Ukrainian special forces have captured two North Korean troops, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

The wounded soldiers have been transported to Kyiv for questioning by intelligence services, the Ukraine president said, in what is believed to be a first since North Korean troops entered the war on the side of Russia.

The two men were reportedly captured by Ukrainian special operations forces and paratroopers in Russia’s Kursk region

“These are two soldiers who, although wounded, survived and were brought to Kyiv, and are talking to SBU investigators,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media, referring to Ukraine’s security service.

The Ukrainian president also posted photos of the prisoners of war, showing one soldier with both hands wrapped in bandages and another wearing a bloodied dressing around his chin.

Further photos appeared to show a red Russian army ID card issued to a 26-year-old man from Russia’s Tyva region bordering Mongolia, and a view through the porthole of a cell marked “detention of prisoners of war, 411”.