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Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine as he wrapped up the Brics summit in Kazan, heavily overshadowed by Ukraine war talks.
“Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” Mr Putin said on being asked about satellite photos of North Korean troops.
Mr Putin noted that lawmakers in Moscow earlier in the day ratified a pact with North Korea on mutual military assistance as part of a “strategic partnership” with Pyongyang.
The US on Wednesday said that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations.
It comes as Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region, which was stormed by Ukraine for major incursion in August.
It said a total of around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.
Mr Putin has also welcomed Donald Trump’s comments offering to end the war in Ukraine. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely,” he said, welcoming the offer.
Zelensky taunts Putin by wearing ‘make russia small again’ T-shirt in video address to nation
Officials say North Korea has sent troops to Russia. What would that mean for the war with Ukraine?
Who is going to Putin-hosted Brics summit in Russia – and why has Brazil’s Lula dropped out?
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
North Korean troops in Ukraine: Everything we know about Kim Jong-un’s army joining Russian invasion
G7 allies are moving ahead with a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds
G7 allies are moving ahead with a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds
The White House says Group of Seven allies are moving forward with providing Ukraine with $50 billion in loans for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets
Russian attacks kill six in Ukraine's east
Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine killed at least six people and wounded 10 yesterday, regional authorities said.
A thermobaric ammunition attack on the town of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region wounded 10 people, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. A woman who was admitted to hospital in a serious condition after the attack later died, he said.
“The enemy struck near a shop and the town market,” Mr Syniehubov said in an initial statement.
He later added that a two-storey retail building had been damaged, along with a dozen kiosks and windows of nearby homes. Russia occupied Kupiansk in the early days of its 2022 invasion but was pushed out by a lightning Ukrainian counter-offensive in September that year.
In recent months, Moscow’s forces have been advancing slowly back towards the town and are now less than 4km (2.5 miles) from its northern outskirts, according to open-source maps.
Russian shelling later in the day killed three people around the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Mr Filashkin said later on Facebook that a Russian strike on a branch of the Nova Poshta delivery service killed two people in Oleksiyevo-Druzhkiva, near the frontline towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostyantynivka.
Russian troops have been stepping up their advance towards Pokrovsk in recent months, moving as close as 8km from its outskirts.
Russian lawmakers ratify pact with North Korea as US confirms that Pyongyang sent troops to Russia
Russian lawmakers ratify pact with North Korea as US confirms that Pyongyang sent troops to Russia
Russian lawmakers have ratified a pact with North Korea envisioning mutual military assistance, a move that comes even as the U.S. confirmed the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia
A thread on North Korea’s deployment of soldiers to Russia
Zelensky taunts Putin by wearing ‘make russia small again’ T-shirt
Zelensky taunts Putin by wearing ‘make russia small again’ T-shirt in video address
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky taunted Vladimir Putin by wearing a “make russia small again” T-shirt during a video address to the nation. Mr Zelensky gave a video briefing on America’s $20 billion support provision on X, formerly Twitter on Wednesday evening (23 October). Mr Zelensky said: “This assistance will truly support us, and it is important that it be implemented this year. I am grateful to the United States and to the entire G7.” Viewers were quick to notice the president’s black T-shirt with the red and white slogan. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded promptly. “Small as what? The USSR? The Russian Empire?” the department’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on X.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s military say the hottest fighting along the roughly 640-mile frontline is taking place on the outskirts of the eastern city of Selydove
US says North Korean troops ‘fair game’ if sent to fight in Ukraine
US says North Korean troops ‘fair game’ if deployed to fight in Ukraine
White House spokesperson John Kirby says North Korean troops were transported to Russia by ship
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