Putin Warns Against ‘Illusory’ Battlefield Defeats

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday against “illusory” attempts to defeat Russia on the battlefield, ahead of his first meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years, which will focus on the situation in Ukraine.

Putin was speaking in the Russian city of Kazan on the penultimate day of the BRICS conference, which Moscow hopes would help form a united front of rising economies against the West.

Russia’s opponents “do not conceal their aim to deal our country a strategic defeat”, Putin said.

“I will say directly that these are illusory calculations, that can be made only by those who do not know Russia’s history”.

Shortly before he spoke, Russia’s lower house of parliament voted to ratify a defence pact with North Korea amid reports that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia for training and possible deployment in Ukraine.

At the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned about “serious challenges” in the world and said he hoped BRICS countries could be a “stabilising force for peace”.

We need to continue to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, relaunch the two-state solution and stop the spread of war in Lebanon. There should be no more suffering and destruction in Palestine and Lebanon,” Xi said.

Putin said the Middle East was “on the verge of full-scale war”.

Putin has faced calls from his BRICS allies to end the Ukraine conflict, which began when Moscow launched a full-scale military campaign in February 2022.

Guterres has repeatedly criticised Moscow’s military offensive against Ukraine, saying it sets a “dangerous precedent” for the world.

The two leaders last met each other in the early weeks of the offensive, when Guterres visited Moscow amid Russia’s siege of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.

Guterres has subsequently been active in peace talks between the two sides, assisting in the negotiation of a deal that will allow Kyiv to securely export grain from its ports in 2022.

Since then, the two countries have had very little direct diplomatic communication.

‘No place in the current world.’
Ukraine has sharply criticized the UN Secretary-General’s plan to meet with Vladimir Putin.

Putin has demanded Ukraine surrender territory in its south and east as a precondition for a ceasefire, a position Kyiv has called “absurd”.

The Putin-Guterres talks come as Moscow’s troops advance in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, edging closer to the key supply hub of Pokrovsk.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres would use the meeting with Putin to “reaffirm his well-known positions on the war in Ukraine”.

Haq said the UN leader was on standby to offer mediation but was waiting for when “the conditions are right”.

“Obviously he stands ready, when the parties are willing, to offer his services. He will continue to monitor and see when the situation is right.”

Ukraine has condemned Guterres’s Russia visit, with Kyiv’s foreign ministry blasting him for planning to meet the “criminal Putin”.

Guterres has criticised Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, saying it has “no place in the modern world”.

He has visited areas where the Russian army has been accused of atrocities in Ukraine and repeatedly called for a “just peace”.

The meeting comes a day after the United States claimed that “thousands” of North Korean soldiers were being trained in Russia.

“We don’t know what their mission will be or if they’ll go on to fight in Ukraine,” a senior US official said.

Putin has yet to react on the reports.

Russia stated on Wednesday that individuals should “ask Pyongyang” about army movements, but declined to confirm or refute the reports.

Mutual assistance’

Russian lawmakers on Thursday voted unanimously to ratify a defence treaty with North Korea that provides for “mutual assistance” if either party faces aggression.

The document has now been sent for approval by the upper Federation Council.

Pyongyang and Moscow have drawn closer since Russia launched its 2022 offensive on Ukraine, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praising Putin as his country’s “dearest friend”.

The West believes North Korea is already giving Moscow weapons to use in its Ukraine offensive.

Several world leaders called for an end to the Ukraine conflict at the BRICS summit.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who has also tried to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv — said on Tuesday he wanted the conflict to be resolved “peacefully”.

“We fully support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability,” he stated.

Since Moscow launched its offensive, New Delhi has walked a fine line between promising humanitarian assistance to Kyiv and avoiding open condemnation of Moscow’s actions.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also called for an end to the war.

BRICS began in 2009 with four members: Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and has since extended to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt, and Iran.

AFP