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Putin Says Russia is Getting Closer to Achieving Primary Goals in Ukraine

People watch the live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict at a cultural center in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
People watch the live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict at a cultural center in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
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Putin Says Russia is Getting Closer to Achieving Primary Goals in Ukraine

People watch the live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict at a cultural center in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
People watch the live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict at a cultural center in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian forces were moving towards achieving their primary goals on the battlefield in Ukraine and were taking control of significant territory every day.
Fielding questions at his annual phone-in with Russians, Putin said Russian forces were advancing along the entire battle front, Reuters reported.
"I must say that the situation is changing dramatically... There is movement along the entire front line. Every day," he said.
Military analysts say Russia is advancing in eastern Ukraine at the fastest pace since 2022.
"Our fighters are reclaiming territory by the square kilometer every day," Putin said.
"The fighting is difficult, so it is difficult and pointless to guess what lies ahead... (but) we are moving, as you said, towards solving our primary tasks, which we outlined at the beginning of the special military operation."
Discussing the continued presence of Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, Putin said they would definitely be forced out, but declined to say exactly when that would happen.

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Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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Seoul: 'At Least 100 North Koreans Killed' Fighting for Russia

South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
South Korea's spy agency has said there are signs Kim Jong Un is planning a fresh deployment of forces for fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters Thursday.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
"In December, they (North Korean troops) engaged in actual combat, during which at least 100 fatalities occurred," Lee said, speaking after a briefing by South Korea's spy agency.
"The National Intelligence Service also reported that the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000."
Despite those losses, the agency also said it had detected signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was preparing to train a new special operations force to ship westward, AFP reported.
Lee noted that the North's elite Storm Corps -- from which the initial deployment was drawn -- had "the capacity to send reinforcements".
The NIS also predicted "that Russia might offer reciprocal benefits" for a new deployment, Lee said, including "modernizing North Korea's conventional weaponry".
The lawmaker added that "several North Korean casualties" had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking "at least at the level of a general".
The NIS said the high number of casualties could be attributed to the "unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are being utilized as expendable frontline assault units, and their lack of capability to counter drone attacks," said Lee.
Burden or asset?
"Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset," Lee said.
His comments follow a senior US military official on Tuesday saying North Korean forces had suffered "several hundred" casualties fighting Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky previously said North Korean troops had been at the heart of an "intensive offensive" in Kursk.
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A landmark defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June came into force earlier this month.
Experts say North Korea's Kim is keen to acquire advanced technology from Russia and battle experience for his troops.
Pyongyang on Thursday lashed out at what it called "reckless provocation" by the United States and its allies for a joint statement criticizing North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, including the deployment of troops.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the 10 nations and the European Union (EU) were "distorting and slandering" Pyongyang's "normal cooperative" ties with Moscow, according to state media.