North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to Russia, most of them deployed in the western Kursk Oblast and participating in the fighting, a Pentagon spokesperson said at a news conference on November 12.

Washington is repeating earlier warnings from Kiev that Pyongyang’s troops have been deployed to the war zone in an unprecedented escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Today I can confirm that more than 10,000 (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun combat operations with Russian forces,” spokesman Vedant said Patel. .

“Russian forces trained the (North Korean) soldiers in artillery, in UAV and basic infantry operations, including trench clearance, which are crucial skills for front-line operations.”

According to Patel, the effectiveness of North Korean soldiers “will largely be determined by how well the Russians can integrate them into their military.”

Russia is assembling a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, to launch a counter-offensive against a Ukrainian salient in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, the New York Times reported on November 10.

The new force comes as Russia suffered its heaviest losses last month and North Korean troops could replace wounded and killed Russian soldiers, some experts said.

Clashes are currently underway between Ukrainian and North Korean soldiers, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on November 5. North Korean troops have already suffered losses, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on November 7, without specifying the number.

Russia prepares a 50,000-strong offensive in the latest attempt to drive the Ukrainian army out of Kursk Oblast

Over the past week, Russia had been gathering forces in what appears to be preparations for a decisive attack in the country’s Kursk Oblast. “The situation changes every day. Not so long ago we were on the offensive, and now we are on the defensive,” says a 35-year-old artilleryman with the