North Korean casualties: Zelensky 4,000, NIS 3,000, U.S. Department of Defense 1,200
The gap in North Korean casualties in the Sumy region, a Russian border area, was 4,000 for Zelensky, 3,000 for NIS, and 1,200 for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The New York Times, which covered the fierce battle for Sumy, 6⁓20 miles inside the Russian border where the worst battle took place at the end, reported on the 13th that President Zelensky said to European countries, “This is one of our victories,” and “This operation sent a strong message to the world that Ukraine can do more than defend itself.”
AP reported on the 12th, “Ukrainian President Zelensky announced the number of North Korean dead or wounded at 4,000, but the U.S. estimates it at 1,200,” and “A Ukrainian soldier who witnessed the North Korean army in battle said that the North Korean army is well-trained and very systematic, and that they are more professional than the Russian army. The soldier spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss sensitive military issues.”
On the 14th, the Chosun Ilbo reported under the title, “Dead North Korean soldiers lie side by side in a field… “Fleeing ahead of the Russian army, becoming cannon fodder”>, that “The National Intelligence Service announced on the 13th that the number of casualties of North Korean soldiers deployed to the Kursk Front in Russia has reached approximately 3,000,” and that “According to the Ukrainian military media outlet Defense Express on the 12th (local time), the pro-Ukrainian international civic group InformNapalm released a video showing the bodies of approximately 20 North Korean soldiers killed in the Kursk region of Russia lying side by side in a field.”
The Chosun Ilbo reported that “the group said the video was delivered by Ukrainian troops on a combat mission in the Kursk region,” and that “the group said, “It shows the aftermath of a battle that took place in a village, and the North Korean army suffered significant losses as they were defeated.”
The New York Times reported on the 13th that “With the invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine aims to create a buffer zone to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city of Sumy, less than 20 miles from the Russian border,” and that “the Russians need to understand that they are using their best troops and their best reserves in this area,” Captain Oleksandr Shirshin (30), commander of the 47th Mechanized Brigade, told the NYT. “It’s a good thing, considering what they can do in other parts of Ukraine.”
The NYT reported the battle in the Sumy area with the headline “Ferocious fighting inside Russia, waves of tanks, drones, and North Korean troops coming in” and the subtitle “Ukrainian soldiers describe fierce clashes as Russian forces try to retake territory in the Kursk region, which could be key to final ceasefire talks.”
In a report on this area, which became the final battleground just before Trump’s inauguration, the New York Times reported that “Five months after Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Russia for the first time since World War II, the two countries are engaged in some of the most intense clashes of the war, fighting over territory and the levers of the dispute.” “The intensity of the fighting is reminiscent of the worst sieges in eastern Ukraine in the past three years, including in villages like Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which now evoke memories of massacres among soldiers on both sides.”
The New York Times article about the “body footage” is at the very end.
The New York Times reported that “Sergeant Oleksandr (46), an infantry platoon leader, said the massacre in Kursk was more horrific than anything he had seen since he enlisted in 2014.” He said, “You see, but you don’t fully understand where you are, and you see every day how many people we are destroying.”
The Times continued, “He compared himself to Bakhmut, a machine gunner who had to be replaced regularly because he couldn’t keep up with the rate of fire. “After laying down so many people for two hours, I couldn’t handle it mentally,” he said. “It’s the same here now,” he said, sharing cellphone footage showing the aftermath of the recent assault. “There were bodies strewn across the field, torn and twisted and piled up so many that you couldn’t count them.”
“The worst is for the infantry,” he told the Times. “When you’re sitting there, they’re coming at you, and everything’s flying at you.”
The Times continued, “The fighting in Russia’s Kursk region has huge implications for the region’s potential role in ceasefire negotiations,” and “Faced with the prospect of an unpredictable new U.S. president who vows to end the war quickly without specifying the terms, Ukraine hopes to use Russian territory as a bargaining chip.” In the battle zone, Ukrainian infantry platoon leader Sergeant Oleksandr continued, “The Russians have to take this territory at any cost, and we are pouring all our strength into defending this territory. We are holding, destroying, destroying, destroying — it’s so much that it’s hard to even comprehend.”
He and other soldiers, who asked to be identified only by their names or call signs, in accordance with military protocol, said the fighting had become much more intense than before as they attacked the North Korean infantry.
“The situation worsened significantly when the North Koreans started arriving,” Sergeant Oleksiy (30), the platoon leader, told the Times. “They are pressing our lines all at once, finding weak points and breaking through.”
The New York Times reported that “Ukrainian forces have been on the offensive for several days, trying to secure the area west of Sudza, a small Russian town about six miles from the border, which became the anchor of the Ukrainian army that seized about 200 square miles in August.” “The intensity of the fighting was visible on the road leading to the Russian border: tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles rolled by, and there was a steady stream of broken and exploded equipment. The Ukrainian invasion is aimed at creating a buffer zone to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians in Sumy, less than 20 miles from the Russian border.”
“You have to understand that the Russians are using their best troops and their best reserves in this area,” Captain Oleksandr Shirshin (30), a battalion commander with the 47th Mechanized Brigade, told the New York Times. “It’s a good thing, considering what they can do in other parts of Ukraine.” “Russian forces launched six waves of attacks on Ukrainian positions, using more than 50 tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles, killing and wounding dozens of enemy soldiers and destroying a lot of Russian equipment, but advancing for miles,” Captain Shirshin told the Times. “When the first wave comes, we focus on it and deal with it, and then the next wave comes. When the next wave comes from a different line of attack, there is no time to redeploy artillery or other resources. We fall behind. Then when the next wave comes, one of them gets to the section that needs to be done and does the job.”
“It’s still hard for many in the West to see the war in Ukraine as a video game and not see the threat that Russia poses to the world,” he told the Times. “To stop would mean our death, that’s all.” The New York Times reported that in his reporting, “Although he acknowledged that the morale of the Ukrainian military has been eroded by nearly three years of war, most soldiers still say they understand why they are fighting,” and “Some Ukrainian soldiers said North Korea’s involvement should be a wake-up call to European countries and their allies.”
The New York Times reported that “the North Koreans have fought as a disciplined, dedicated and fearless force, typically moving in large formations on foot and even navigating minefields under heavy artillery fire and drone tracking,” and “Ukrainian authorities said on the 11th that their forces had captured two North Korean soldiers, the first of whom they have so far found alive.”
The AP reported that “while the Russian counteroffensive at Kursk has caused thousands of Ukrainian casualties, Kiev’s overstretched forces have managed to hold on to about half of the 380-mile-square area they seized in August, but the situation remains dynamic,” and “In addition to the symbolic impact of Ukraine’s success in seizing Russian territory, control of Kursk could be a bargaining chip in ceasefire negotiations.” According to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korean forces are operating together with Russian forces, and the Russian military is providing reconnaissance and electronic warfare support.