North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia were given fake military documents with Russian names and birthplaces, the Ukrainian military said, amid claims from Kyiv that Russia is trying to conceal the presence of foreign fighters on the battlefield.

Ukraine’s “Birds of Magyar”, a Marine Corps unit specialising in unmanned aerial combat, released a video on Sunday purporting to be of North Koreans killed in Kursk. The drone footage hovered over a line of bodies with covered faces.

According to the outlets' conclusions for the year, 2024 will likely mark the "war's deadliest year," with a current count of over 20,000 confirmed over the past 12 months — although final conclusions cannot yet be made as data on casualties continues to emerge.