There are now almost 11,000 North Korean infantry troops training in eastern Russia, to fight in Ukraine, Kyiv's Defense Intelligence Directorate has said. This week has seen multiple reports about Moscow planning to use North Korean soldiers,

Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said the first group of 2,600 soldiers will be deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine began a cross-border incision in August and still holds significant swathes of territory.

Reports suggest that North Korean troops have arrived in Russia to bolster Vladimir Putin's forces after two and a half years of brutal fighting following his invasion of Ukraine.