Vladimir Putin embraces North Korean leader Kim Jong Un upon his arrival at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024

Ukraine: How “Peace Talks” in 2022 Failed to Halt Russia’s Invasion

Tuesday’s Coverage: Putin Thanks North Korea for Propping Up His Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 0908 GMT:

A Moscow court has detained another independent Russian journalist.

The court ordered the remand of Artyom Kriger, who works for SOTAvision, until August 18 on charges of “participation in an extremist community”. His Moscow apartment was searched by police on Tuesday morning and his personal electronic devices were confiscated.

Kriger is being prosecuted in connection with the “extremism” case against Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Siberian prison in February.

SOTAvision denied the accusations: “Kriger was never an activist, he was not a member of any parties or movements.”

SOTAvision journalist Antonina Favorskaya was arrested in March on the same charges after she was accused of “collecting material, preparing and editing videos” for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. Last month, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court extended her arrest until August 3.

The photojournalist covered Navalny’s court hearings and filmed the last known video of the activist before his death.

Kriger and Favorskaya each face up to six years in prison if convicted.

UPDATE 0903 GMT:

Video of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signing a “strategic partnership agreement” in Pyongyang:

UPDATE 0756 GMT:

At least one civilian has been killed and at least nine injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

The fatality was in Kurakhivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Another person was injured, and two more were wounded in Chasiv Yar and Zarichne.

Air defenses downed 19 of 21 Iran-type attack drones fired by Russia overnight.

Two men, aged 47 and 70, were injured in the Lviv region in western Ukraine by falling debris. An administrative building of the State Scientific-Research Control Institute of Veterinary Medicinal Products and Feed Additives was damaged.

UPDATE 0720 GMT:

Canada has sanctioned 13 individuals over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Moscow’s “continued gross and systematic violations of human rights”.

Navalny, condemned to a 30-year sentence on fabricated charges, perished in inhumane conditions in a Siberian penal colony on February 16.

The latest Canadian sanctions target high-level officials in Russia’s investigative agency, penitentiary service, and police force who had roles in the persecution of Navalny.

“As we are living in a period of multiple interconnected crises, it is important to keep the focus on the efforts of Russians in their fight for basic rights and freedom,” said Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.

UPDATE 0705 GMT:

The support of Poland’s population for Ukrainian refugees is waning.

Around 3.5 million Ukrainians fled to neighboring Poland in the first three months of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Many went to other European countries, but almost one million remain.

In a survey by two Warsaw universities, 95% of respondents said social benefits for the refugees should be reduced. Only 17% support the possibility of long-term settlement, a fall from 37% more than a year ago, and 61% want Ukrainians to return home after the invasion.

Jan Brzozowski, head of the Jagiellonian Center for Migration Studies in Krakow, explains, “Such results are not surprising, they are the result of discrepancies in the perception of foreigners after a longer period of their stay in the country.”

The survey’s only majority support for the refugees is in education for children, backed by 82% of respondents.

There is still 62% for helping those in Ukraine, such as donations of food and clothing, but the figure is decreasing.

Around 31% believe that Poland must definitely help Ukraine, a fall from 62% in January 2023, while 43% “rather agree”. Around 19% oppose any assistance.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Visiting North Korea for the first time since 2000, Vladimir Putin has appealed to Pyongyang for more weapons for his 28-month invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea has already supplied up to 4.8 million artillery shells, helping Moscow sustain a 7:1 advantage over the Ukrainians, and ballistic missiles for attacks on energy infrastructure and other civilian sites.

In return, Russia has assisted North Korea’s satellite programme; supplied arms and aircraft; stepped up economic aid; and given diplomatic support.

Yong-Chool Ha of the University of Washington evaluates, “On the part of Putin, the trip means reciprocating North Korea’s ongoing support for the war in Ukraine — and more importantly, North Korea’s military supplies.”

As Kim Jong-un welcomed Putin, the Kremlin avoided any mention of the arms supplies. Instead, it hailed a “most spectacular” greeting with the playing of national anthems, firing of celebratory shots, balloons into the sky, and daylight fireworks.

Overseeing an economy crippled by decades of central management and sanctions, Kim proclaimed a period of “new prosperity”, with Russia’s role in “maintaining the strategic balance in the world” , and endorsed the “special operation” in Ukraine.

Putin thanked Kim for his “consistent and unwavering support”. He admired “Pyongyang’s transformation over the past 24 years”, and said a new document would “form the basis of relations between the two states for many years to come”.

Beijing chipped in through Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, “China welcomes Russia to cement and grow ties with countries they have traditional friendship with.”

Ha says, “It remains to be seen how far Russia will go with North Korea regarding military cooperation, as there’s an understanding with South Korea that Russia will not provide offensive military technology to North Korea.”

Still, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Russian-North Korean relationship is “concerning”: “We’re certainly going to be watching that very, very closely.”