Kiev, 31 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Officials in Kiev have confirmed reports of a temporary withdrawal of North Korean units from the frontline in the Kursk region of western Russia.

"We inform that the presence of military units from North Korea has not been felt for about three weeks. They were probably forced to withdraw because of the high losses," the spokesman of the Ukrainian special forces, Colonel Olexander Kindratenko told the Ukrainska Pravda news website.

Kindratenko said that he could only speak for the sections of the front where special units were deployed.

Ukraine, which has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for almost three years, launched a counter-offensive in the Russian border region of Kursk last summer, aiming to reduce the pressure on its eastern fronts and improve its negotiating position.

The New York Times previously reported on a withdrawal of the North Korean soldiers due to high losses. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has not commented on the report.

Russia is believed to have deployed North Korean soldiers in Kursk for the first time in late October. The two countries have recently strengthened co-operation on defence.

Fire at oil refinery in southern Russia extinguished

Earlier, the regional governor of Russia's southern Volgograd region said an oil refinery caught fire overnight after a Ukrainian drone attack, but the flames were quickly extinguished.

Governor Andrey Bocharov said one worker was injured and taken to hospital.

The Russian Defence Ministry said a total of 49 Ukrainian drones across seven regions were repelled.

In addition to Volgograd, the regions of Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Rostov and Krasnodar, as well as Yaroslavl to the north of Moscow, were affected.

In Voronezh, a vehicle was damaged and its driver injured. In addition, the windows of an industrial plant were broken by falling drone debris. A residential building and a farm also suffered damage.

In the Rostov region, the mast of a high-voltage power line was hit, said Governor Yury Slyusar.

Photo: epa