While weapons and supplies have arrived from countries like Iran and China, reports emerged last year that North Korean troops were also being deployed to fight alongside Russian forces. Their presence on the battlefield has now come under scrutiny as reports suggest they have suffered heavy casualties and may have temporarily withdrawn from combat.

North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine are blowing themselves up with grenades, rather than be captured, according to Kyiv forces.

The North Korean troops fighting for Russia are highly trained and will stop at nothing to avoid surrender, Ukrainian sources tell Sam Kiley, The Independent’s World Affairs Editor, in Sumy