At least 30 North Koreans were “killed or wounded” over the weekend while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, Ukrainian military intelligence said.

Ukraine said on Monday that North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops suffered heavy losses during fighting at the weekend in the Russian region of Kursk.

The fighting in Ukraine remains fierce. Russia is deploying North Korean troops in combat for the first time, and is shifting military supplies and forces from Syria. Facing losses, Kyiv has dismissed a top general.

North Korean troops have been killed fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region, the US has said. These would be the first reported casualties since it emerged in October that North Korea had sent around 10,000 troops to reinforce Russia's war effort.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence said on Monday that at least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed and wounded in weekend battles in Russia's western Kursk region, prompting commanders to send reinforcements to frontline units.

Two security agents and two migrants were killed in a shooting in Loon-Plage near the northern city of Dunkirk, French media reported on Saturday, citing security sources.

The Russian military is attempting to hide the losses of North Korean soldiers fighting in the war against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Dec. 16. Zelensky's remarks came after Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) and the U.

Ukrainian military released footage allegedly showing the bodies of dead North Korean and Russian soldiers over the weekend, claiming that the duo recently suffered around 200 casualties.