Russian troops prevented the extraction of a captured North Korean soldier from his position, according to Radio Free Europe.

Russian servicemen did not allow the extraction of a captured North Korean soldier from their positions, initiating a heavy artillery bombardment. 

This was reported to Radio Free Europe by soldiers from the Special Operations Forces involved in the operation.

“They probably guessed that we wanted to take their fighter, and a massive artillery attack began. They fired very close and with great accuracy. Until the very end, they did not want us to take him away. An FPV drone was also involved, which missed its target, but that was good for us,” said the Special Operations Forces operator with the call sign “Greek.” 

The Special Operations Forces were preparing to capture soldiers from North Korea, even learning phrases in Korean. The Ukrainian soldiers approached the location of the Russian army group in the forest wearing camouflage robes, making them inconspicuous.

This was the third attempt to capture North Korean servicemen. The first North Korean soldier died from injuries shortly after being captured. The second one committed suicide. Therefore, the captive was examined and any means he could use to harm himself were taken away. 

“Perhaps he was in shock from his injuries and had not yet realized what was happening. We approached him very quickly. At the same time, comrades who were with us monitored his every movement, keeping him in their sights to prevent any harm to the group. Most likely, he was disoriented,” noted “Greek.”

The captive was given a painkiller injection and then handed over to the medics. According to the Ukrainian soldiers, he was very thirsty and hungry.

Recall that on January 11, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian troops had captured two soldiers from North Korea who had fought in the Kursk region of Russia. According to the president, the task was challenging, as Russian and other North Korean soldiers typically finish off their wounded. The captives were transported to Kyiv, where investigators are communicating with them. 

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that according to South Korean intelligence, 300 North Korean servicemen have died in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and about 2,700 have been injured.