North Korean troops deployed in Russia's Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

Ukraine's military intelligence says that North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks

A "human wave" of North Korean soldiers fighting on Russia's side in the Ukraine war are being sent to their deaths in futile attacks by generals who see them as "expendable," the White House said Friday.

"There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army," Zelenskiy said on X after receiving a report from his top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. "We will have tangible responses to this,

Ukraine's military intelligence said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. It said North Korean troops also faced supply issues and even shortages of drinking water.

"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said on Dec.