Ukrainian troops have inflicted a staggering number of casualties on North Korea’s army in Kursk, as fierce fighting continues to rage in the region.
Last week, Ukrainian forces launched a new offensive in the border region with Russia, in an attempt to resize the initiative on the battlefield.
Vladimir Putin‘s army has been desperately trying to regain territory that Kyiv’s forces initially seized in early August.
The Kremlin has amassed an army of some 50,000 troops in the region, including around 10,000 North Koreans.
In the latest fighting, Russian commanders are reported to have redeployed North Korean soldiers from positions near Novoivanovka and Kruglenkoe to the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye.
The village is a key objective for Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces as they seek to penetrate further into strategic areas.
The settlement’s capture would solidify Ukraine‘s hold over the new salient, complicating Russian logistics and making counteroffensives even costlier and less effective.
North Korean soldiers were sent to attack fortified Ukrainian positions in a series of “meat assaults”.
Equipped with advanced drone surveillance and electronic warfare systems, Ukrainian units intercepted the counterattacks with surgical precision, inflicting heavy casualties on Kim’s troops.
Video footage of the battle shows a Ukrainian Stryker armoured fighting vehicle, operated by the 80th Air Assault Brigade, physically running over enemy soldiers after exhausting its ammunition.
In another gruesome clip, a line of around 20 dead North Koreans awaiting evacuation from the battlefield is filmed by a hovering drone.
It comes amid reports that North Korea’s army has suffered over 3,000 casualties since its deployment to the frontlines in Kursk.
A South Korean politician said on Monday that the country’s spy agency estimates around 300 North Koreans have died, while 2,700 have been injured.
This represent a huge increase from December, when Seoul’s National Intelligence Service claimed that 100 North Koreans had been killed in action, with about 1,000 wounded.
Two injured North Koreans were captured in Kursk over the weekend, according to Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president said he was “grateful” to Ukrainian paratroopers and soldiers from the Special Operation Forces for capturing the North Koreans.