The BRICS summit in Kazan dominated the news cycle. In the morning, Belarus was announced as a new BRICS partner state. Throughout the day, Putin addressed various topics, including the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's partnership with North Korea. He expressed readiness for peace talks but claimed Ukraine was unwilling. Putin also revealed that about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded in Kursk region. In the afternoon, he held a press conference, denying BRICS was creating an alternative to SWIFT and addressing rumors about North Korean soldiers in Russia. Domestically, former and current deputy energy ministers were detained on corruption charges. In the evening, reports emerged of an attack on a Rosgvardia convoy in Chechnya, resulting in one casualty.