Ukraine says it has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia
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Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia's Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. The injured pair are now in Kyiv and communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine, the country's domestic intelligence agency, he said.
Ukrainian special forces and paratroopers captured the North Koreans, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on X. "As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance," he said. "I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to grant journalists access to these prisoners.
"The world needs to know the truth about what is happening.". Mr Zelenskyy said capturing the soldiers alive was "not easy". He also claimed Russian and North Korean forces fighting in Kursk have tried to conceal the presence of North Korean soldiers, including by killing wounded comrades on the battlefield to avoid their capture and interrogation by Ukraine.
The post included images of the two men - one with a bandage around his jaw and the other around both hands and wrists - and what appeared to be a Russian military document. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. . Ukraine's security service SBU on Saturday provided further details.
It said one of those detained had no documents at all, while the other had been carrying a Russian military ID card in the name of a man from Tuva, a Russian region bordering Mongolia. "The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian, so communication with them takes place through Korean translators in cooperation with South Korean intelligence," a statement said.
