Russian paramilitaries were mistakenly targeted and killed North Korean forces In a final round of friendly fire, according to Ukrainian officials.
In a statement published on Saturday, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (DIU) explained how to do this Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK soldiers recently assisted Russian forces in the Kursk Oblast region currently occupied by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials estimate that about 11,000 DPRK soldiers are stationed in Russia.
“The aggressor state of Russia began to use DPRK soldiers in offensive operations in the Kursk region, in particular, as part of the combined units of the Marines and Airborne Forces of the Russian Armed Forces,” the statement said.
“North Korean forces are suffering irreversible health losses as a result of a successful fire attack by Ukrainian security and defense forces,” the DIU added. “In particular, at one location in the Kursk region, the DPRK army was effectively targeted by FPV drones.”
A view of dragon teeth and barbed wire built to create a defensive line around Sumy as seen in Sumy, Ukraine on November 6, 2024. (Oksana Parafenyuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In a recent incident, a language barrier between Russian and North Korean forces ultimately led to the deaths of eight soldiers in the Akhmat Special Forces Unit, a paramilitary group in Chechnya, the DIU noted.
“When using DPRK forces on the battlefield, the language barrier remains a problem in controlling and coordinating actions,” the statement said.
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Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (left) meets with his North Korean counterpart No Kwang Chol (right) in Pyongyang, North Korea, on November 29, 2024. (Russian Ministry of Defense/Vadim Savitsky/Bulletin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Because of this problem, North Korean soldiers fired ‘friendly fire’ at the vehicles of the so-called Akhmat Battalion,” the DIU added. “As a result, they killed eight Kadyrov soldiers.”
This latest development in the Russo-Ukrainian war came as the Russian army continued To hit Ukraine's power grid, Taking advantage of freezing conditions to destroy the country's largest energy company.
This photo taken on October 18, 2023 shows North Korean soldiers waving their national flags as they greet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after he landed at Pyongyang airport. (Kim Won-jin/AFP via Getty Images)
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In one of the largest mass attacks ever on Ukraine's power grid, Russian forces launched nearly 100 missiles, including cruise missiles, and 200 drones across western Ukraine on Friday. According to the Kyiv Independent newspaper.
Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFaul contributed to this report.
