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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.
Ukraine investigating North Korea's support for Russia as possible crime of aggression
Ukrainian prosecutors on Friday said they had launched an investigation into North Korea’s support for Russia in the war as a possible crime of aggression.
By arming and supplying ground forces engaged in fighting against Ukraine, North Korean officials could face charges, the Prosecutor Generals told Reuters.
“We are documenting and collecting evidence of all possible aspects of such involvement as part of the core proceeding on the crime of aggression,” the office said in a statement.
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region
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
In pictures: Kyiv attacked by Russian drone attack
South Korea vows response to North Korea bolstering Putin’s forces: ‘We won’t sit idle’
South Korea vows to respond to North bolstering Putin’s forces: ‘We won’t sit idle’
South Korea says the deployment of Pyongyang’s forces is a provocation that threatens global security
Ukraine destroys 36 Russian drones in overnight attack, air force says
Ukraine destroyed 36 out of 63 drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force said on Friday.
The drones were downed over various parts of Ukraine while 16 were “locationally lost”, it added.
Alexei Navalny’s posthumous memoir is a testament to resilience
In a memoir released eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his cause is worth suffering for while also acknowledging he wished he could have written a very different book.
“There is a mishmash of bits and pieces, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary,” Navalny writes in “Patriot,” which was published Tuesday, and is, indeed, a traditional narrative followed by a prison diary.
“I so much do not want my book to be yet another prison diary. Personally I find them interesting to read, but as a genre — enough is surely enough.”
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's posthumous memoir is a testament to resilience
In his posthumous memoir “Patriot,” Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny tracks the boredom, isolation, exhaustion, suffering and absurdity of prison life, while commenting on everything from French literature to Billie Eilish
Russia targets Kyiv in overnight drone attack
Russia sent two waves of drones at the Ukrainian capital overnight in its 15th air attack on Kyiv this month, city officials said this morning.
More than a dozen drones were downed during the strike, which lasted around four hours, city military administrator Serhiy Popko said on Telegram.
He added that authorities had not received any reports of injuries and that debris had ignited a fire that was later extinguished.
Reuters correspondents reported hearing multiple explosions over the city early on Friday.
Russia making swift advance into east Ukraine's Selydove
Russian forces have made a fast advance into the eastern Ukrainian coal mining town of Selydove, according to Russian media and war bloggers.
“The enemy’s defences crumbled suddenly,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. Other pro-Russian bloggers gave similar accounts, and said that Russia was now in control of part of Selydove.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper said that Russian forces were approaching the centre of Selydove, which had a population of over 20,000 before the war.
Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said the most intense Russian assaults along the entire front line were currently taking place in the vicinity of Selydove, and that Russia used both fighter and bomber aircraft to support its attack there.
The General Staff did not say whether or not the Russians were in the town or if Ukrainian forces had fallen back.
A Ukrainian frontline mapping project known as DeepState showed in its map Russian forces controlling the eastern outskirts of Selydove, while a significant chunk of its centre was assessed as a disputed “grey zone”.
Capturing Selydove would pave the way for a Russian advance on the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk, located about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Selydove.
Putin welcomes Trump’s offer to end conflict in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin was asked about former US president Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine at a news conference last might “What Mr Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”
If the United States was open to normal relations with Russia, Moscow would be as well, Mr Putin added.
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