According to Western officials, a Ukrainian military strike in Russia wounded a senior North Korean general, making him the first high-ranking casualty from the Hermit Kingdom since joining the war.
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials have stated that a military strike in Russia’s Kursk region resulted in the injury of an unidentified general.
The exact circumstances surrounding his injury remain unclear.
Around 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to the front in Kursk. Russia has faced significant losses recently as Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale offensive, pushing them back and reclaiming a substantial amount of territory in August.
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has the potential to deploy around 100,000 troops to support Russia in the war. This significant military assistance would serve to strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fighting force by a notable 20%.
According to Western officials, the ongoing war that started in February 2022 has resulted in an estimated 700,000 Russian troops being either killed or wounded.
The KCNA report did not provide any specific details about the drones, but it did mention that they are capable of being used for both surveillance and offensive purposes. The report also stated that Kim Jong-un expressed satisfaction with the performance of the suicide drones during a recent test.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Pyongyang dispatched Col. Gen. Kim Yong Bok, a senior officer, to Russia to oversee the coordination between North Korean and Russian military leaders. However, it is not anticipated that he will participate in any combat operations.
According to a statement made by John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, it was mentioned that Ukrainian forces consider North Korean soldiers who are involved in the conflict in Ukraine as “fair game and fair targets”.
The North Korean troops’ arrival prompted President Biden to grant Ukraine permission to utilize the powerful long-range ATACMS missiles for striking deeper into Russia.
This decision signifies a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, which has recently entered its deadliest year, surpassing the 1,000-day milestone. On Tuesday, the missiles were launched for the first time, targeting the Bryansk region in Russia.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces carried out a second long-range assault using Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK. The target of the attack was an estate located in Marino, a small town in Kursk, approximately 20 miles away from the front lines in the province.
In response to the situation, the Kremlin took action by launching a newly developed intermediate-range ballistic missile towards the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
In a televised address, Putin confidently declared that the new missiles, known as Oreshnik, would be unstoppable by US air defense systems. He emphasized that these missiles have a remarkable speed, flying at a staggering ten times the speed of sound.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh expressed concern over the deployment of a new lethal capability on the battlefield. She highlighted that the missile in question had the ability to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
The US received prior notification of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels, according to her statement. In a recent update to Russia’s doctrine, Putin has lowered the threshold for approving a nuclear strike. This means that Moscow may now potentially respond with nuclear weapons, even if the attack on Russia is conventional and supported by a nuclear power.