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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
Russian soldiers fighting in Kursk region on border with Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline in Donetsk - picture
Evangelicals emerge as a potent lobby for US support of Ukraine
Evangelicals emerge as a potent lobby for US support of Ukraine
Ukrainian evangelicals are lobbying their American counterparts for continued support of their homeland in its war with Russia
In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline in Donetsk Oblast
Putin warns of Middle East conflagration and debates Ukraine at BRICS
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Brics leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine.
The BRICS summit, attended by more than 20 leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, has shown the depth of Russia’s relations beyond the Western world.
Much discussion at the summit in the Russian city of Kazan was dedicated to the war in Ukraine and the violence in the Middle East, though there were no sign that anything specific would be done to end either conflict.
“The degree of confrontation between Israel and Iran has sharply increased. All this resembles a chain reaction and puts the entire Middle East on the brink of a full-scale war,” Putin, sitting beside Chinese President Xi Jinping, said.
Xi, speaking after Putin, said that China wanted a political settlement in Ukraine, and suggested joint efforts by Beijing and Brasilia offered the best chance of peace.
“We need to work for an early de-escalation of the situation and pave the way for a political settlement,” Xi said.
On the Middle East, Xi said that there should be a comprehensive ceasefire Gaza, a halt to the spread of war in Lebanon and a return to the two-state solution under which states for both Israel and Palestine would be established.
UPD: Russian strike on Ukraine's Kupiansk kills one, wounds 10, officials say
A Russian strike on the frontline town of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine killed one person and wounded 10 more, regional authorities said on Thursday.
The governor, Oleh Syniehubov, initially said two people had been killed and three injured in the strike, but subsequently he corrected his statement on the death toll.
Regional prosecutors said later that the person who had died was a woman who had been admitted to hospital in a serious condition.
“The enemy struck near a shop and the town market,” Syniehubov said in his initial statement.
UN chief calls for peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Brics leaders including Russian president Vladimir Putin that the world needed peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan.
“Across the board, we need peace,” Mr Guterres said at the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
“We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions.”
Zelensky taunts Putin by wearing ‘make russia small again’ T-shirt in video address to nation
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
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