Marta Gichko07:23, 14.01.25

Russian forces identified the system as hostile and launched a drone strike, destroying the target.

The DPRK troops delivered a unique air defense system to the Kursk region . However, the Russians destroyed it by mistake, writes Forbes .

When North Korea’s 12,000-strong 11th Army Corps arrived in the Kursk region to support Russian troops fighting Ukrainian forces, they brought anti-tank vehicles, howitzers, rocket launchers, and a rare air defense system.

The system combined a large wheeled chassis with the radar and launchers from the Russian Tor missile system, usually mounted on tracks. It was so unusual that the Russian military probably did not recognize it as its own. On or before Friday, Russian drones found and destroyed the North Korean vehicle.

The Russians released a video of the attack, believing it had hit Ukrainian air defenses. However, it took several days for outside observers to figure out what exactly had been destroyed.

“It appears that what was initially thought to be a ‘Western-made radar system’ is in fact a North Korean version of the Tor SAM on a wheeled chassis,” noted Polish analyst WarVehicleTracker.

“It’s funny… that Russia would strike its own air defense system,” the analyst added, suggesting that the drone units were not warned about the arrival of North Korean equipment.

The loss has dealt a painful blow to the Russian-North Korean group in Kursk, which has been trying since November to dislodge 20,000 Ukrainian troops from the bridgehead, largely unsuccessfully. One assault left 200 North Koreans dead or wounded, while another attack left the Russians with the loss of an entire battalion, 400 men.

Ukrainian drones are causing significant losses. “The enemy has achieved sufficient scale and diversity of its drones and has perfected the tactics of their use,” a Russian military blogger noted. Tanks “simply do not reach the line for attack.”

(C)UNIAN 2025