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Frontline report: Ukraine destroys Russian S-400 shield to target North Korean training camps in Kursk

Russia’s attempt to secretly integrate North Korean soldiers into its depleted marine units backfired as Ukraine’s air force exploited gaps in repositioned forces.
byReporting from Ukraine
07/12/2024
4 minute read
Frontline report: Ukraine destroys Russian S-400 shield to target North Korean training camps in Kursk
North Korean troops. Photo: rusi.org
Frontline report: Ukraine destroys Russian S-400 shield to target North Korean training camps in Kursk
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kursk direction. Here, Ukraine's precision air strikes have begun targeting a surprising and covert element in Russia's war effort, namely North Korean forces in training. The exposed vulnerabilities of these concentrated units, undergoing a last-minute change of plans in their integration with Russian brigades, create critical disruption opportunities.
The battlefield situation in Russia's Kursk Oblast. Photo: Screenshot from the video

Russia tries to masquerade North Korean forces

Recent intelligence has revealed a secret Russian plan to deploy North Korean troops in the region. But instead of forming standalone North Korean units adhering to their own military tactics and standards, Russia opted to integrate these troops into existing Marine brigades. This approach aimed to camouflage their presence while leveraging Russian command structures, aligning North Korean forces with Russian operational needs.
Buryats in the Russian army. Photo: Screenshot from the video
A key element of this plan was the formation of so-called special Buryat battalions. Officially labeled as volunteers, this designation exploited the physical resemblance between Buryats, an ethnic group in Russia, and Koreans in an attempt to obscure the identity of the North Korean personnel. These battalions were intended to blend into the Russian Marine brigades, starting with the 155th Brigade, which had begun initial training exercises with the North Korean soldiers.
North Korean troops. Photo: Screenshot from the video
However, the plan quickly unraveled as the 155th Brigade suffered catastrophic losses in Kursk after being thrown into relentless frontal assaults again and again by the Russian commanders, effectively ceasing to function as a combat-effective unit. The brigade's destruction disrupted the integration process, leaving North Korean troops without functioning partner units.
Russia's 155th Brigade suffered catastrophic losses in Kursk. Photo: Screenshot from the video

Plan B: Russian VDV airborne units take over

This forced the Russian command to adjust its strategy. Reports now indicate that Russian Airborne units have been redeployed to Kursk specifically to facilitate the integration of North Korean troops as replacements for the destroyed Marines. Elements of the 76th VDV Division, including the 104th Regiment, were redeployed from other fronts to Kursk to backfill losses and create a framework for training North Korean detachments. Joint training exercises are reportedly underway, marking the first stage of their operational integration.
Elements of Russia's 76th VDV Division were redeployed from other fronts to Kursk Photo: Screenshot from the video
Such big redeployments create movements that are easier to track, which helps the Ukrainians localize force concentrations and training bases. In the face of this development, Ukrainian commanders decided to target them and actively disrupt their deployment on the battlefield. As part of a broader effort to prepare the battlefield for an air strike campaign against concentrated enemy forces, the Ukrainians destroyed a radar station of an S-400 air defense system in the region. 

Ukraine's surgical strike

With the skies clear, the Ukrainian Air Force conducted a precise JDAM strike on a Russian deployment site located southeast of Sudzha using a Su-27 fighter jet. Geolocated footage from a Ukrainian surveillance drone shows how two JDAM bombs destroy a large building used as a base by the Russians.
Ukrainian JDAM bomb destroys a building used as a base by the Russians. Photo: Screenshot from the video
This was the first attack, and such moves served two purposes: degrading Russian operational capabilities in Kursk and disrupting the integration of North Korean troops, signaling Ukraine's readiness to exploit the vulnerable positioning of newly arrived VDV units and North Korean troops as they train and prepare together.
Ukrainian JDAM bomb destroys a building used as a base by the Russians. Photo: Screenshot from the video
Overall, Russia's reliance on North Korean troops highlights the severity of its manpower shortages. The attempt to conceal their deployment under the guise of a special Buryat Battalion reflects both the Kremlin's secrecy and its willingness to adapt unconventional strategies. However, integrating undertrained North Korean personnel into depleted Russian units is unlikely to yield significant tactical advantages, especially given the high attrition rates already suffered by Russian forces in Kursk. The coming weeks will likely see intensified Ukrainian air strikes on Russian and North Korean troop concentrations, aiming to preempt any offensive operations and further destabilize the Russian command structure in the region. In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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