'Putin has a problem' Ukraine's fighters in Kursk hold on to hope - and learn Korean

Vitalii Ovcharenko has been learning a new language: Korean. "I've picked up a few phrases," he said. "They are: 'Hands up, drop your weapon, and come to us slowly.' Also: 'Throw off your body armour and helmet.'"

- Luke Harding

Ovcharenko, a Ukrainian soldier, has been mugging up with the help of a three-page printed guide which now lives at his temporary home in Russia's Kursk region, next to a shelf of detective novels and histories celebrating Stalin.

The books belong to the property's former owner, a local who fled in August when Ukraine launched a counter-invasion.

Three months on, Kyiv controls a significant chunk of Russian territory centred around Sudzha.

So far, Moscow has been unable to end this embarrassing situation. It has launched air attacks on Ukrainian positions with kamikaze drones and guided bombs and carries out assaults using small infantry groups. Amid heavy losses, Vladimir Putin has turned to a new and extraordinary source of manpower: North Korean troops, sent by the regime's supreme leader Kim Jong-un.

According to US intelligence, 10,000 North Korean soldiers have arrived in Russia. These reinforcements - seen in videos gathering at ranges in Russia's far eastern Khabarovsk region - are already fighting near Sudzha. A "small engagement" took place this week, Kyiv says. North Korea has pledged to support Moscow until it achieves a "great victory".

What exactly their impact will be on the battle is unclear. Ukrainian soldiers seem largely unconcerned. "We don't know how Moscow will train them or communicate with them," Ovcharenko said. "They might be fanatical professionals with totalitarian souls. Or guys lacking experience from another continent. Either way, we're ready for the threat. They will just die uselessly."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted that Kursk could play a role in negotiations, following Trump's return to the White House.