Russia needs foreign troops if it expects to keep up its war effort in Ukraine through next year. It needs foreign equipment, too. As the wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its fourth year, the stocks of old Cold War weaponry the Kremlin depends on to equip its regiments are running dangerously low.

It was revealed last month that 12,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Ukraine to fight on behalf of Russia. Now, they are reported to have been deployed to Kursk as part of the Russian counter-offensive,