By Tuvan Gumrukcu, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Guy Faulconbridge TARTOUS, Syria (Reuters) - Russia is pulling back its military from the front lines in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad,

Russia is pulling back its military from northern Syria and posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases, four Syrian officials told Reuters.

Ukraine's military leadership has replaced the commander overseeing defences in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces are making swift advances, a military official said on Saturday.

General Oleksandr Lutsenko has come in for severe criticism recently, amid reports Russian forces are less than two miles from the strategic city.

Russian troops are closing in on Pokrovsk from the east and south. After the capture of Shevchenko village just south of the city, Russian forces are less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from this key logistics hub sitting on the western edge of Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Moscow had started involving "a noticeable number" of North Korean troops in its efforts to drive Ukrainian troops out of Russia's Kursk region.

Ukraine has accused Russia of deploying North Korean soldiers to the front lines in Kursk, marking a significant escalation in conflict