Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, on Monday for the "feat" of his country's fighters who fought alongside Moscow's forces to reclaim the Russian region of Kursk, which had been taken by Ukrainian troops last August.
"The Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice, and true camaraderie. We greatly appreciate it and are sincerely grateful on a personal level to Comrade Kim Jong Un (...) and to the North Korean people," highlighted the Russian president in a statement released by the Kremlin hours after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to Russia to support its offensive against Ukraine, under the strategic partnership treaty signed with Moscow in June 2024.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his Sunday night address to the nation that Ukrainian troops have not been completely expelled from Kursk and still hold positions there, refuting, as the Ukrainian Army had already done, the information issued on Saturday by the Russian General Staff proclaiming that territory free of Kiev's troops.
Russia Links Peace Negotiations to International Recognition of Annexed Regions in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has set as a condition for negotiating with Ukraine that the international community recognizes Russia's annexation of Crimea and the other Ukrainian regions it claims.
"The international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, the Kherson region, and the Zaporizhia region is imperative," Lavrov stated to the Brazilian outlet O Globo, as per a Russian translation of his interview published on Monday by his ministry.
In 2014, Crimea was annexed, followed by the other four regions in September 2022.
Ukraine Sentences Ex-President Yanukovych in Absentia for Illegally Crossing the Border
A court in Kiev has sentenced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to 15 years in prison in absentia for illegally crossing the country's border when he fled to Russia in February 2014 after months of street protests against him, reports Efe.
"The Podil District Court has sentenced former President Viktor Yanukovych to 15 years in prison for illegally crossing the border and inciting desertion," the sentence read, as cited by the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
The head of Yanukovych's presidential security service, Kostiantin Kobzar, was also sentenced to ten years in prison for his involvement in the same events.
Trump Suggests Zelensky Could Yield Crimea in Peace Deal
Donald Trump urged Russia on Sunday to halt its attacks in Ukraine and suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was willing to cede Crimea as part of a peace deal with Russia, contrary to Zelensky's statements regarding the annexed peninsula.
In remarks to reporters in New Jersey, Trump expressed disappointment that Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine and revealed that his private meeting with Zelensky in the Vatican on Saturday had gone well.
When asked if Zelensky might be willing to give up Crimea as part of a future peace agreement with Moscow, Trump said, "Oh, I think so. Look, Crimea was 12 years ago," before blaming his Democratic predecessors for allowing Russia to take Crimea "without a shot being fired." He then shifted the focus to Obama and Biden regarding Crimea, stating, "This is Biden's war. It's not Trump's war. I came to try to solve a problem. And the problem is that a lot of people are dying."
One Dead in Russian Region of Bryansk after Ukrainian Attack with Over 100 Drones
At least one person has died in the Russian region of Bryansk in a massive Ukrainian drone attack, reported local governor Alexandr Bogomaz.
"As a result of the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city of Bryansk, unfortunately, a civilian died and another, a woman, was injured," Bogomaz wrote on his Telegram account. According to the governor, the region was targeted by "dozens of enemy drones," causing various damages to local infrastructure.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 115 Ukrainian drones last night, with 102 of them over the Bryansk region. Unmanned enemy aircraft were also neutralized in Kursk, Belgorod, and the annexed Crimea peninsula.
Ukraine Reports New Attack on Russian Microchip Missile Factory
"Unknown drones" have once again attacked the 'Kremni' factory in the Russian region of Bryansk, where microelectronic components for various types of missiles and Russian Army electronic interference systems are produced, as reported by the head of the Ukrainian Disinformation Center, Andriy Kovalenko, using the usual enigmatic form in which he announces such attacks.
Kovalenko stated that the factory had been attacked numerous times before. Ukraine regularly targets with long-distance drones its own production military material factories and other infrastructures associated with the Russian Army in an attempt to undermine Russian military capabilities, as reported by Efe.
Zelensky Affirms Ukraine Holds Positions in Kursk Region
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky declared in his Sunday night address to the nation that Ukrainian troops have not been completely expelled from Kursk and still maintain positions there, contradicting the information released by the Russian General Staff on Saturday claiming that territory free of Kiev's troops.
Ukraine initiated a cross-border operation in the Russian Kursk region in August last year, during which it controlled over a thousand square kilometers. Ukrainian forces have lost nearly all the territory they held in Kursk in recent weeks.
Putin Thanks North Korean Troops for Their "Feat"
Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday for the "feat" of his country's fighters who fought for Russia against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, which Moscow claims to have fully recaptured.
Putin expressed his gratitude to Kim shortly after North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that its troops were deployed in Kursk, months after South Korea and several Western powers accused Pyongyang of sending troops to the offensive.
"The Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice, and true camaraderie," Putin emphasized in a statement published by the Kremlin.