Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow detains suspect in killing of Putin’s general as North Korea faces heavy losses
Russia has detained an Uzbek citizen who investigators believe placed the bomb inside an electric scooter which killed General Igor Kirillov on the instructions of Ukraine’s security service, the Investigative Committee said today.
The senior Russian general was killed yesterday in Moscow and Ukraine claimed responsibility of the attack, calling Kirillov a “legitimate target”.
In response, Russia threatened the Ukrainian leadership with imminent revenge for what it described as a “cowardly and despicable strike”.
On the battlefront, North Korea suffered big casualties while fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine in the Kursk border region, a senior US military official said, a much higher toll than one given by Kyiv earlier this week.
“Several hundred casualties is our latest estimate that the DPRK has suffered,” the official said on condition of anonymity. This “would include everything from… light wounds up to being KIA (killed in action)”, the official said, with soldiers of “all ranks” among the casualties.
The North Korean forces don’t appear to be battle-hardened, the official said, suggesting this would in part explain the high rate of casualties.