Ukraine war briefing: North Korean troops join Russian assaults in ‘significant’ numbers, Kyiv says

North Koreans joining assaults on Kursk front, says Zelenskyy, urging fresh allied response; Ukrainian drones hit oil facility in Russia’s Oryol region. What we know on day 1,026

Russia has begun using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces battling to hold territory in Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them,” Zelenskyy told Ukrainians in his daily wartime address. The North Koreans were being used in combined Russian units and only on the Kursk front for now, he said, adding: “We have information suggesting their use could extend to other parts of the frontline.” North Korean soldiers had so far not entered the fight on Ukrainian soil, but were already taking “noticeable” losses.

The Ukrainian president said the more active use of the troops was a new escalation and called for a global response, as Donald Trump’s return to the White House next month fuels speculation of a push for peace talks. Zelenskyy issued the fresh appeal to Ukraine’s western allies to strengthen their support for Kyiv, saying that he would discuss it with European partners next week. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Koreans on its side.

Ukraine’s general staff reported a significant increase in the number of Russian assaults on the Kursk front, along with airstrikes, glide bomb raids and more than 200 artillery attacks. Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine’s national security and defence council, said the North Koreans had taken losses, but he provided no numbers. “The Russians are counting on numbers and are trying to carry out assault operations with the help of the Koreans, when the task of the Koreans is to run under the blows of our forces and occupy certain areas,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram. Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in August and has battled to hold the area.

Ukrainian drones carried out an overnight attack on an oil facility in Russia’s Oryol region that is a crucial source of fuel supplies for Russian troops, Ukraine’s military said on Saturday. Russian authorities said their firefighters were battling a blaze in the western Oryol region caused by a drone attack. Earlier, Russian regional governor Andrei Klychko said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian drones had struck a fuel infrastructure facility, causing a fire but no casualties. He said 11 drones had been shot down over the region. The Oryol region neighbours Russia’s Kursk region. The Ukrainian strikes came a day after Russia fired 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones at its neighbour, further battering Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

A former FBI informant accused of falsely claiming that Joe Biden and the president’s son Hunter had accepted Ukrainian bribes has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court papers. As part of the plea deal, Alexander Smirnov will admit he fabricated the story that became central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. He was accused of falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5m each in 2015 or 2016.

Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday. Thirteen of the drones were downed over the Black Sea and one each over the Russian border regions of Kursk and Belgorod, the defence ministry said in a post on its Telegram messaging channel.

Ukraine’s air defences shot down 58 of 132 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian air force said on Saturday. It said 72 Russian drones were “lost” due to the use of electronic warfare. There were no immediate reports of major damage. Russia’s military said on Saturday that it had downed 60 drones overnight.

In Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, a drone attack killed a nine-year-old boy and wounded his mother and baby sister, said the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. He posted photos of the family’s home with a hole in the facade and the roof partially torn off. The mother and seven-month-old sister were hospitalised with injuries, Gladkov said.

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