Explaining: Cooperation between Russia and N. Korea, release of POWs, int’l isolation of Russia

COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA

North Korea supplies not only weapons to Russia but also military personnel. This was reported by the intelligence services of South Korea and Ukraine, with corresponding video evidence released by the Center for Strategic Communications.

▪ The criminal cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is a challenge not only for Ukraine but for the entire international security system.

▪ If the North Korean army gains experience in the war against Ukraine, they could use that experience for aggression in other regions of the world.

▪ The alliance of the two dictators requires a swift and effective response from Ukraine's partners, as well as the entire international community.

▪ Components of Western origin were found in a North Korean KN-23/24 missile shot down in Ukraine.

▪ Kyiv urges its allies to strengthen sanctions, export controls, and Ukraine's air defense systems.

RELEASE OF PRISONERS OF WAR

On October 18, as a result of the 58th prisoner exchange, another 95 defenders of Ukraine returned home, including 34 'Azov' fighters who defended Mariupol.

▪ This exchange is special, as many released fighters have already been handed down “verdicts” from Russian “courts”. In particular, in 20 cases, it was about life imprisonment.

▪ Each prisoner exchange is the result of the diligent work of many institutions: the Office of the President, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), as well as the Ombudsman and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

▪ The Defense Forces play a special role in the release of captives, as they constantly replenish Ukraine's exchange fund with soldiers of the aggressor state.

▪ Russia grossly violates the provisions of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War by practicing torture and executing captives.

▪ Russia has not yet returned the body of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in illegal detention on September 19.

▪ Ukraine is doing everything possible to return home each military and civilian person held in Russian captivity.

INTERNATIONAL ISOLATION OF RUSSIA

Putin announced that he will not attend the G20 summit in Brazil in November, where he may face arrest under the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.

▪ Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute and is therefore obligated to comply with the decisions of the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023.

▪ The Russian dictator claimed that he allegedly does not want to “disrupt the normal functioning of the forum” with his visit to Rio de Janeiro.

▪ Putin's statement is a ridiculous excuse because, in reality, the dictator does not feel untouchable and is afraid of arrest.

▪ The international isolation that Russia and Putin personally find themselves in is a natural reaction of the world to the unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.

▪ The failure to execute the ICC warrant by Mongolia during Putin's visit to the country in September 2024 caused deep disappointment in Ukraine. It will be considered in future policies regarding developing bilateral relations between the two countries