Ukrainian troops have entered combat against North Korean soldiers in Kursk, a member of the country's national security and defense council claimed. Andrii Kovalenko, a high-ranking official in the council's anti-disinformation branch,

The Pentagon said on Monday that there were at least 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk but could not corroborate reports that they were engaged in combat. Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said there were indications that the North Korean troops would provide combat or combat support capabilities.

"We see an increase in the number of North Koreans, and we do not see an increase in the reaction of our partners," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.