Overview
- The Russian Defence Ministry released video of North Korean troops training in mine detection and clearance, as commanders praised their performance as on par with Russian sappers.
- South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources have estimated about 14,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to the area and more than 6,000 were killed, figures that remain disputed.
- Russia’s military outlet Krasnaya Zvezda reported an unusually dense concentration of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and said many devices were NATO-made, claims not independently verified.
- In the Bolshesoldatsky district of Kursk, 37 of 64 settlements remain closed to civilians because of mine hazards, according to Krasnaya Zvezda.
- Russian reports said de-mining teams have come under Ukrainian artillery and drone fire, which Reuters could not confirm, as the Kremlin publicly thanked Pyongyang for what it called selfless assistance.