War in Ukraine: NATO: Russian losses of more than 600,000 soldiers

NATO is provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin with new estimates of Moscow’s losses and speculation about the background to the deployment of North Korean soldiers to the Kursk border region. Secretary General Mark Rutte put the number of Russian soldiers killed and injured in the Ukraine war at more than 600,000.

With regard to Putin, he added: “He is not in a position to maintain his attack on Ukraine without foreign support.” The stationing of North Korean troops in Kursk is “a sign of growing desperation.”

If NATO estimates are correct, the number of victims on the Russian side could have doubled within a year. However, Rutte did not say how many of the Russian victims NATO estimated were dead. He also did not comment on the Ukrainian losses. As a rule, the number of victims in such conflicts cannot be independently verified.

According to NATO, the North Koreans are already in the Kursk region near the border

Rutte made the comments immediately after discussions about the sending of North Korean soldiers to Russia, which became known in recent days. Both Ukraine and Western partners fear that they will soon take part in fighting with Ukrainian troops. Rutte said he could now confirm that North Korean military units were stationed in the Kursk region. The Ukrainian armed forces launched a kind of relief attack there in the summer and brought part of the region under their control.

It was initially unclear on Monday whether NATO hoped to be able to use these provocative statements to deter Russia from deploying North Korean soldiers. In such a case, the goal could be to seize Putin’s honor by communicating that he is now too weak to continue the war on his own. Alternatively, it could be that the main aim is to send a message to the population in Russia. According to Western assessments, this has not yet received any realistic figures on the devastating Russian losses at the front.

At the meeting in Brussels, experts from South Korea briefed representatives of NATO states and other partners on findings on North Korea’s support plans for Russia. According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has already sent thousands of soldiers to Russia and is planning to deploy a total of around 12,000 soldiers.

Rutte sees significant escalation

From the defense alliance’s perspective, this represents a significant escalation and a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war. “The deepened military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both security in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic region,” said Rutte. He pointed out that North Korea had previously supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles. These further fueled a serious conflict in the heart of Europe.

Russia and North Korea have so far rejected the intention of a combat mission in the Russian-Ukrainian war as speculation. However, Putin had long denied plans for a war against Ukraine. The Russian war of aggression has now been going on for more than two and a half years.

Zelenskyj asks for help

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj recently called for an international reaction to the possible deployment of North Korean soldiers on Russia’s side. “Ukraine will actually be forced to fight North Korea in Europe,” the head of state stated. Without decisive steps from allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin will only be encouraged to commit further “terror,” he warned.

However, the scope for action of partners such as the EU and NATO is limited. Numerous sanctions have already been imposed in the past because of North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its support for Russia’s war of aggression. A significant tightening is hardly possible anymore. Above all, this would still leave the option of significantly expanding military support for Ukraine in return.

Rutte announced exactly that on Monday, without giving any details. The need to further increase military support for Ukraine was discussed, he said after the discussions.