North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine under orders from leader Kim Jong Un.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in his war against Ukraine and promised not to forget their sacrifices.

After Russia claimed to have retaken the Kursk region from Ukraine, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that it had sent soldiers to fight in Moscow’s war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed on Saturday what he called the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region after they were expelled from the last village Moscow said they had been holding.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim over the weekend that Russian forces had fully retaken the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an offensive last year.