North Korean troops suffer heavy casualties in Russia, Ukraine says

North Korean troops, deployed to bolster Russian forces in their war on Ukraine, have suffered “significant losses” in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukrainian authorities said Monday.

As many as 30 have been “killed or wounded,” Ukrainian military intelligence said, among the heaviest losses for North Korean forces yet reported by Ukraine.

North Korea has joined Russia as Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine grinds toward a fourth year. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov last month reported the first clashes between North Korean and Ukrainian forces, but he did not detail casualties. U.S. officials say Russia has deployed some 8,000 North Koreans in the Kursk region, the border area where Ukrainian forces seized Russian territory in a surprise attack over the summer.

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