One advisor to Mr Zelensky said Russia had been caught unawares after "surprise attacks" by Ukrainian troops in Kursk.

Russia has lost up to a battalion of North Korean soldiers over the past two days in its western Kursk border region in the ongoing war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The US believes Russia intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Russia may be close to sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea after the isolated nation supplied troops to help bolster Moscow’s war in Ukraine, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Russia is willing to provide North Korea with its advanced space and satellite technology in exchange for the North's provision of weapons and other equipment to Moscow in support of its war against Ukraine.