Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

These days Russia and North Korea are writing a new battlefield history together. North Korea has dispatched some 12,000 troops to fight in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. The soldiers are believed to be some of North Korea’s most elite,

Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the United Nations Security Council learned last week.

A contingent of approximately 12,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia’s Kursk region may suffer complete casualties by mid-April.

North Korean troops participating in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast are experiencing critically high casualty rates. If the situation remains unchanged, the entire contingent of 12,000 servicemen could be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025.