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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
UNIAN, Getty Images photo, screenshotRussia really could use infantry from North Korea to assault Ukrainian territory.
Such an assumption was expressed by Ivan Stupak, a military expert, an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine in 2004-2015 years, commenting on a video in which North Korean military personnel conduct joint training with Russians.
"Russia and North Korea still feel the taste of success. In the 24-th year North Korea very successfully helped them, sending its special forces. We initially underestimated them. But they really proved to be motivated, they did not yield in captivity. They indeed caused us trouble and even learned to shoot down our drones, using a strategy where one lures and two shoot. All this led Russia and North Korea to view such cooperation positively and, accordingly, as potentially continuing," said Stupak in a UNIAN comment.
He added that most likely Russia again promised something to North Korea for sending an additional batch of its special forces from Pyongyang. The expert noted that after active fighting in the Kursk region, Russia did not employ North Korean troops in infantry assaults against Ukraine.
"As a scenario, they could become the spearhead that would push into the Chernihiv region. There is a threat to the Chernihiv region—100-200 square kilometers to occupy and create tension. As a scenario, they could appear there. But our military over these two years has also eaten a lot of dogs in the strategy of using drones. So now there will be no easy stroll for North Korean soldiers. Because Ukrainian drones daily, FPV drones, go up into the air at almost 6 thousand per hour. Therefore this strategy of how they were shooting down those drones will not work the same way anymore," noted Stupak.
When asked whether North Korean soldiers could be seen on other frontlines, Stupak replied:
"From the perspective of the Russian command, they could be used in Chernihiv region. Possibly a bit in Sumy or Kharkiv regions. But to throw them into assaults somewhere in Donetsk… Russian troops on Ukrainian territory are currently 720 thousand. It seems more reasonable to use them somewhere on a new front. But of course, everything depends on the Russian command—how they dream up things."
Commenting specifically on the video showing North Korean soldiers alongside Russians, the expert noted the shooting location:
"They are standing in a dugout, it is unclear in which region, at what time it was filmed. But there is a sense that if they are standing in a dugout, this is unlikely a relaxed region. So it's not Vladivostok, Magadan, but something as close as possible to the line of contact. Perhaps 100-20 kilometers, where you still have to adhere to safety measures."
Cooperation between Russia and North Korea: other important news
Earlier Reuters reporters reported that North Korea deployed its missile unit to Russia. According to the publication, it could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers, which would be used to strike Ukraine.
According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, such cooperation would be advantageous for both Russia and North Korea. Since North Korea would be able to conduct field tests and receive feedback to improve its own destruction tools.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Нові солдати з Північної Кореї: експерт відповів, куди Росія може їх кинути". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: UNIAN.
