North Korean instructors secretly bolster Russian forces near Mariupol
Ukrainian partisans have discovered the exact location within Ukrainian territory where North Korean instructors working with Russian Federation forces are hiding. The training ground is reportedly near the village of Sartana, near Mariupol in the Donetsk region.
Although experts suggest that Russia has sufficient equipment to continue the war for several more months, any support from Moscow's allies is invaluable to Putin. North Korea, among others, is providing support for the aggressor, and it is expected to bolster the Russian Federation’s army with several thousand soldiers by the end of 2024.
It is worth noting that Pyongyang supports Moscow not only with military personnel but also with valuable equipment for carrying out attacks. For months, North Korea has been sending Russia shipments of artillery ammunition with diameters of 122 mm and 152 mm, as well as KN-23 ballistic missiles (Hwasong-11Ga) with warheads weighing 500 kg.
Support for Russia from North Korea
According to reports now from the Ukrainian agency Unian, referring to information from partisans operating behind enemy lines, support from North Korea is already at the front—and stationed in Ukraine, near Mariupol.
"North Korean instructors are supervising the preparation of the training ground and likely feel confident and safe at the moment, as many residents of the communities around the village of Sartana actively collaborated with the occupiers,” reads a statement from the partisan group on Telegram. Ukrainians add that "for the partisan resistance movement, North Korean instructors or officers are the same target as Russian occupiers and collaborators".
They came from North Korea to support Russia in Ukraine
The partisans do not elaborate on the specific actions undertaken by the Koreans in collaboration with the Russians near Mariupol. However, it is noteworthy that Pyongyang delivered Moscow missiles with diameters of 122 mm and 152 mm, which are compatible with the BM-21 Grad launcher. Both types of ammunition enable strikes at a maximum range of several kilometres.
The 122 mm calibre missiles range about 14 km, while the larger 152 mm weapons can reach slightly further, at approximately 18 km. The difference between these missiles is that the larger calibre contains up to 8 kg of TNT, while the smaller ammunition has a maximum of about 4 kg of explosive material.
