Ukraine claims North Korean units suffering heavy losses in Russia’s Kursk region

North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region are facing heavy casualties and logistical challenges, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said Thursday (December 26).

Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency reported that Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka caused significant losses among North Korean units. The agency added that these troops are also struggling with supply chain issues, including shortages of drinking water.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that about 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Kursk region. This was Kyiv’s first detailed estimate of North Korean casualties since announcing that Pyongyang had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to aid its war effort.

The casualty figures come as the Biden administration pushes to expedite military aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.

Fighting in Kursk and beyond

Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August, a move that undermined Russia’s military prestige and forced it to redeploy troops from eastern Ukraine, where its offensive has been slow. While the Russian army has regained some ground in Kursk, it has not managed to fully expel Ukrainian forces.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued its aerial campaign against Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure with waves of cruise missiles and drones. On Christmas morning, Russia launched 78 missiles and 106 drones, striking power facilities, Ukraine’s air force said. Ukrainian defenses intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones, while jamming neutralized 52 other drones, it added.

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On Thursday, Russia launched 31 more exploding drones, with Ukraine claiming to have shot down 20 and jammed 11.

Russian strikes also hit a central market in Nikopol in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding eight people, local officials said.

Putin’s hypersonic missile warning

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned that Moscow could use its new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine. The missile, first deployed in a Nov. 21 strike on Dnipro, has entered serial production, Putin said.

“We aren’t in a rush to use them, because those are powerful weapons intended for certain tasks,” he said, adding that Russia could use them “today or tomorrow if necessary.” Putin also confirmed plans to deploy some Oreshnik missiles to Belarus, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying his country could host 10 or more.

Ukrainian counterstrikes

Ukraine has also stepped up its own strikes. On Thursday, Ukrainian forces targeted a plant in Kamensk-Shakhtynsky in Russia’s Rostov region that produces propellant for ballistic missiles, Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications said.

“This strike is part of a comprehensive campaign to weaken the capabilities of the Russian armed forces to carry out terrorist attacks against Ukrainian civilians,” the center said in a statement.

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The conflict, nearing its third year, shows no signs of abating as both sides ramp up military operations and escalate their rhetoric.

With inputs from agencies