Key developments on Feb. 4:
- Nearly 8,000 North Korean soldiers still fighting in Kursk Oblast, Budanov says
- Ukraine's strike on Russian command center in Kursk Oblast causes 'significant losses,' General Staff says
- At least 5 killed, 55 injured in Russian missile strike on Izium in Kharkiv Oblast
- Russia records 20,000 claims to declare people dead or missing last year, marking 2.5-fold surge, media reports
- Russian soldiers face execution threats to retake lost ground near Kupiansk, Ukraine claims
About 8,000 North Korean soldiers are still fighting against Ukraine in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with The War Zone magazine published on Feb. 4.
After The New York Times reported on Jan. 30 that North Korean troops had been pulled from the front, a Special Operations Forces spokesperson confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine's special forces had not faced Pyongyang's soldiers for three weeks.
Budanov denied reports that North Korean soldiers have not been seen on the front line for weeks. However, Budanov noted that the number of North Korean troops has decreased, and Ukraine is trying to establish why.
"We have to wait for some time to see if there are any real changes or if this is just lower activity for a couple of days," Budanov said.
Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024.
At least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) claimed on Jan. 13
The heavy losses of the North Korean army may be related to its lack of combat experience and the tactic of human waves attacks with a limited amount of equipment, Ukraine's military intelligence chief added. According to Budanov, North Korean soldiers attack "almost without any combat vehicles."
Budanov also suggested that the North Korean military is so willing to advance on foot against Ukrainian drones and artillery because of its loyalty to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. He added that their disregard for personal safety makes Ukraine's defense more challenging.
Ukraine's strike on Russian command center in Kursk Oblast causes 'significant losses,' General Staff says
Ukraine's Air Force carried out a "precision strike" on Feb. 3 at a Russian command post near the village of Novoivanovka in Kursk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.
Kyiv launched a limited incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, first capturing about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory. While Ukraine has reportedly lost around half of that territory since then, fighting continues in the region.
The command post, located in an abandoned building, was used to coordinate Russian troops' offensive against the Ukrainian army in the Kursk sector of the front line, the statement read.
The building was severely damaged, and Moscow suffered significant losses among Russian personnel, the General Staff said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Earlier on Jan. 31, Ukrainian forces struck another command post of Russia's Kursk group of forces in the Russian city of Rylsk.
These attacks are part of Ukraine's broader strategy to weaken Russian operational capabilities by targeting key command centers. The General Staff has emphasized that such strikes aim to reduce Russia's offensive potential.
Natalia Kushnerska
At least 5 killed, 55 injured in Russian missile strike on Izium in Kharkiv Oblast
A Russian missile attack against the town of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast killed at least five people and injured at least 55 on Feb. 4, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Three children were injured in the attack, including a six-year-old boy and two girls, aged 14 and 16. The 14-year-old girl is in a serious condition, while the other two children are in a condition of medium severity, according to Syniehubov.
The governor initially reported four people killed – two men and two women. A fifth victim was reported later during the day when rescue services recovered another body from the rubble.
A pregnant woman was among the killed, Syniehubov reported later.
According to preliminary data, Russian forces used a ballistic missile in the attack, targeting the central part of the city, Syniehubov said.
An administrative building suffered a hit, while another administrative building and several residential buildings were damaged, according to the governor.
Syniehubov stressed that no military facilities were located in the targeted area.
Izium, a town with a pre-invasion population of 45,000, lies in the southeastern part of Kharkiv Oblast, over 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the regional center, Kharkiv, and around 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the front line.
Asami Terajima
Russia records 20,000 claims to declare people dead or missing last year, marking 2.5-fold surge, media reports
Russian courts received 20,000 claims in 2024 seeking to declare individuals missing or dead, marking a two-and-a-half increase from previous years, independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Feb. 4.
Before the full-scale war, Russian courts handled approximately 8,000 such cases annually. The surge in filings, which began in mid-2024, represents the first significant rise in missing persons cases since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The figures hint at mounting Russian losses during the full-scale invasion, which various estimates place between 600,000 and 840,000 killed and wounded. Moscow does not publish its official casualty figures.
According to Mediazona, most of the claims last year were initiated by Russian military unit commanders who sought to remove missing soldiers — presumed dead but lacking official confirmation — from personnel rosters. This process allows units to recruit replacements.
Families do not need to consent to these legal declarations, which often leaves them without financial support or clear information about their relatives' fate, the outlet wrote.
The exact number of missing Russian soldiers remains unknown, as courts routinely withhold applicants' names and avoid publicizing rulings. In 2024, an estimated 12,000 additional cases were recorded beyond the usual peacetime figures.
More than 50,000 inquiries have been submitted by Russians seeking information about missing soldiers through Ukraine's "I Want to Find" project, Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Coordination Center Secretariat, said on Jan. 3.
Initially launched in September 2022 as part of the "I Want to Live" hotline, which helps Russian soldiers surrender, the project was expanded to address requests from families searching for missing troops.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova disclosed on Nov. 26 that her ministry had received 48,000 DNA test applications from relatives hoping to locate missing soldiers.
Speaking at a Duma roundtable, Tsivilyova revealed that the DNA data was stored in a database, inadvertently providing a rare glimpse into the scale of Russian casualties.
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma's defense committee, cautioned against publicizing such figures. "This is sensitive information. When we finalize the documents, we must ensure these figures do not appear publicly," he said.
According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost 842,930 troops since launching its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Russian soldiers face execution threats to retake lost ground near Kupiansk, Ukraine claims
Russian commanders in the Kupiansk sector are ordering their soldiers to retake positions from which they retreated under Ukrainian fire, threatening them with execution if they refuse, Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces claimed on Feb. 4, citing intelligence reports.
Ukrainian soldiers forced Russian troops to abandon forward positions near a settlement in the Kupiansk sector following intensive assaults, the unit said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Russian forces intensified their assault on Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast in September 2024, pushing toward the city's industrial outskirts in the northeast. Ukrainian forces repelled several attempts to enter the town throughout December.
For months, Russia has sought to establish a foothold along the eastern bank of the Oskil River, attempting to outflank Ukrainian defenses and open the way for a rear attack on Kupiansk. The front line now lies just two kilometers (1.5 miles) from the town.
President Volodymyr Zelensky recently appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, to lead the Khortytsia group of forces as Ukraine works to counter Russian advances in the sector.
Western and Ukrainian officials have pointed to poor morale among Russian troops since the outbreak of the full-scale war. Moscow employs the infamous "human wave" tactics in which its troops overwhelm Ukrainian defenders through sheer numbers despite suffering heavy losses.
Reports of Russian commanders executing their soldiers have also surfaced amid some of the heaviest battles of the war, for example, during Russia's siege of the stronghold town of Avdiivka in late 2023.
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