President Volodymyr Zelensky said the soldiers were captured in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine has been fighting to hold on to territory it seized last summer.
The Ukrainian authorities on Saturday announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers in Russia, saying they were the first to be taken alive since Pyongyang sent troops to assist Moscow’s war effort.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the two soldiers, who were wounded, were captured in the Kursk region of western Russia, where Ukrainian troops have been fighting to hold on to territory seized during a surprise cross-border incursion last summer.
In a post on various social media channels, Mr. Zelensky said the soldiers had received medical care, as required by the Geneva Conventions, and had been taken to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, for interrogation.
Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, the SBU, said one of the soldiers was captured on Thursday. It did not provide details on where, or say when the second was taken prisoner, but said they were the first North Koreans fighting against Ukraine in Kursk to be captured.
Their capture, the SBU said in a lengthy statement, provides “indisputable evidence of North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against our country.”
The Kremlin has not directly confirmed that North Korean troops are fighting alongside Moscow’s forces.