A Russian general leading a Chechen special forces unit says North Korean troops are fighting on the frontlines against Ukraine, a "significant" statement according to one expert who noted it marks the first confirmation from an insider that DPRK soldiers have joined Russian forces. 

Major General Apti Alaudinov, the head of the infamous Akhmat unit, confirmed the DPRK’s involvement while responding to videos in which he was depicted as slamming North Korean soldiers as "godless atheists" and refusing to cooperate with them.