Putin confirmed the alarming development: North Korean soldiers in the Russia-Ukraine war.

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While the whole world is watching the developments in the Middle East, tensions are also escalating in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

After the BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Tatarstan, which is affiliated with Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with journalists from around the world who attended the summit. Putin answered questions on various topics, including the ongoing tensions with the United States and the war in Ukraine.

PUTIN CONFIRMED: IF THERE ARE IMAGES, IT MEANS SOMETHING IS REFLECTED

In response to a question from an American journalist, "Satellite images show North Korean troops are in Russia (in Kursk). What are they doing here, and isn't this an escalation of the war in Ukraine?" Putin stated, "A photograph is a serious matter; if there are images, it means something is being reflected."

Arguing that the Western countries are the ones escalating tensions in Ukraine, Putin said, "I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the escalation of tensions in Ukraine is not caused by Russia's actions, but primarily by the coup supported by the United States in 2014. It has even been made public how much money the then U.S. administration spent to prepare and organize this coup. Isn't this a path to escalate tensions? We were deceived for eight years when they said they wanted to resolve the political dispute in Ukraine through the Minsk agreements. Later, you may have heard that some European leaders said they used this time to arm the Ukrainian army and that they were stalling us. Other steps towards escalating tensions were merely the active arming of the Kiev regime by Western countries," he stated.

"WE NEVER DOUBTED NORTH KOREAN LEADERS"

Emphasizing that they signed a strategic cooperation agreement with North Korea during this process and that he has no doubt that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes this agreement seriously, Putin said, "As for our relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, our strategic cooperation agreement has just been approved. There are 4 articles in the agreement, and we never doubted that North Korean leaders take our agreements seriously. How we decide on things is our business within the framework of these agreements. First of all, discussions need to be held regarding the implementation of the 4 articles of this agreement. Our contacts with our North Korean friends continue, and we will see how the process will progress."

Reporting on the latest situation in the Kursk Region, which the Ukrainian army still occupies, Putin said, "In any case, the Russian army is moving confidently in all directions and advancing on every part of the combat contact line. The Russian army is also active in the Kursk region. The Ukrainian army, which occupies the Kursk region, has surrounded a part of it with 2,000 personnel. Efforts are ongoing to lift the external blockade of this group and to break through from within. The Russian army has begun to eliminate this group." Putin also added that he has always declared his readiness for negotiations with Ukraine, but the Kiev side has rejected this every time.

"I DID NOT MEET WITH TRUMP"

In response to allegations regarding Russia's interference in the upcoming presidential elections in the United States and whether he had met with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump recently, Putin said, "As for the issue of meeting with Trump, this has been discussed for more than a year. At one time, Trump was accused of having a connection with us. Later, as a result of an investigation in the U.S., and I believe even members of Congress came to think that this was nonsense. So it was not true before, and it is not true now."