Strikes by Ukrainian UAVs inflict significant losses on North Korean ISW ​​attack aircraft

North Korean forces are sending large assault groups for combat operations, despite regular Ukrainian drone strikes. This contributes to the likely high level of casualties from the DPRK. This is stated in the analytical report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.

Details

ISW analysts noted that Ukrainian forces captured the first North Korean prisoners of war in the Kursk region.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on January 11 that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces captured a North Korean soldier in the Kursk region on January 9, and recently Ukrainian airborne assault troops captured a second North Korean soldier in the area. The SBU said that the Ukrainian authorities are cooperating with South Korean intelligence to communicate with the prisoners of war, since they do not speak English, Russian, or Ukrainian

One of the prisoners of war had with him a Russian military ID of the Republic of Tuva, which, according to reports, was issued to him by the Russian authorities in the fall of 2024.

The prisoner of war said that he only trained in coordination with Russian forces for one week before being sent to combat operations and that he thought he was going to Russia for training, not to war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that usually Russian or North Korean forces kill wounded North Korean servicemen to hide their involvement in the war.

North Korean forces are reportedly deploying large assault groups to conduct combat operations despite frequent Ukrainian drone strikes, likely contributing to high levels of North Korean casualties

According to the Institute’s analysts, North Korean soldiers ignore Ukrainian drones and continue to advance despite drone strikes on personnel.

It is noted that the Russian troops are following the North Korean troops in order to “stabilize the gains”. But a Ukrainian serviceman fighting in the Kursk region said that communication problems between Russian and North Korean forces could be slowing Russian efforts to consolidate new positions.

The Ukrainian military also said that in December 2024, North Korean forces launched an assault with a force of 400 to 500 people, during which North Korean forces outnumbered Ukrainian forces six times.

The ISW also gave an assessment of the DPRK army.

North Korea’s ability to absorb and integrate lessons learned from fighting alongside Russian forces is likely to be significantly impaired if the Russian military command uses North Korean forces in high-attrition infantry attacks on the same or greater scale than most of Russia’s personnel. The inability or refusal of North Korean forces to learn how to effectively counter drones will also have a negative impact on the lessons they can learn from this war

The American Institute for the Study of War informs that Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains his maximum permissible demands to isolate Ukraine and weaken NATO.

On January 10, the Financial Times reported, citing a former senior Kremlin official and another source who discussed the topic with Putin, that Putin was maintaining his demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and demanding that NATO refrain from deploying forces in Eastern Europe in any negotiations by “changing the rules of the international system to ensure the absence of a “threat to Russia”

ISW Key Findings for January 11:

• According to reports, Ukrainian troops captured the first North Korean prisoners of war in the Kursk region.
• North Korean forces are deploying large assault groups to conduct combat operations despite frequent Ukrainian drone strikes, which is likely contributing to the high level of casualties on the North Korean side and will likely affect the lessons the North Korean military command will learn from combat operations in this war.
• Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is sticking to his maximalist pre-war demands to isolate Ukraine and weaken NATO, and reportedly intends to press those demands in any possible talks with Western leaders to end the war in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces may have carried out a drone strike on an oil refinery in the Republic of Tatarstan on January 11, but details of the possible strike remain unclear at this time.
• Ukrainian troops advanced in the Kursk region.

We will remind

The SSO and paratroopers of the Armed Forces captured two wounded soldiers from North Korea in the Kursk region.