Putin thanks North Korean troops for fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia\u2019s Kursk region. Russia\u2019s demands for engaging in peace talks with Ukraine run counter to the U.S.-proposed peace plan, a Russian news site observes. Ukraine and the U.S. agree that past American aid provided to Kyiv will not be part of a minerals deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian leader Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean troops for fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia\u2019s Kursk region. Putin\u2019s statement came on the heels of North Korea confirming it sent troops to Russia to help in its war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement published on the Kremlin website on Monday, Putin thanked North Korean troops for helping Russian forces reclaim control of the Kursk region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin said that the Russian people would never forget the feats of North Korea\u2019s special forces. \u201cWe will always honor the Korean heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, on par with their Russian brothers in arms,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to send combat troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty signed by him and Russian leader Putin in June 2024, the central military commission of North Korea\u2019s ruling Workers\u2019 party said in a statement carried by state media on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. state department said it was concerned by North Korea\u2019s direct involvement in Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and that Pyongyang\u2019s military deployment must end. \u201c[North Korea\u2019s] military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to [North Korea] in return must end,\u201d a state department spokesperson said in an email cited by the Guardian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Saturday that 62,400 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded fighting in Russia\u2019s Kursk region since August 2024 when Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into the area. North Korea lost more than 4,500 soldiers killed or wounded since they were sent to fight alongside Russia\u2019s troops against Ukraine, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) \u2014 a South Korean state-funded think tank \u2014 estimated that North Korea has earned approximately 20 billion U.S. dollars through military cooperation with Russia since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a Russian drone and missile strike on Kyiv on April 24 that killed 13 people and injured 87 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi revealed the attack had been carried out with a North Korean missile. \u201cThe missile that killed Kyivites contained at least 116 components imported from other countries, and most of them, unfortunately, were manufactured by American companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korean ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine by Russian forces since late December have been far more precise than salvos of the weapons launched over the past year, two senior Ukrainian sources told Reuters in February 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s demands for engaging in peace talks with Ukraine run counter to the U.S.-proposed peace plan, Russian news site Agentstvo said, breaking down an interview by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov published with the Brazilian outlet O Globo on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about conditions for peace negotiations with Ukraine, Lavrov said that Moscow insisted on the international recognition of its hold over Crimea, as well as the entirety of Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to territorial claims, Moscow is still pursuing its initial war goals of \u201cdemilitarizing\u201d and \u201cdenazyfing\u201d Ukraine, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia also demands that Ukraine give up its NATO ambitions and accept a neutral, non-aligned status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would like to have all sanctions lifted as well as lawsuits and arrest warrants against the state and its officials cancelled. Russia also wants a return of all its frozen assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lavrov also demanded of Ukraine to revoke the laws that he said \u201cphysically eliminate\u201d Russian language, media, culture, traditions and church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia will seek guarantees to protect its western borders against NATO, the EU and some member states, Lavrov added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moscow demands of Ukraine to revoke a legal ban on negotiating with Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agentstvo points to the differences between what Russia continues to demand and what the U.S. proposed as part of a peace plan. Trump\u2019s plan includes U.S. recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and unofficial recognition of Russian control of nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. framework for peace imposes no limits on Ukraine\u2019s army, on the contrary, it states that Kyiv has to keep a strong army of its own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. plan does not reject European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, Agentstvo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revocation of some of the laws detailed as part of \u201cdenazification\u201d is not on Trump\u2019s plan either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are all signs of serious differences in outlook between Moscow and Washington, Agentstvo concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to CBS a day earlier, Lavrov said that Russia hasn\u2019t received a U.S. proposal to give up control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine, and a change to the facility\u2019s ownership isn\u2019t conceivable. His statement contradicts Trump administration\u2019s plan, Agentstvo said. One of U.S. proposals would see the U.S. take over the plant, to be considered Ukrainian territory, with any electricity generated supplied to both Ukraine and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, Trump questioned Putin\u2019s commitment to ending the war. The U.S. could abandon peace efforts within \u201cdays\u201d if there are no signs of progress, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump will use \u201cboth carrots and sticks\u201d to bring Russia to the negotiating table, the U.S. national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday. Potential avenues through which the U.S. could target Moscow include sanctions on banks and actions on the oil and gas sector, he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Past U.S. aid provided to Ukraine will not count toward a minerals deal that the two countries aim to sign, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram Sunday after holding a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent\u200b, earlier last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was agreed that assistance provided prior to the signing of the agreement will not be counted towards it,\u201d Shmyhal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLegal teams are working on the document. We have made good progress\u200b,\u201d he said, adding Ukraine had clearly defined its \u201cred lines\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe agreement must comply with European commitments and must not contradict Ukraine\u2019s constitution and legislation\u200b,\u201d Shmyhal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A signing ceremony on an earlier version of the deal was cancelled in February following a meeting in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A previous version of the framework agreement, obtained by The Associated Press, outlined plans for a jointly owned and managed investment fund between the United States and Ukraine, intended to support the reconstruction of Ukraine\u2019s war-torn economy. Under the terms, Ukraine would allocate 50 per cent of future revenues generated from key national assets \u2014 including minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable resources \u2014 to the fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"