Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that North Korea was a de facto participant on Russia's side in its war against Ukraine. In a speech to parliament, the Ukrainian leader said his intelligence services had confirmed North Korea's supply to Russia of both weapons and people.

Ukrainian media reports indicate that Russia is organizing a battalion of North Korean nationals to assist in driving Kyiv's forces out of Kursk.

Russia's war in Ukraine may have reached a new stage this week, with reports that North Korea has moved from supplying Moscow with weapons to sending its own troops. A Western diplomat familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Oct.