CNN —North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region have fought Kyiv’s forces on the battlefield, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, adding that the clashes resulted in fatalities.
Zelensky said 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in the region, where Ukraine’s three-month military incursion into Russian territory has stalled.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that a number of North Korean troops had been killed in a limited engagement with Russian and Ukrainian forces, citing senior US and Ukrainian officials.
US officials had warned that around 10,000 North Korean troops are in the Kursk region and would be expected to enter combat against Ukraine.
But Zelensky fears a greater role for North Korean troops if its allies fail to exert more pressure on Putin.
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