(LONDON) — U.S.-Russian dual citizen Ksenia Karelina landed in the United States Thursday evening, after being released from a Russian prison in an overnight prisoner exchange.
Karelina deplaned at 11:03 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews and hugged her fiancé, Chris van Heerden.
Karelina — a 33-year-old ballet dancer — was serving a 12-year prison sentence in a penal colony, having been convicted of treason in August 2024. She was accused of organizing fundraisers for Ukraine’s military, attending pro-Ukraine rallies and posting social media messages against Russia’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. maintained she was wrongfully detained.
Karelina’s fiancé spoke to ABC News Live hours after her sentencing, saying she did nothing wrong. He said all she did was donate $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
German-Russian citizen Artur Petrov — who is accused of smuggling U.S. technology to assist the Russian military — was exchanged for Karelina, Russia’s Federal Security Service said.
Petrov was detained in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the U.S. and later extradited. A Justice Department notice of his arrest said Petrov was accused of involvement in a scheme to procure U.S.-sourced microelectronics subject to export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier. The components were intended for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military, the notice said.
A 2024 statement related to Petrov’s extradition to the U.S. said he was part of a network that secretly supplied Russia’s military industrial complex with “critical U.S. technology, including the same types of microelectronics recovered from Russian weapons on Ukrainian battlefields.”
The exchange took place overnight in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, confirmed to ABC News that she had been released.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the exchange in a tweet, writing, “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service also confirmed Karelina’s release, saying she had been pardoned via a decree from President Vladimir Putin. The FSB said the exchange was made at Abu Dhabi airport with the mediation of the UAE.
American and Russian intelligence agencies took the lead in negotiating the prisoner swap, a U.S. official told ABC News.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement, “Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort and we appreciate the government of UAE for enabling the exchange.”
He later shared a photo of himself greeting her at an unspecified airport.
A CIA spokesperson told ABC News that “much of the swap was negotiated by the U.S. government, with CIA playing a key role engaging with Russian intelligence.”
“Through these engagements, CIA negotiated with Russia and worked closely with domestic and foreign partners, including the UAE, to carry out the exchange,” the spokesperson said. “We also collaborated closely with counterparts at agencies across the [U.S. government] to facilitate this exchange.”
The Los Angeles resident was arrested in January 2024 while visiting family in Russia. Upon learning she has American citizenship, local law enforcement searched her phone and found a donation on Venmo to a U.S. nonprofit organization that supports those impacted by the war in Ukraine, according to Global Reach, an organization dedicated to bringing home Americans who are wrongly held abroad. The donation was made in 2022, a year before the law banning such donations was passed in Russia, according to the group.
“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” her fiancé, van Heerden, a professional boxer, said in a statement Thursday. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Cindy Smith, Tanya Stukalova and Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The recovery phase has ended after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert, killing at least 221 people, officials said Thursday.
Another 155 people were injured in the roof collapse early Tuesday at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center said.
The agency said 189 people were rescued alive.
No one remains in the rubble following an extensive search, the sub-director of the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center said at the scene of the nightclub roof collapse Thursday afternoon.
Effort to identify victims
Forensic police specialists have been deployed to identify deceased victims using modern biometric identification systems, authorities said earlier Thursday.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media on Tuesday. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
Pérez, 69, a renowned singer in the country, was among those found dead in the collapsed club, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Police.
A tribute posted to his Instagram account said Pérez’s music and legacy “will live forever in our hearts.”
Former MLB players among those killed
The incident has impacted those with ties to MLB, with two former players among those killed and other athletes’ family members involved.
The deceased included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble by rescue crews but died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital, according to Col. Randolfo Rijo Gomez, head of the country’s 911 emergency services.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Another former MLB player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also killed in the roof collapse, according to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation. The Dominican native played for the Washington Nationals as well as professionally in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
“His legacy will live on in the history of national baseball,” the ministry said in a statement on social media. “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said Tuesday that he has family members missing in the rubble.
“We don’t know what happened to them, but we just want to be strong like we have always been,” the Dominican-born pitcher said in a video posted to Instagram. “We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time. So I just hope that everybody has the same courage.”
Investigation underway
Fashion designer Martin Polanco died in the roof collapse, his family confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. A fashion icon in the Dominican Republic, Polanco dressed artists including Daddy Yankee and Sergio Vargas as well as designed for Abinader.
At least nine U.S. citizens are among those killed, according to the State Department. U.S. lawful permanent residents also died in the collapse, according to the department, which did not specify how many.
“We are working with local authorities to determine if any additional U.S. citizens were affected and stand ready to provide consular assistance,” a department official said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X on Wednesday that the U.S. “stands ready to support our Dominican allies amid this difficult time.”
In the wake of the collapse, many families gathered at the site looking for their loved ones who were inside the club amid the search and rescue effort.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic are now moving into the expert assessment phase to determine what caused the nightclub to collapse, District Attorney of the National District Rosalba Ramos said from the site of the collapsed nightclub on Thursday. The expert assessment phase is the step done before a legal investigation can be opened.
The Dominican Republic government is creating a commission of experts to identify possible causes of the roof collapse, a government spokesperson said Thursday. This does not affect the district attorney’s role in investigating the incident, the spokesperson added.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll continues to rise amid an ongoing search and rescue effort after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 218 people were killed, Dominican authorities said on Thursday, and another 155 injured in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, according to national police.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
Specialized technical teams were active throughout Wednesday, with heavy machinery employed for debris removal, officials said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
Pérez, 69, a renowned singer in the country, was found dead in the collapsed club, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Police.
A tribute posted to his Instagram account said Pérez’s music and legacy “will live forever in our hearts.”
Former MLB players among those killed
The incident has impacted those with ties to Major League Baseball, with two former players among those killed and other athletes’ family members involved.
The deceased included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble by rescue crews but died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital, according to Col. Randolfo Rijo Gomez, head of the country’s 911 emergency services.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Another former MLB player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also killed in the roof collapse, according to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation. The Dominican baseball player played for the Washington Nationals as well as professionally in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
“His legacy will live on in the history of national baseball,” the ministry said in a statement on social media. “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said Tuesday that he has family members missing in the rubble.
“We don’t know what happened to them, but we just want to be strong like we have always been,” the Dominican-born pitcher said in a video posted to Instagram. “We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time. So I just hope that everybody has the same courage.”
Investigation underway
Fashion designer Martin Polanco died in the roof collapse, his family confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. A fashion icon in the Dominican Republic, Polanco dressed artists including Daddy Yankee and Sergio Vargas as well as designed for Abinader.
At least one U.S. citizen was among those killed, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. U.S. lawful permanent residents also died in the collapse, according to Rubio, who did not specify how many.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones affected by this devastating event,” he said in a post on X on Wednesday. “The U.S. stands ready to support our Dominican allies amid this difficult time.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene on Tuesday.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll continues to rise after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 124 people were killed and another 155 injured in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, according to national police.
A search-and-rescue operation was underway in the rubble following the collapse at the venue, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, police said.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
Pérez, 69, a renowned singer in the country, was found dead in the collapsed club, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Police.
A tribute posted to his Instagram account said Pérez’s music and legacy “will live forever in our hearts.”
The deceased also included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble by rescue crews but died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital, according to Col. Randolfo Rijo Gomez, head of the country’s 911 emergency services.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Another former MLB player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also killed in the roof collapse, according to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation. The Dominican baseball player played for the Washington Nationals as well as professionally in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
“His legacy will live on in the history of national baseball,” the ministry said in a statement on social media. “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner of Baseball Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll has continued to rise after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 58 people were killed in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, according to national police.
At least 160 people were injured, the Dominican civil defense said earlier.
A search-and-rescue operation was underway in the rubble following the collapse, police said.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the national police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
The deceased included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll has continued to rise after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 44 people were killed and 160 people injured at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, according to the Dominican civil defense.
A search-and-rescue operation was underway in the rubble following the collapse, police said.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the national police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
The deceased included Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
(LONDON) — A 14-year-old dual Palestinian-U.S. citizen was killed in the West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday.
The teen was identified as Amer Mohamad Saada Rabee.
The death comes after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Sunday that they identified “three terrorists who hurled rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving” in the Turmus Ayya area of the West Bank.
Israeli soldiers “opened fire,” killing one person and hitting two others, the IDF said in the statement, though they did not identify the person who was killed.
In response to an ABC News request, the IDF would not comment regarding whether they are investigating the incident. A video of the rock-throwing incident in question was provided with the IDF statement Sunday.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed in a statement to ABC News that a U.S. citizen died in the West Bank.
“We acknowledge the IDF’s initial statement that expressed that this incident occurred during a counter-terrorism operation and that Israel is investigating,” the statement said.
“It is with heavy hearts that The Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) shares the news of the horrific killing of Amer Mohamad Saada Rabee, a young 14-year-old Palestinian American boy from Turmusayya [sic], a village in the West Bank,” the New Jersey-based Palestinian American Community Center said in a statement.
Two other people who were also under 18 years old were injured in the incident, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
“Amer, along with two other Palestinian American 15-year-olds from the village, were shot by Israeli military officers. Amer was shot 11 times in total,” the Palestinian American Community Center said.
Mourners gathered Sunday for funeral prayers at the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey.
(LONDON) — Iranian officials confirmed Monday that Tehran would hold “indirect” high level talks with U.S. representatives in Oman this weekend regarding Iran’s nuclear program, though appeared to contradict President Donald Trump’s assertion that the negotiations are “direct” in nature.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen.”
“You know, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, maybe you’re going through surrogates or you’re not dealing directly. You’re dealing through other countries.’ No, we’re dealing with them directly. And, maybe a deal is going to be made,” Trump said.
Asked on Tuesday whether the talks would indeed be direct, a White House National Security spokesperson told ABC News, “The president was clear in his remarks.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a meeting will take place in Oman on April 12, though stressed they would be “indirect high-level talks.”
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Araghchi said in a post to social media.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also told a Tuesday press conference that the coming talks with the U.S. will be “indirect.”
“We believe in negotiations,” she said, as quoted by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. “We had previously stated that if the language of respect is used, we will negotiate.”
“Details will emerge during the negotiations,” Mohajerani added. “As negotiations have not started yet, there are no details that we can share now,” she said.
“As a negotiator party with an equal perspective toward the talks, what matters to us is focusing on our national interests, anything that improves the situation for our people, and the topics that have previously been discussed. Hopefully, we will have wise negotiations ahead,” she added.
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in indirect talks several times in recent years. The country has traditionally played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, including during talks held there in 2023.
Iranian officials have so far refused Trump’s offer to engage in direct talks. President Masoud Pezeshkian said in March that “although direct negotiations between the two parties are rejected, it has been stated that the path for indirect negotiations is open.”
If direct talks happen as Trump said, they would be the first publicly-known direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the president exited the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal in 2018.
In recent weeks, Trump has threatened potential military action against Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.
“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” the president said Monday, speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it,” he said.
“So, we’re going to see if we can avoid it,” Trump continued. “But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory. And hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful.”
ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
This undated photo shows members of Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Regiment posing with Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi at an undisclosed frontline location. (225th Separate Assault Regiment Press Office)
LONDON — Maj. Oleh Shyriaiev’s first experience of North Koreans came at the contact line near Kruglenkoe — a village around 8 miles from the Ukrainian border in Kursk, the western Russian region that has become a focal point of the war and an example of both Ukraine’s determination and the brutal war of attrition the two sides are locked in.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive into the border region in August. Since then, both sides have claimed to have inflicted significant losses on the other. Russia began sending North Korean troops to the region to help fight back against Kyiv’s forces in late 2024, according to Ukrainian, South Korean and Western officials.
“They tried to do an assault with a company group,” Shyriaiev — the commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment — told ABC News, speaking by video call from his unit’s operations room close to the front. “We were prepared.”
“We withdrew a bit and we created a minefield,” he recalled. “And after the North Koreans hit those mines, my guys just finished them off with guns.”
The subsequent months saw Pyongyang’s units become the “elite” assault force within Russia’s effort to dislodge Ukrainian troops in Kursk, Shyriaiev said — fighters committed to a mission far from home in horrific battlefield conditions.
Ousting Ukraine’s forces from Kursk became a priority for the Kremlin. But for nearly 8 months, Russian troops struggled, suffering heavy losses for little ground. To drive the Ukrainians out, Russia turned to North Korea for help.
“They do not surrender,” Shyriaiev said of Pyongyang’s troops. “I don’t remember any cases where we have been able to take them captive. We have taken some who were already wounded, but I think they died from their wounds.”
Now, with Ukraine holding onto a sliver of land in Kursk and peace efforts grinding along, Shyriaiev echoed Kyiv’s assertion that the operation was a success, though it ended in Ukrainian retreat.
“They have lost a lot of personnel, both recoverable and irrecoverable losses,” he said of Russian and North Korean forces. “They have lost a lot of equipment, a lot of their infrastructure has been damaged, which means that they would need to rebuild it. This also comes at a cost. And this also weakens Russia.”
For Moscow, the eventual ejection of Ukrainian forces from almost all of Kursk was a signal of Russian resolve. President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Kursk front in March visibly tied him to the operation. “Your task is to completely destroy the enemy,” Putin said, while clad in military fatigues. “The previous status along the borderline must be restored.”
North Korea’s assistance came at a sensitive moment. President Joe Biden was soon to leave the White House, with his successor President Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office promising to quickly end Russia’s war. Trump had repeatedly hinted that a future peace deal would include Ukrainian territorial and political concessions and be twinned with the curtailment of U.S. aid to Kyiv.
Trump has been broadly critical of Ukraine’s conduct since returning to office, repeatedly framing Kyiv as the main impediment to a peace deal. In March, Trump claimed that “thousands of Ukrainian troops” were “completely surrounded” in Kursk, describing their position as “very bad and vulnerable.” Ukrainian leaders rejected the characterization as false.
First contact
Shyriaiev was already a decorated veteran of Ukraine’s fiercest recent battles when his unit crossed into Russia in the vanguard of the surprise Ukrainian August 2024 offensive into Kursk. One month later, he would be recognized as a “Hero of Ukraine” by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“At the very beginning, I had a skeptical view of this,” Shyriaiev said of the daring Kursk operation, which saw Kyiv’s forces seize nearly 500 square miles of Russian territory, initially stunning Russia’s military and embarrassing Putin.
“I am proud that we were the first to actually bring the fight to Russian soil,” Shyriaiev said of his regiment, which is made up of five battalions with a total strength of some 5,500 soldiers.
The theater became the first to which North Korean troops were deployed — a force of some 10,000 soldiers, according to the U.S. — dispatched by Pyongyang to aid Moscow’s embattled soldiers, marking a new level of North Korean involvement in the Kremlin’s 3-year-old war on its neighbor which began with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As one of the first Ukrainian units to push into Kursk, the 225th was also among the first to come up against North Korean soldiers. The experience gave Shyriaiev and his troops a rare level of insight into Pyongyang’s forces, he said.
Initially, North Korean soldiers were thrown into so-called “meat assaults,” Shyriaiev said, a term Ukrainian troops use to describe the poorly-supported and costly infantry wave attacks employed by Russian commanders throughout the war.
The North Koreans were guided only by limited training inside Russia and their nation’s experience of World War II- and Korean War-era combat. “This experience didn’t include the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, it didn’t include any kinds of modern tactics,” he said.
That lack of experience was reflected in heavy casualties, though exact estimates vary. British intelligence assessed that by March roughly 5,000 of the 11,000 North Korean troops deployed to fight Ukraine had been killed or wounded, with a third likely killed.
Zelenskyy and Kyrylo Budanov — the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence — both said in February that North Korean troops had suffered about 4,000 casualties.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said in March that North Korean forces had suffered around 5,000 casualties, according to the Yonhap news agency, South Korea’s state media.
Shyriaiev’s 225th Regiment soon noticed that the North Koreans had adapted. “They were moving forward not as a company, but in small groups” using reconnaissance, grenade-dropping and first-person view attack drones, Shyriaiev said, recalling later battles to the south of the town of Sudzha.
“They were doing these assaults in small groups so that they would not suffer such large losses at once.”
The 225th’s experience is representative of the broader trajectory of North Korean combat performance in Kursk, Shyriaiev said, with North Koreans quickly becoming the leading element of Russia’s attacks.
“They were always used in assault, and the Russians are then used to secure the ground that the Koreans have taken,” he said.
“They are the best prepared in terms of their physical preparation,” Shyriaiev continued. “They are good marksmen. They are not afraid to engage drones — they are shooting down drones with guns. They do not leave their wounded behind. They always try to evacuate them.”
Where Russian forces are “being sent into battle under duress — as with a horsewhip,” Shyriaiev said, “Koreans are more devoted, and to die heroically on the field of battle is something that Korean soldiers are proud of.”
‘I do not feel pity’
Russia eventually succeeded in largely driving the Ukrainians out of Kursk last month.
Ukrainian troops were forced to hurriedly retreat from Sudzha after Russian and North Korean forces succeeded in breaking through Ukrainian lines, following weeks of increasingly strangling Ukraine’s supply route into the area. Ukraine now still holds a tiny sliver of Kursk, trying to prevent Russia from advancing into the Sumy region.
Ukrainian troops had to adapt to their new North Korean enemies, Shyriaiev said. “It is perfectly possible to fight them if you are prepared,” he said.
“You need to create obstacles for them. You need to create a minefield, and our guys need to be confident enough to go in and finish them after they have stepped on mines or have been hit by any type of artillery rounds which are supplied to us by our American partners.”
South Korean intelligence suggested last year that the families of troops dispatched to Russia had been put in isolation. A former North Korean soldier told ABC News he believes that few of Pyongyang’s forces had been captured while fighting against Ukraine because they are told their families will be executed if they are caught alive.
“If the soldiers are captured and tell information to the enemy, their families will be punished, go to a political prison camp, or worse, they will be executed in front of the people,” said another North Korean defector, Pak Yusung.
Shyriaiev said he was unmoved by any suggestion that the North Korean soldiers sent to Kursk were misled or coerced.
“I do not feel pity towards anyone who is waging war against my country,” he said. “North Koreans are enemies for me and they are the enemies of my country.”
“Also, I do not think that they don’t understand where they have found themselves,” Shyriaiev continued. “It’s impossible that they just don’t know, or are clueless about where they ended up.”
“I do not respect this adversary,” Shyriaiev said. “This is not some kind of a tournament or ceremonial fight between knights. This is a war, a war which is a painful burden for our land, for our families.”
‘Yearning for peace’
Whether waged by Russians or North Koreans, Shyriaiev said he believes the war will drag on despite U.S.-led peace efforts.
“All of us are, of course, yearning for peace,” he said. “But when people begin to talk about loss of territories, this is a very painful, very sensitive issue.”
Ukrainians should consider a ceasefire an opportunity to “prepare for the continuation of a fight, because with this kind of a neighbor, we need to constantly be on guard,” Shyriaiev continued. “We know that Russia is a country that never, never keeps its promises. It is a neighbor that is always a threat that has always aimed to suppress us and to conquer us.”
Moscow has framed its ongoing invasion — plus decades of influence operations and, since 2014, cross-border military action — as a pre-emptive measure to forestall combined Ukrainian-NATO aggression against Russia. The “special military operation,” as the Kremlin termed the invasion, was launched “to defend ourselves from the threats created for us,” Putin said as the attack began.
While Trump’s administration pushes Ukraine to cede land, Shyriaiev suggested that the existential threat posed by Moscow necessitates the recovery of all land within Ukraine’s 1991 internationally-recognized borders — including Crimea and the eastern Donbas region.
“We need to never forget this experience,” he said. “We need to know that at any moment, Russia can attack again. And we need to be prepared.”
Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Pope Francis on Sunday made his first public appearance since being discharged from hospital two weeks ago.
Francis, 88, entered St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in a wheelchair to briefly greet crowds that were gathered to mark the Jubilee of the Sick and the World of Healthcare. The pope was wearing oxygen nasal cannulas.
“Happy Sunday to everyone,” Francis said to those attending the mass, as quoted by the Italian ANSA news agency. “Happy Sunday to everyone,” he repeated. “Thank you very much.”
In a statement, the Vatican press office said Francis “joined the Jubilee pilgrimage.” It added, “Before greeting the pilgrims and faithful in the square, to whom he addressed his thanks, he received the sacrament of reconciliation in St. Peter’s Basilica, gathered in prayer and passed through the Holy Door.”
The Vatican press office also released the Pope’s Angelus message. “Dearest ones, as during my hospitalization, even now in my convalescence I feel the ‘finger of God’ and experience his caring caress,” the pope’s message read.
“Let us continue to pray for peace: in the tormented Ukraine, hit by attacks that cause many civilian victims, including many children,” it continued.
“And the same thing happens in Gaza, where people are reduced to living in unimaginable conditions, without a roof, without food, without clean water. Let the weapons fall silent and dialogue resume; let all the hostages be freed and the population be helped.”
“Let us pray for peace throughout the Middle East; in Sudan and South Sudan; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; in Myanmar, also severely tested by the earthquake; and in Haiti, where violence is raging, which a few days ago killed two nuns,” Francis’ message read.
The pope was discharged from hospital on March 23 after being treated for double pneumonia.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.
