North Korea is testing its new weapons on Russia’s side in the war, and Ukrainian officials say the North’s troops are also gaining direct battle experience.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had been briefed by Ukrainian intelligence services about what he described as North Korea's "effective involvement" in Russia's war in his country.

Some 18 North Korean soldiers are believed to have deserted the Russian frontline, with Kremlin fighters reportedly searching for them.The troops were deployed in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk oblasts, about four miles from the border with Ukraine,