North Korean troops supporting Russia’s war have joined combat against Ukrainian forces, top Ukrainian officials confirmed on Tuesday, as Volodymyr Zelensky continues to seek support against Moscow’s offensive.

Ukrainian defense chief Rustem Umerov said his country’s forces had a minor “engagement” with North Korean soldiers but did not state where, confirming in an interview with South Korea’s KBS that Pyongyang is now officially involved in the war.

Russian authorities have disguised the North Korean soldiers as ethnic Buryats from Siberia and blended them with other Russian forces, complicating the verification of their identities, according to Umerov.

“[We had] already contacts