Victory Chronicles-DAY 1065

North Korea is expected to send reinforcements to Russia’s Kursk region, Kyiv’s military intelligence chief told The War Zone exclusively in an interview. 

They will mostly be missile and artillery troops who typically operate the hundreds of tubed and rocket artillery systems as well as the KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles Pyongyang has already provided Moscow, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), told War Zone magazine. 

The artillery is being used to support both North Korean and Russian operations while the missiles are strictly for Russian objectives, he added, noting that the North Koreans will also train Russians on all of those systems.

“We don’t expect to see many new ground combat troops,”he said.’

The new North Korean troops will boost Russia’s long-range fire capacity in both Kursk and Ukraine, Budanov added.

North Korea has provided about 120 170-millimeter M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery guns and 120 M-1991 240-millimeter multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Russia in the last three months, and will likely send at least as many more in the future, Budanov told the magazine.

“They have a lot of these systems,” he continued.

‘The 170-millimeter weapons have powerful ammunition and good capability,” Budanov pointed out.”’The 240-millimeter MLRS are like any other heavy systems. They make more problems on the front line.”

More than 4 million non-European Union citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of Russian aggression have fled the war-torn country, the EU’s statistical gathering agency says. 

Current as of Dec. 1, Germany hosts the most refugees, housing 1.15 million people, followed by Poland with nearly 1 million, and Czechia, which has accepted 385,000 people. 

They all have temporary protection status in the EU. 

The King Danylo 24th Mechanized Brigade’s artillery unit operates a Paladin self-propelled M109 Howitzer on the front line near the Donetsk regional town of Chasiv Yar in one of the hottest spots of the war. The U.S.-provided 155-millimeter cannon is considered the most effective artillery system the Ukrainian military uses whose skillness in accuracy matches its lethality. 

“Elite divisions of Russian airborne troops continue to advance on Chasiv Yar, and therefore the successful work of artillery is one of the key factors in supporting our soldiers in conditions of fierce fighting,” Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Forces says in a social media post. 

Source: Joint Forces Task Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

A combat mission of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine (CCO) lasted more than eight hours in the woods of Russia’s Kursk region during which they engaged North Korean soldiers, killing at least 21 of them and wounding more than 40 personnel. The two-minute video shows them pinpointing North Korean positions with the use of drones, which were also used for unguided aerial attacks while mowing them down in combat. The CCO noted that the mission was eventually called off after the unit had begun to run out of ammunition, so they were subsequently exfiltrated by two high-mobility multi-purpose vehicles (HMMWVs) to safety. The CCO noted that snipers were also deployed and that the order to end the mission came when only about a third of their munitions had remained with which to fight. 

“A tactical maneuver to quickly withdraw the group to safety took place. The soldiers coordinated a smooth retreat,” the video’s description says. 

Source: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine

Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin has launched an information operation that seeks to create the false impression that the Russian economy is performing well despite numerous continued indicators of macroeconomic distress.

• Russia continues long-term efforts to build out its manpower reserve with All-Russian Cossack Society organizations and create a willing and well-trained prioritized pool designed to buffer the Kremlin from potential blowback in the event of a possible future partial call up of Russian reservists.

• North Korea will reportedly deploy new military personnel to Russia by mid-March 2025, likely to maintain the current pace and intensity of attritional, infantry-led assaults in Kursk Oblast.

• These fresh North Korean forces are unlikely to decisively improve Russian operations and will likely face the same high casualty rates and complications operating with Russian forces as the current North Korean contingent, provided the Russian command continues to use North Korean forces the same way as it has thus far.

• A Russian state media outlet reported that Russia may resume direct gas deliveries to Transnistria despite recent discussions about sourcing non-Russian gas to the region.

• Ukrainian forces recently recaptured lost positions near Toretsk.

• Russian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.

• Russia and Uzbekistan are deepening military cooperation.

Sr. Sailor Mykhailo Zaichenko, 31, of the Kherson region, was killed in action on Jan. 8 while on a mission in the city of Kherson. The drone operator of the army unit of A7362 was lethally struck by an enemy Russian drone that day. 

“He earned respect and authority among his brothers-in-arms. He was distinguished by extraordinary courage and a strong fighting spirit,” a petition to the Ukrainian president says to have him posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine award.

“He was a man of all capital letters and gave his life for peace and for the independence of Ukraine…eternal life to him,” said his friend, Oleh Volodarskyi, on X (formerly Twitter). 

He is survived by his wife, young daughter, mother, and brother.

Sources: Oleh Volodarskyi, Office of the President of Ukraine 

• The Independent: Trump urges ‘to make a deal’ to end Ukraine war – or face tariffs and sanction 
• RFE/RL: Ukrainian military shoots down 65 Shahed drones amid Russian onslaught
• CEPA: Russia’s year of truth: The soldier shortage
• Dagens.com (India): Ukraine has found Russia’s weak spot and the Ukrainians exploit it every night
• Ukrinform: Ukraine arrests former commander of Anna of Kyiv Brigade, Bail set at 90 million hryvnia