WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's Zelenskiy: North Koreans suffering battlefield losses, unprotected by Russian forces

North Korean troops deployed in Russia's Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said Russian troops were sending the North Koreans into battle with minimal protection and that North Koreans were taking extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner.

"Their losses are significant, very significant. We see that neither the Russian military nor their North Korean overseers have any interest in ensuring the survival of these North Koreans," he said.

"Everything is set up so that it is impossible for us to capture them. There are instances in which they are executed by their own forces. Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection."

Ukrainian and Western intelligence reports say there are about 12,000 North Korean troops in Kursk, a Russian region on the border where Ukrainian forces are holding chunks of territory after staging an incursion in August.

Earlier this week, Zelenskiy said more than 3,000 North Koreans had been killed or wounded.

He said Ukrainian forces had managed to take a few North Korean soldiers prisoner "but they were severely wounded and it was not possible to save their lives".

Zelenskiy said the Korean people "should not be losing their lives in battles in Europe. This is something that Korea's neighbours, including China, can influence."

"If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not expand, it needs to exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

West ‘must’ send Ukraine more – Zelensky

The West “must” send Kiev more weapons and faster in order to help the war effort against Russia, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said

Since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022, Ukraine has received over $200 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian aid from the US and its allies. Kiev is now completely dependent on the West for military logistics, according to the US media.

“It is crucial that the US is now increasing its deliveries, this support is essential to stabilize the situation,” Zelensky said in a video message on Thursday evening.

“I thank our partners for their assistance, but the pace of deliveries must accelerate to disrupt the tempo of Russian assaults. We need more strength in weaponry and strong positions for diplomacy,” he added.

The video was in Ukrainian but had English subtitles, while two lines were posted in English on Zelensky’s X account.

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election last month, President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to send as much money, weapons, equipment and ammunition to Ukraine as possible before handing over power on January 20.

On December 2, the White House announced a $725 million package of military aid from Pentagon stockpiles under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). Five days later, Washington said another $988 million worth of drones and missiles had already been supplied under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

A third package followed on December 12, consisting of $500 million worth of drones, armored vehicles and ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers.

Congress approved a $61 billion request for Ukraine funding in April. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has since ruled out the White House’s request for another $24 billion. The $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) approved earlier this week did not include any aid for Kiev.

According to Al Jazeera, the White House may have up to $3.5 billion left in the PDA and another $2.2 billion under the USAI that it could “surge” to Kiev before Biden’s term expires.

Russia has maintained that no amount of Western aid will change the ultimate outcome of the conflict or prevent Moscow from achieving the goals of its military operation.

Reuters/RT