025 22:52
Ukrainian family learns son is alive after nearly 3 years of captivity
Tom Watling11 January 2025 21:52
Estonia steps up patrols in the icy Baltic Sea in a show of force after suspected cable sabotage
Tom Watling11 January 2025 20:52
North Korea benefiting from troops fighting in Russia, US warns
Tom Watling11 January 2025 19:52
Shadow fleet of tankers keeps Russia’s oil money flowing despite Western sanctions
Tom Watling11 January 2025 18:52
UK and US sanction two Russian oil firms
Tom Watling11 January 2025 17:52
