"Four Koreans Joining Ukrainian Forces Killed"…Foreign Ministry, "Fact-Checking Underway" (Comprehensive)

"Recognizing the Russian Defense Ministry's Announcement... Monitoring Through the Embassy in Russia"

The Taegeukgi flag is displayed at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ukraine, located in the center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on the 17th (local time) that four Koreans who participated in the Ukraine war have died. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is verifying the facts through the local embassy.

According to the "Status of Foreign Mercenaries on the Ukrainian Side" released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on the same day, the Russian military identified that 13 Korean nationals entered Ukraine. Among them, four have died, eight have left Ukraine, and one remains in Ukraine, according to the Russian military.

The Russian military did not disclose any further details beyond the numbers of those entering and leaving Ukraine, the deceased, and those remaining. They also claimed, "While the Ukrainian side is experiencing large-scale daily losses of personnel and military equipment, the number of foreign mercenaries has decreased, and in fact, there is a leakage."

According to this data, among the foreign mercenaries participating on the Ukrainian side by country, Poland accounted for the largest number, with 1,831 entering, 378 killed in action, and 272 returning to their home country. Hundreds of others reportedly participated from Romania, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Georgia, and others.

However, some have questioned the credibility of the Russian Ministry of Defense's disclosure of the number of foreigners and deaths by country who joined the Ukrainian forces. Since it is difficult to accurately grasp the specific personnel composition and status of enemy forces during wartime, there is a high possibility that this is propaganda false information by the Russian military to pressure related countries.

Earlier, among Koreans, Lee Geun, a former captain of the Naval Special Warfare Group (UDT/SEAL), joined the foreign volunteer mercenary unit "Territorial Defense Forces International Brigade" with some companions but was injured and returned to Korea last month. Besides Lee, some others claimed participation in the Ukrainian forces in interviews with domestic media, but this has not been officially confirmed.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, "We are aware of the content disclosed by the Russian Ministry of Defense," and added, "We have instructed the local embassy, the Korean Embassy in Russia, to verify the facts."