North Korean troops seem to temporarily withdraw from one section of front in Kursk Oblast, military says Russia claims to capture Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine admits partial retreat but says battles ongoing Russia intensifies attacks near Pokrovsk,

The North Korean troops, who have been fighting alongside Russia, have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of Kursk oblast where Ukraine’s 73rd Special Operation Forces (SOF) centre is deployed, colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, an SOF spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian forces described a different kind of enemy, fighting with unfamiliar tactics and little option to retreat.

Soldiers fighting for Ukraine describe facing relentless waves of determined North Korean troops, Russian units with improved tactics, and Ukraine’s own struggles with exhaustion and sinking morale.

Russia claims to have captured the strategically important Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka, as Vladimir Putin ’s forces continue their push in the Donetsk region. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

British intelligence has reported that one-third of the troops deployed alongside Russian forces in Ukraine are already out of action. Pyongyang sent a contingent of 12,000 soldiers to Russia to assist local forces in regaining lost territory in the Kursk region,