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Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again using the international stage, this time during an official visit to China, to promote his military alliances, particularly that with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The grand military parade held in Beijing on Wednesday was a show of force for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but behind the scenes, Putin held a special meeting with Kim, who has sent both ammunition and soldiers to help Russia in its fight against Ukraine.
Putin praised North Korea for its military contribution, stating that North Korean soldiers "have fought bravely and heroically" on the front lines against Ukrainian forces.
After a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Kim after the parade ended, the two leaders were seen hugging, while Putin extended a formal invitation to his counterpart to visit Russia.
Western officials estimate that about 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in support of Russian forces, out of a contingent of about 12,000 troops deployed mainly in the Kursk border region to help repel a Ukrainian offensive.
The military alliance, initially kept secret for months, has now become public. Kim recently publicly expressed grief over the casualties among his military, while North Korea even released a propaganda video glorifying its participation in the war on the side of Russia.
This unscripted show of force comes just weeks after a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska, where the two leaders discussed the possibility of an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
During his speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, before the military parade, Putin gave clear signals that he has not changed his position since the launch of full-scale aggression in February 2022, blaming the West for what he considers the main cause of the war: the Maidan revolution in 2014, which led to the overthrow of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
While Putin was in Beijing for the military parade, the air alert sounded again in Ukraine: over 500 drones and dozens of cruise missiles were launched from Russia overnight, confirming that the Kremlin's determination to continue the war has not wavered.
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