“Recognizing the contents of the announcement by the Ministry of National Defense of Russia… Instructing the local embassy to find out the facts”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 18th that it is confirming the facts of the Russian Defense Ministry’s claim that four of the 13 Koreans who participated in the Ukrainian war were killed.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We are currently aware of the contents disclosed by the Russian Ministry of Defense,” and “we are checking the facts.”
He said, “I have ordered the Korean embassy in Russia, the local mission, to find out the facts.”
According to the data on the status of foreign mercenaries on the Ukrainian side of the ‘Special Military Operation’ released on the 17th (local time), the Ministry of Defense of Russia said, “13 Korean nationals entered Ukraine, 4 died, 8 left (Ukraine), and 1 is left.” announced.
Some argue that the Russian Defense Ministry’s disclosure of the number of foreigners who participated in the Ukrainian military and the number of deaths by country is not highly credible.
It is said that inaccurate information may be provided to prevent the influx of additional international volunteers to Ukraine and to pressure related countries to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In fact, on that day, the Russian Ministry of Defense did not disclose any further details other than the number of people entering and leaving Ukraine, the number of deaths, and the remaining people.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in April that it was verifying the truth, saying that it had received information that there were deaths among Koreans who participated in the volunteer army to help Ukraine.
At the time, the intelligence reported that multiple South Koreans had died, and the names of the dead were not included.
In March, there was a rumor that former Captain Lee Geun, a YouTuber from the Navy’s special warfare corps, died while participating in the Ukrainian Army, but the former Captain Lee himself denied it through social media.
Former Captain Lee returned to Korea on the 27th of last month for rehabilitation from an injury.
The government has designated all of Ukraine as a travel ban since mid-February.
Currently, entering Ukraine without an exception to the government’s permission to use a passport is subject to criminal punishment.
/yunhap news
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