The Ukrainian army says it has killed 77 North Korean soldiers massing in Russia’s Kursk region over the past three days.

Ukrainian special forces killed 77 North Korean soldiers, wounded more than 40 others and destroyed 12 vehicles and three armoured personnel carriers in the Kursk region in western Russia, the army said in a social media post on Monday.

For its part, the Ukrainian defence ministry’s intelligence directorate announced in a statement the destruction of a warehouse in the Alabuga economic region containing parts for Shahid drones, which Russia has used in its attacks on Ukraine.

It said the warehouse contained 65 drone structures, as well as engines, navigation systems and thermal imaging cameras.

The Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry announced that 30 Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded in fighting in Kursk on 14 and 15 December.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later published photos of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine.