
Key developments on Jan. 12:
- 'Irrefutable proof of North Korea's involvement' — Ukraine says it captured 2 North Korean POWs in Kursk Oblast
- Ukrainian drone hits giant oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan, head of Ukraine’s Middle for Countering Disinformation confirms
- Russia launches double airstrike on nursing house in Kursk Oblast, army claims
- Navy: Russian troops costume as civilians in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast
Ukrainian troops captured two North Korean troopers as prisoners of warfare (POWs) in Russia's Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Jan. 11.
"This process was not straightforward," he stated in a Telegram post.
"Often, Russia and different North Korean army personnel end off their wounded and do every part potential to make sure that no proof of the participation of one other state — North Korea — within the warfare in opposition to Ukraine is preserved."
The 2 wounded troopers obtained needed medical care and are within the custody of the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv, in response to Zelensky. The president applauded Ukrainian paratroopers and troopers from the Particular Operation Forces for capturing the North Koreans.
North Korea deployed round 12,000 troopers in Kursk Oblast, the place Ukraine launched a shock cross-border incursion in August 2024 to convey the warfare to Russia, a senior Ukrainian official accustomed to the intelligence advised the Kyiv Impartial in December 2024.
Zelensky's assertion comes practically two weeks after the South Korean Nationwide Intelligence Service (NIS) said that Ukrainian troops had captured a wounded North Korean soldier in late December who died quickly of his wounds.
"We confirmed via a pleasant nation's intelligence group {that a} North Korean soldier, captured alive on Dec. 26, died a short time in the past as (his) wounds worsened," the NIS said on Dec. 27,as cited by South Korean Yonhap Information Company.
Applauding the "irrefutable proof" of North Korean troopers' participation within the Russian warfare in opposition to Ukraine, the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Jan. 11 that the POWs are being questioned with the assistance of Korean translators and South Korean intelligence.

Ukrainian drone hits giant oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan, head of Ukraine’s Middle for Countering Disinformation confirms
A Ukrainian drone hit the Taneko oil refinery in Tatarstan, Russian Telegram channel ASTRA reported on Jan. 11.
The refinery is without doubt one of the nation's largest oil-processing services.
Staff on the refinery in Nizhnekamsk had been evacuated amid the assault, and native footage confirmed smoke rising from the positioning.
Andrii Kovalenko, Head of Ukraine's Middle for Countering Disinformation, confirmed the strike, and emphasised its strategic significance.
"The refinery performs a key position in offering gasoline to the Russian army. Taking out refineries and oil depots immediately impacts Russia's capability to wage an intensive warfare," he stated.
The refinery, which processes over 16 million tons of oil yearly, was beforehand focused in a drone assault in spring 2024, inflicting injury to its major processing unit.
Taneko refinery is located within the metropolis of Nizhnekamsk, round 1,300 kilometers from the nation's border with Ukraine.

Russia launches double airstrike on nursing house in Kursk Oblast, army claims
Russian troops have carried out a double airstrike on a nursing house within the Ukrainian-occupied Russian city of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian army spokesperson Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, stated on Jan. 12.
In line with Dmytrashkivskyi, the assault, which happened on the night of Jan. 11, left one girl with extreme arm accidents, who died later within the morning of Jan. 12.
The assault additionally dealt heavy injury to the nursing house, with all home windows and doorways blown out, Dmytrashkivskyi added, talking on nationwide tv.
In line with him, round 2,000 Russian civilians stay in areas below Ukrainian management. Over 70 individuals are presently staying within the nursing house that got here below assault.
"The query now could be the place to relocate these individuals. Most are aged, and plenty of endure from disabilities, Parkinson's illness, post-stroke situations, and one particular person has a psychological sickness. The present state of those individuals is kind of extreme," the spokesperson stated.
In a remark to the Kyiv Impartial, Dmytrashkivskyi confirmed that the ability broken was the identical nursing house visited by media, including the Kyiv Independent, on press excursions of Sudzha organized by the Ukrainian army.
The information comes days after Ukraine reportedly launched renewed offensive operations in Kursk Oblast, which is seen as an important bargaining chip for potential peace negotiations.
Navy: Russian troops costume as civilians in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast
Russian troops have been noticed dressing in civilian clothes to masks their actions in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's twenty eighth Mechanized Brigade reported on Jan. 12.
Aerial reconnaissance footage posted by the brigade on Fb exhibits a few alleged Russian troopers wearing civilian garments. The Kyiv Impartial couldn’t confirm the pictures.
The brigade stated it was "one other violation of the foundations of warfare" by Russian troops, as it may be categorised as a war crime below worldwide regulation.
In line with the brigade, Russian squaddies "try and divert consideration and disguise themselves" on this approach.
"Nevertheless, they’re uncovered by their equivalent clothes, conduct, and generally even their weapons," the brigade wrote.
"However, this nonetheless complicates the work of our troopers, because the Ukrainian Armed Forces don’t 'shoot at every part that strikes,' in contrast to (Russian) occupiers."
Again in September, Ukraine accused Russian forces of 137,000 war crimes carried out as a part of its full-scale invasion. Crimes embrace the mass abduction of Ukrainian kids, the torture of residents in occupied territories, and the murder of civilians and Ukrainian prisoners of warfare (POWs).
Earlier on Jan. 6, Ukraine’s Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, reported that Russian troops had allegedly killed three Ukrainian POWs within the southwest of Donetsk Oblast.
"We’re as soon as once more witnessing atrocities that exhibit Russia's true face," the ombudsman stated.


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