EDF colonel: North Korea could send new units to Russia before summer

Several thousand North Korean soldiers have already been killed or wounded during the fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast. As a result, there are reports that North Korea will send more soldiers to help Russia before the summer, according to Col. Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Intelligence Center.
Speaking at Friday's weekly Ministry of Defense briefing, Col. Kiviselg said Russian troops have so far failed to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast and that the Ukrainians still hold around half of the territory they originally captured. "Fighting is ongoing on the outskirts of this territory, where Russian forces have not made significant progress," he said.
Ukraine still holds the largest settlement in Kursk Oblast as well as important and logistical hub of Sudzha, Col. Kiviselg added.
For the North Korean soldiers fighting on the side of Russia in Kursk Oblast, the number of casualties has already reached several thousand. Col. Kiviselg pointed out that if North Korea's goal is to maintain a presence in the war zone, it will have to start rotating soldiers.
"This week there have been reports that North Korea is planning to send a new batch of soldiers before the summer. It is not known what their exact purpose will be, whether it will be to bring in new units in their entirety or to replace the losses in the units that are already in combat. Only time will tell," Col. Kiviselg said.
On the ground in Ukraine, the fighting over the past week has remained similar to in previous weeks, with the heaviest battles still taking place in Donetsk Oblast, particularly at Toretsk, Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka, Col. Kiviselg said, adding that Russian troops are making tactical advances across the front line.
"The most critical situation at the moment is in Toretsk and Velyka Novosilka," he said.
"In Toretsk, one northeastern district has yet to be captured by Russia, but even that is within range of indirect fire from the Russian forces. At Velyka Novosilka, Ukrainian forces are under threat of encirclement, which is likely to force the Ukrainians to withdraw from there in the coming days," Col. Kiviselg said.
However, most of the fighting is taking place near the settlement of Pokrovsk. "The settlement is well fortified by Ukrainian forces, as is the surrounding area, so Russian forces are trying to bypass the settlement and put pressure on Ukrainian units, creating a risk of encirclement," he explained.
"Ukraine has continued to launch deep strikes into Russia, with the main targets being ammunition facilities, factories and depots, as well as fuel storage facilities," the EDF colonel added.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Michael Cole