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Putin May Soon Say he Will Run in Russia's 2024 Election - Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin. EPA
Russian President Vladimir Putin. EPA
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Putin May Soon Say he Will Run in Russia's 2024 Election - Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin. EPA
Russian President Vladimir Putin. EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin may soon indicate he will take part in a 2024 presidential election, Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday, paving the way for the Kremlin chief to stay in power until 2030.

As part of a conference in November, officials suspect that Putin may announce he will take part in the election in March next year, Kommersant reported, citing unidentified sources close to the presidential administration.

The newspaper, one of Russia's most respected, said there were, however, other scenarios for what Putin might do at the conference and the final decision rested with him. The Kremlin did not immediately comment, Reuters said.

Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has been leader for longer than any other Russian ruler since Josef Stalin, beating even Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year tenure.

Putin turns 71 on Oct. 7.

While many diplomats, spies and officials have said they expect Putin to stay in power for life, there has yet to be any confirmation of his plans to run in the 2024 presidential vote.

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Video Published by Ukraine Purports to Show North Korean Soldiers in Russia

A TV screen shows file images of North Korean soldiers during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP)
A TV screen shows file images of North Korean soldiers during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP)
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Video Published by Ukraine Purports to Show North Korean Soldiers in Russia

A TV screen shows file images of North Korean soldiers during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP)
A TV screen shows file images of North Korean soldiers during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP)

A video purporting to show dozens of North Korean recruits lining up to collect Russian military fatigues and gear aims to intimidate Ukrainian forces and marks a new chapter in the 2 1/2-year war with the introduction of another country into the battlefield, Ukrainian officials said.

In the video, which was verified by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, which operates under the Culture and Information Ministry, presumably North Korean soldiers stand in line to pick up bags, clothes and other apparel from Russian servicemen. The Associated Press could not verify the video independently.

“We received this video from our own sources. We cannot provide additional verification from the sources who provided it to us due to security concerns,” said Ihor Solovey, head of the center.

“The video clearly shows North Korean citizens being given Russian uniforms under the direction of the Russian military,” he said. “For Ukraine, this video is important because it is the first video evidence that shows North Korea participating in the war on the side of Russia. Now not only with weapons and shells but also with personnel.”

The center claims the footage was shot by a Russian soldier in recent days.

It comes after the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said in local media reports that about 11,000 North Korean infantrymen were currently training in eastern Russia. He predicted they would be ready to join fighting by November. At least 2,600 would be sent to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August, he was quoted as saying.

“The emergence of any number of new soldiers is a problem because we will simply need new, additional weapons to destroy them all,” Solovey told AP. “The dissemination of this video is important as a signal to the world community that with two countries officially at war against Ukraine, we will need more support to repel this aggression.”

The presence of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, if true, would be another proof of intensified military ties between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Last summer, they signed a strategic partnership treaty that commits both countries to provide military assistance. North Korean weapons have already been used in the Ukraine war.