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Russian forces abandoned a wounded Korean soldier during combat in Kursk, and then tried to prevent Ukrainian troops who captured the man from taking him off the battlefield, according to a Ukrainian soldier involved in the mission.
The Ukrainian soldier said the Russian forces launched a barrage of artillery fire at members of Ukraine’s 8th Regiment of Special Operations Forces, stopping them from leaving the forest with the captured soldier. The incident occurred earlier this month, he said. The soldier made his comments while speaking to RFE/RL.
“They probably guessed that we wanted to take their fighter, and massive artillery shelling began, said the soldier, who identified himself only by his call sign, Greek. “And they were shooting very close and very accurately. They didn’t want us to take him out of there until the last moment.”
The Russian forces also attempted to use an FPV (first-person view) drone.
“It didn’t hit either, but that’s good for us,” said Greek.
The Ukrainian special forces came upon the soldier after seeing an opportunity to advance in an area they had been observing. The retreating soldiers left without the North Korean, who had an injured leg.
“We took them by surprise. They had not yet had time to orient themselves, as we pushed them away from that point and simply took the prisoner,” a second Ukrainian soldier involved in the capture identified only by his call name, Badger, told RFE/RL.
Both Ukrainian soldiers said the North Korean soldier may not have realized what was happening. They said they approached very quickly and were difficult to see in their camouflage.
Other soldiers held him at gunpoint to prevent him from harming any of the Ukrainian troops present. He was also frisked for any means he may have had to commit suicide.
The prisoner was given an anesthetic injection for his wound and handed over to the medics. According to the Ukrainian military, he wanted food and water.
Two previous attempts to capture North Korean soldiers were unsuccessful, the military said. The first was seriously wounded and died shortly after being captured; the second committed suicide.
The successfully captured North Korean soldier is one of two that Ukraine reported its forces captured in the Russian region of Kursk this month.
South Korea’s intelligence agency confirmed their capture, but it has not been confirmed by either Moscow or Pyongyang. The agency quoted one of the captured North Korean soldiers as saying that “there were significant losses among North Korean soldiers in Russia.”
It also said that one of the prisoners had been without food and water for four to five days before he was captured.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, soldiers involved in the North Koreans’ capture described them as experienced fighters who feared repercussions against their families back home.
– From RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
