Putin does not deny that North Korea sent soldiers to Russia | Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin has rejected claims that North Korea has sent soldiers to Russia, insisting that it is up to Moscow how it implements its mutual defense clause with Pyongyang.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Brics summit in Kazan on Thursday, he accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war and said he was “living in an illusion” if he believed he could inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

The US said it had seen evidence that North Korea had sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that could pose a fundamental challenge for Ukraine due to manpower shortages.

Asked by a reporter about satellite images that appeared to show North Korean troop movements, Putin said: “Images are a serious matter. If there are images, then they reflect something.”

He repeated his claim that the West had escalated the Ukraine crisis and said that NATO officers and instructors were directly involved in the Ukraine war.

“We know who is present there, from which European NATO countries and how they carry out this work,” Putin said.

The US and South Korea have said that North Korean troops have reached Ukraine, and while Putin may be deliberately ambiguous to weaken Ukraine's morale, it is also striking that he has not denied the allegations despite having the opportunity to do so had received wide publicity.

During the summit, no other Brics leader raised the issue publicly, instead making vague calls for restraint.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres used his speech to call for a “just peace”.

Guterres was in Russia for the first time since April 2022 and was scheduled to hold private talks with Putin about Ukraine later in the day. Moscow wants to use the forum to build a united front among emerging economies that use alternatives to the dollar for trade.

In a brief passage on Ukraine, the UN chief said: “We need peace in Ukraine – a just peace in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and the resolution of the (UN) General Assembly.”

He said: “We must uphold the values ​​of the UN Charter, the rule of law and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states.” He did not mention North Korean troops.

It is the first time Guterres has met Putin since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader in March 2023 over the kidnapping and trafficking of children in Ukraine to Russia. Guterres faced criticism from Ukraine's Foreign Ministry over the meeting, particularly because he declined an invitation to attend a Ukraine-sponsored peace summit this summer.

Guterres urged Brics members not to see the organization as an alternative to the UN, saying: “No single group or country can act alone or in isolation.” It takes a community of nations acting as a global family work together to address global challenges.”

Putin explained that the emergence of a “fairer world order” is hampered by “forces accustomed to thinking and acting in the logic of domination over everything and everyone.” He said that Kiev's foreign supporters no longer even hide their goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on our country.

Putin said: “Only those who do not know the history of Russia can believe in it, because they do not take into account the unity and spiritual strength of Russians that has developed over centuries.”