Many Russians injured in Ukraine are not returning home. They are flying with the expenses paid to North Korea

During the last months, there have been times in the Ukraine War North Korean soldiers They have been the closest to ghost troops. Actually, and as usually happens in the contests, participants figures vary according to the sides, so we may never know the exact number of “shipments”. That said, and if there was any questions of The ties forged in the Cold War for both nationsin parallel, an unprecedented event is happening. Russian soldiers are not returning home, they are going to Pyongyang.

From the battle front to Korea. From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Thousands of Russian soldiers have returned home injured or with physical and psychological sequelae. Many of them have participated in state rehabilitation programs in sanatoriums distributed throughout Russia.

However, an increasing number of military have had another destination. This group, secret until very recently, It has been sent to North Korea To receive medical care and rest, which marks a new chapter in the growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Recovery with expenses paid. In The Guardian had cases of soldiers like Aleksei (fictional name), who, after suffering a shrapnel wound in the leg, requested a stay in a state sanatorium. The man hoped to be sent to one of the traditional rehabilitation centers in the Black Sea or the Altái mountains, but in the absence of availability, his unit in the distant Russian East offered him an unexpected destination: North Korea.

Aleksei, like others, approached a two -hour flight from Vladivostok to Pyongyang, followed by A trip to a sanatorium in Wonsanon the eastern coast of North Korea. There, he spent a week with two other dozen Russian soldiers, in an environment that, although he says that clean and well maintained, lacked the specialized medical care he expected.

The “healer” role of North Korea. He Shipping Russian soldiers injured to North Korea has not been publicly promoted through the Russian government, images of visits have not been disseminated. However, in a recent interview, Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang, Aleksandr Matsegora, confirmed that “hundreds of Russian soldiers” have been treated in Sanatorium and North Korean medical centers.

Not just that. The diplomat stressed that Accommodation, food and care services were totally freeand that when Russia tried to compensate for North Korea for expenses, North Korean authorities felt “offended” and rejected any payment. An exchange that is part of that close military and political collaboration between the two countries that we have been countingand that has intensified since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Rest without treatment. Aleksei told the British environment that during his stay in Wonsan he had access to swimming pools, saunas and recreational activities such as ping-pong and card games. But as we said, he noticed several limitations. Namely: he did not receive the expected specialized medical treatment, the meals “were tasteless and had little meat”, it was forbidden to leave the enclosure at night or interact with the local population, and Alcohol was extremely difficult to get.

Aspects that, As the New York Times pointed outthey contrast with the image of the traditional Russian sanitariums, who usually offer a combination of physical therapy, rehabilitation and rest in natural environments. Be that as it may, for Aleksei, The experience was “different from the expected”and you are not sure if I would accept to return in case of a new offer.

The doubt and strategic background. Some analysts have suggested that these soldiers’ shipments could have a hidden purpose beyond the rehabilitation itself. Like what? He Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in Washington, has indicated that the arrival of Russian troops with an experience of fighting North Korea It could be an opportunity to train and share tactics with the North Korean armyunder the appearance of rest and recovery. The possibility of greater cooperation in this area reinforces concerns about the growing military alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang.

A summer camp for Russian children. It The New York Times had exclusive. In parallel to the arrival of Russian military in North Korea, Pyongyang has also begun to receive children of Russian soldiers who died in the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin first mentioned the initiative in June 2023thanking North Korean leader Kim Jong-un organizing a camp for these children in the Songdowon complex, near Wonsan. This center, which already received Russian visitors before the war, has now become a symbol of the bilateral relationship.

In fact, the Russian media have widely covered these trips, Showing images of children posing in front of statues of North Korean leaders. The Times said that even a young participant described the experience as a “total digital detox”highlighting the strict discipline of North Korean children, who were marching in training and continued with military precision.

In short, the presence of Russian soldiers in North Korea seems to symbolize that growing convergence between both nationsin a context of international isolation. As military and economic cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang intensifies, these exchanges could represent more than simple rehabilitation, consolidating a new geopolitical dynamic in the 21st century.

Image | Office of the President of The Russian Federation

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