Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

Western officials have told the BBC that North Korean troops have already suffered nearly 40% casualties in the fighting in Russia's western Kursk region, in just three months. The officials, who spoke on grounds of anonymity,

The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a report on the assault by North Korean soldiers on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. Intense fighting lasted several hours,

It will mostly be missile and artillery troops who typically operate hundreds of tubed and rocket artillery systems as well as the KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles Pyongyang has already provided Moscow,

Ukraine's military said 21 troops were killed and 40 injured in the operation in the Russian region where it is staging an incursion.