Despite a series of Western announcements that casualties are continuing as North Korean troops reportedly engage in ground combat in Ukraine, analysts predict that Russia will persistently avoid official confirmation of the deployment of the North Korean soldiers to the front line.
On Wednesday, RBC cited an analysis from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), suggesting that Russia is highly unlikely to acknowledge the deployment of North Korean troops in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
To date, neither Russian officials nor state media have publicly disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops in the Kursk area yet.
Military experts believe that confirming the deployment of North Korean troops would effectively admit Russia’s need for foreign military assistance to defend its territory, making such an acknowledgment politically improbable.
Furthermore, confirming North Korean involvement could undermine Vladimir Putin’s claim that Ukraine’s invasion of the Kursk region in southwestern Russia has bolstered Russian military recruitment.
Despite Russia’s silence, the ISW reports that evidence of North Korean troops engaging in combat operations in the Kursk region has been corroborated by multiple sources.
On Monday, John Kirby, the National Security Communications Advisor, stated that recent observations have shown North Korean troops moving from second lines to frontline positions and actively participating in combat operations. He confirmed that there have been casualties among these forces.
Pat Ryder, the Department of Defense spokesperson, confirmed North Korean combat casualties and injuries of North Korean troops on the same day. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Russian forces are incinerating the faces of deceased North Korean soldiers to conceal their identities.
The ISW reported that Ukrainian military officials and intelligence sources claimed Russia is attempting to disguise North Korean soldiers as Buryats.
Buryats are native Mongolians who live in autonomous republics in Russia, north of Mongolia. Some reports suggested that Russian-deployed North Korean troops were carrying Buryat identification documents.
Meanwhile, Andriy Kovalenko, director of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, assessed that North Korean troops displayed a significant lack of understanding regarding drone threats, indicating insufficient training in drone warfare tactics.
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