Outnumbered Ukrainian troops are clinging to a section of Russian territory in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.

Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region and increased pressure in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's top army commander said on Tuesday.

Russia says five people have been killed in a Ukrainian strike in the western Kursk region. Ukrainian officials reported earlier that Moscow had launched a fresh missile attack on Kyiv, damaging a building hosting several embassies.

Reclaiming Kursk is high on Moscow's agenda but comments by Valery Gerasimov failed to address the continuing presence of Ukrainian troops on Russian soil.

Six people, including one child, were killed on Friday in a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region, the acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting against Ukraine's incursion in Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Monday more than 3,000 troops from North Korea have been killed so far fighting next to Russian forces.

The assessment of drone vulnerability differs from an on-the-ground testimony obtained by the Kyiv Independent, in which a Special Forces serviceman disclosed how North Korean troops were well-protected by Russia’s electronic warfare,

Ukraine's intelligence services released new information Tuesday about the conduct of North Korean troops now fighting alongside Russian forces in the western Russian region of Kursk, which since August has been a key front of Moscow's war on its neighbor.

Despite their elite status, North Korea's "Storm" troops were ill-prepared for the war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said.

Russia and Ukraine on Friday accused each other of launching deadly missile strikes, with Moscow saying at least six were killed by a missile strike on its Kursk border region after a dawn attack on Ukraine's capital killed one man.