North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the fighting in Russia's Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks, Ukraine’s military intelligence said Thursday.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has, for the first time, sent combatant units abroad, to aid Russia in the war in Ukraine. As noted in the Joint Statement on the DPRK’s Deployment of Troops to Russia this development indelibly connects the Indo-Pacific and European theaters,

Russia continues to use North Korean soldiers in its military operations against Ukraine. DPRK troops in the Kursk region suffer losses, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. Russian UAV units are providing support and coordination for North Korean assault groups in the Kursk region.

North Korea has lost more than 3,000 troops in about two months of combat in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday — and he criticized world leaders for doing “almost nothing” to counter Moscow’s alliance with Pyongyang.