North Korea has shipped 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s far east for training and will likely be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said.

Ukraine warned of a “huge” escalation risk on Saturday as hundreds of elite North Korean troops were predicted to enter the battlefield within days in support of Russia.

U.S. and South Korean officials say there’s evidence that North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia in a potential escalation of a nearly 3-year-old war with Ukraine