Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato chief says North Korean troops in Kursk as Putin issues long-range arms warning

A North Korean foreign ministry official would not confirm media reports about a troop deployment to Russia, the Reuters news agency reports.

But the official said that, if Pyongyang had taken such action, he believed it would be in line with international norms.

The allegedly planned deployment of North Korean troops to fight against Ukraine was a sign of Vladimir Putin’s “growing desperation” , Nato chief Mark Rutte has claimed.

“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support,” Mr Rutte said.

The Kremlin had initially dismissed reports about a North Korean deployment as “fake news”, after claims by Ukraine and South Korea of the North’s plans to send troops to Russia.

Speaking on Thursday, however, Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia and said it was Moscow’s business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.

Ukraine would not see any new restrictions on the use of US weapons against North Korean forces if they engage in Russia’s war, the Pentagon has said, as it alleged that around 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to eastern Russia for training.

“A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.

While Nato chief Mark Rutte said earlier on Monday that military units from North Korea have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, Ms Singh declined to confirm that North Korean forces were present in Kursk.

“It is likely that they are moving in that direction towards Kursk. But I don’t have more details just yet,” Ms Singh said.

The Kremlin has denied any Russian interference in the Georgian parliamentary elections, as the country’s pro-Western president Salome Zourabichvili called the result a “Russian special operation” and urged residents to protest.

Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream – which has governed Georgia for 12 years – won Saturday’s election with nearly 54 per cent of the vote, but Ms Zourabichvili accused the party of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda.

The Kremlin insisted on Monday that it was the West, not Moscow, that was trying to destabilise the situation.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has arrived in Georgia after congratulating the ruling party on its victory in a parliamentary elections, over which the opposition and president have called for street protests.

Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54 per cent of the vote, in a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the vote as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe.

“The people of Georgia know what is best for their country, and made their voice heard today!” Mr Orban – widely viewed as the EU leader closest to Vladimir Putin – wrote on X.

The EU, US and Nato have called for a full investigation of alleged election irregularities, with president Salome Zourabichvili calling the result a “Russian special operation and accusing Georgian Dream of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda. Georgian Dream and the electoral commission insist the vote was free and fair.

North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in Ukraine within “the next several weeks,” the Pentagon has said.

Some of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh .

“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk” region, she told reporters.

Defence secretary Lloyd Austin has previously warned that, should North Korea’s soldiers be used on the battlefield, they would be considered legitimate targets, and that their use would have serious implications for security in the Indo-Pacific as well.

The UK has announced fresh sanctions – including asset freezes and travel bans – on three Russian agencies and three senior figures whom it accused of trying to use disinformation to “undermine and destabilise Ukraine and its democracy”.

The Foreign Office said Russia’s Social Design Agency (SDA) and its partner company Structura had attempted to deliver a series of “interference operations” designed to weaken international support for Ukraine. The third company named was public relations firm ANO DIALOG.

The government also accused the SDA of attempting to incite protests in half a dozen European countries.

The Foreign Office said: “However, despite Russian pouring money into these malign organisations’ interference activities, their lies have consistently struggled online, with bots and fake sites getting limited interaction. This has forced the SDA to consider buying social media views.

“Today’s sanctions send a clear message; we will not tolerate your lies and interference, and we are coming after you,” foreign minister David Lammy said.

Following Nato chief Mark Rutte’s confirmation of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv had been warning about the issue for weeks, yet there had so far no strong response from allies.

“Now Nato Secretary General confirmed this. The bottom line: listen to Ukraine. The solution: lift restrictions on our long-range strikes against Russia now,” Mr Sybiha said on X.