The first reports of North Korean casualties have come in. The deaths occurred around the battleground of Kursk, where Russia is struggling to take back control.

The U.S. Department of Defense and the Ukrainian Army have confirmed for the first time that North Korean soldiers were killed in clashes with the Ukrainian military in the Kursk region of Russia. The Ukrainian Army stated that around 30 North Korean soldiers were either killed or wounded. Russia has not commented on the incident.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency is claiming that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in fighting against the Ukrainian army at the weekend in Russia’s Kursk border region.