Ukrainian troops have engaged with North Korean soldiers for the first time. The North Korean troops were recently deployed to help Russia in the war with its neighbour, Ukraine’s defence minister said Tuesday.

Another Kyiv official said Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region.

The comments were the first official reports that Ukrainian and North Korean forces have engaged in combat, following a deployment that has given the war a new complexion as it approaches its 1,000-day milestone.