Headline

Zelensky Offers To Release Captured North Korean Soldiers In Exchange For Ukrainian Soldiers Held In Russia

Published

8 months ago

January 13, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is willing to release North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia in exchange for Ukrainian soldiers being held captive in Russia.

“Ukraine is ready to hand over (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organize their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Zelensky said Sunday in a post on X that included a video purportedly showing two North Korean POWs being interrogated.

On Saturday, Ukraine said it had captured two North Korean soldiers, marking the first time that Kyiv has captured soldiers alive from the isolated state.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have officially acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops in Russia.

CNN says its reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment, and is seeking comment from North Korea.

In the video shared by Zelensky on Sunday, both soldiers appear injured and are likely speaking under duress. A Korean-speaking voice can be heard translating questions from the interrogator.

One soldier has a wound to his jaw, the other has bandaged hands.

One of the soldiers, who appears in the video lying down, says he did not know he was fighting in a war against Ukraine and that his commanders told him it was a training exercise.

The interrogator, whose voice has been modulated to obscure their identity, asks both soldiers whether they want to return to North Korea, according to a CNN translation of the video.

One nods, the other – after further prompting from the translator, who asks, “Do you like it here in Ukraine? It’s nicer here” – says he wants to stay in Ukraine but adds later that he will do as he is told.

In his daily address later Sunday, Zelensky claimed that one of the soldiers had “expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine.”

According to Ukrainian and Western assessments, some 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy several hundred square kilometers after staging a cross-border incursion in August last year.

Ukraine estimates more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Kursk, while a senior US official said North Korea has seen “several hundred” casualties – both killed and wounded – in the region since October.

In video released Saturday by Ukraine’s Security Service, a spokesman says one of the North Koreans was captured on January 9 by Ukrainian special forces, and the other by Ukrainian paratroopers.

In his statement on X, Zelensky vowed to capture more North Korean soldiers.

“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others. There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea,” Zelensky said on X.

Officials in Kyiv have accused Russia of trying to cover up the involvement of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield.

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”