The situation at a glance: Heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine

According to the General Staff in Kiev, the area surrounding the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk has once again become the scene of the heaviest fighting. Russian troops launched a total of 50 assaults against the defense lines there during the day, according to the situation report published in Kiev in the evening. Russia lost 376 soldiers during the day, including 184 dead. The figures could not be independently verified.

The Russian troops have now adopted a new tactic around the Pokrovsk transport hub, the Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian military sources. Accordingly, the Russian troops tried to bypass the now heavily fortified city. The Russian units advancing from the south were now targeting positions in the west of the city in order to cut off Pokrovsk from supplies as much as possible.

“They know that they will lose a lot of soldiers in a direct attack against Pokrovsk, so they have changed strategy and are now trying to attack and bypass the city from the south,” the paper quoted a Ukrainian expert as saying. Success at this point would open the way for the Russian military to Pavlohrad and later to the large city of Dnipro.

Zelensky expects more North Korean prisoners

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expects more North Korean prisoners of war to be taken as fighting continues in the Kursk region. “It is only a matter of time before our soldiers capture other (North Koreans),” he wrote on the X platform. “There should no longer be any doubt in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea. ” Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin tried to rewrite history three years ago, “but now he cannot do without military help from Pyongyang.”

Zelensky added a short video sequence to his post of the two wounded suspected prisoners. Both men are being questioned in several languages.

Kiev is ready to hand over the prisoners to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he organizes the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia. However, Zelensky continued, there are other options for North Korean soldiers if they do not want to return. “One of them expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other wants to return to Korea.”

South Korea’s intelligence service NIS had previously confirmed Ukrainian reports about two North Korean prisoners of war. As South Korea’s official news agency Yonhap reported, one of the captured soldiers said during his interrogation that he did not know he had been sent to a war zone. He assumed that his posting was just a training assignment.

North Korea has provided Russia with around 12,000 soldiers to fight against Ukraine. They are now fighting with Russian uniforms and weapons in the Kursk region. According to Ukrainian statements, the North Koreans have already suffered heavy losses.

Injured after Russian drone strike near Kherson

A man was injured in a Russian drone attack in a suburb of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson this evening. The Russian military dropped explosives over Antonivka from the drone, the local military administration said on Telegram. A 53-year-old suffered an explosion injury and is in hospital. He had bruises, a broken tibia and shrapnel wounds on his legs, it said.

Power outage in Kherson after Russian attack

In Kherson, the supply of electricity and district heating was completely cut off on Sunday after a Russian artillery attack. Almost 23,000 households are without electricity, regional military administrator Roman Mrotschko said on Telegram. Repair crews have already been deployed to repair the damage as quickly as possible.

The Russian military repeatedly attacks Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The repeated blackouts of electricity and district heating in the middle of winter are intended to put pressure on the Ukrainian population. Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for almost three years now.