Ukrainian forces have clashed with North Korean troops in the Kursk region of Russia, Kyiv announced on Monday, marking the first time it has confirmed a military encounter with DPRK soldiers supporting Moscow’s war effort.

“The first DPRK troops have already come under fire in Kursk,” Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, wrote on Telegram.

Kovalenko did not provide additional information or evidence to support his one-line message, but his statement represents Kyiv’s first official confirmation of direct engagement with North Korean soldiers in Kursk, near the Ukraine