Sep. 14 — The number of North Korean military personnel participating in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could grow to 50,000 troops, said Oleh Ivaschenko, the head of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Service, also known as HUR, in an interview with The Times magazine. 

Since November 2024, North Korea has sent troops to Russia to assist Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. Mostly, North Korean soldiers were involved in the Kursk counteroffensive, during which Ukraine held nearly 600-800 square kilometers (231-308 square miles) in 2024 until being pushed back by Russian forces. 

On Feb.13, 2026, South Korea’s intelligence reported that Ukrainian soldiers killed more than 6,000 North Korean troops during Russia’s counteroffensive in the Kursk region. 

“Today, there are approximately 8,000 North Korean troops in the Kursk region,” Ivaschenko said. 

He added that nearly 25,000 North Korean troops have already been rotated through the Russian army.

Ivashenko also said that by August last year, North Korea had sent Russia at least 150 KN-23 or KN-24 ballistic missiles for attacks against Ukraine, with delivery of another 120 promised. 

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