On 16 December, assault units of the Russian army carried out a series of attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the eastern sector. As a result of intense fire, some of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ fortifications were heavily damaged, making it impossible to hold them further, the Khortytsia military command noted.

And according to The Economist, about 50 per cent of the territory of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian troops captured at the beginning of the operation, is already under Russian control. Russian troops intensified their offensive in the region even before DPRK soldiers joined the fighting in Kursk. The enemy’s significant superiority in personnel, artillery and equipment led to the loss of territory.

Meanwhile, the US State Department said that the DPRK military’s involvement in the war against Ukraine is an escalation. And if the North Korean military crosses the border with Ukraine, it will be seen as an additional escalation by the governments of Russia and North Korea.

Spokesperson Matthew Miller also confirmed that the United States had received information about the deaths and injuries of some North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.