Russia Trains North Korean Troops to Operate FPV Drones in Sumy Region

Russian instructors have trained North Korean military units to use FPV drones and engaged them in support of operations in the Sumy region.

The Ukrainian General Staff released a video of an intercepted drone launched by the DPRK military.

According to the Ukrainian military, the trained units operate from the Kursk region, from where they conduct reconnaissance operations using drones.

Their main task is to identify the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and transmit the coordinates to Russian troops to adjust artillery and missile fire.

Recorded talks between North Korean UAV operators and Russian army personnel confirm their coordination on the battlefield.

North Korean operators were actively adjusting the fire of multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of Ukrainian units in the Sumy region.

The involvement of the DPRK forces indicates an acute shortage of trained personnel in the Russian army and serious problems with conducting an offensive operation in this area.

The General Staff emphasizes that the participation of foreign forces is a gross violation of international law and further evidence of the escalation of armed aggression against Ukraine.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine document all established facts of participation of foreign formations in the armed aggression. The units involved in the aggression against Ukraine are neutralized in accordance with the laws and rules of warfare,” the General Staff noted.

The Ukrainian side passes the documented materials to international partners and agencies for further legal assessment of the actions of the DPRK and Russia.

In early September, it became known that, according to the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, about 2,000 DPRK soldiers were killed while participating in hostilities on the side of Russia in Ukraine.

Last year, Russia and North Korea signed a military agreement that includes provisions for mutual defense. This step was part of the deepening strategic partnership between the two authoritarian regimes.