From [Date] to [Date], the 16th Summit of BRICS Leaders was held in Kazan, Russia. President Xi Jinping attended the summit at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This BRICS summit marked the first leaders' meeting since the expansion of the BRICS cooperation mechanism and was the largest diplomatic event Russia has hosted in recent years.

Deeply influenced by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions, and other factors, this meeting has become a crucial opportunity for Russia to unite the "Global South" countries, break through domestic and foreign policy dilemmas, and achieve a diplomatic breakthrough. Putin faces a severe crisis in governance. The conflict drags on without resolution, and peace talks remain distant.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict over two years ago, the war has long been in a state of stalemate. The intensity of the conflict has been escalating, spreading from eastern Ukraine to southern Russia, and from the ground to the air. In recent months, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on Russia's Kursk Oblast, marking the first invasion of Russian territory since World War II. This has brought new changes to the battlefield situation, further complicating the already stalled peace talks.

The battlefield remains stalemated, and the battles outside the front lines are increasingly becoming key factors affecting the war situation. The Western countries, on one hand, are ambiguous about lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western long-range weapons and targeting Russian deep regions, while on the other hand, they continue to provide substantial aid to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the year, the Western countries have provided over $10 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky recently launched the "Victory Plan" seeking reinforcements and conducted diplomatic offensives by visiting the US, UK, France, Italy, and Germany in succession. On [specific date], Zelensky met with US President Biden. On [specific date], US Defense Secretary Austin, during his visit to Kyiv, stated that the US "will provide the support Ukraine needs" to help it continue fighting against Russia.

Diplomatic isolation and internal concerns. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western countries have implemented unprecedented blockade and containment against Russia through measures such as asset freezing, trade restrictions, closing airspace, and personnel movement bans. At the same time, countries in Russia's traditional "backyard" have shown a clear inclination to distance themselves, with multiple countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus region undergoing varying degrees of "de-Russification" and increasingly aligning with the West.

Russia's external environment continues to deteriorate, falling into multiple predicaments such as political isolation, economic sanctions, and technological decoupling. At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also accelerated the exposure of Russia's internal issues. Elite oligarchs engage in fierce competition for interests, corruption problems are deeply entrenched, the development of wartime industries is sluggish, there is a severe shortage of military personnel and market labor, the public's illusion of a quick victory has been shattered, and anti-war and anti-government sentiments are quietly brewing.

Even if Putin responds through a series of measures such as launching anti-corruption actions, signing military expansion orders, and revising nuclear weapon policies, as long as the war drags on and the outcome remains undecided, the internal risks in Russia will be difficult to eliminate. In this context, Russia urgently needs to find a breakthrough to reverse the situation of being caught between internal and external difficulties.

Leveraging BRICS to Break Diplomatic Dilemmas. "Small Lever" to Move "Big Diplomacy." Facing the encirclement and blockade by the United States and its allies, Russia views hosting the BRICS summit as a crucial opportunity to break diplomatic isolation. The slogan for Russia's presidency of BRICS this time is "Strengthening Multilateralism, Promoting Fair Global Development and Security," which to some extent reflects Russia's intention to deepen cooperation with BRICS countries, extricate itself from economic difficulties, and achieve geostrategic goals.

Following the historic expansion of the BRICS countries earlier this year, the total population of the BRICS countries has increased to % of the world's population, and their share in the global economy has risen to %, surpassing the G7. This is not only a significant milestone in the development history of BRICS but also a symbolic event in the evolution of the international landscape. The BRICS countries have expanded from five to ten.

At the same time, the expanded BRICS member countries bring together the world's most important energy producers and consumers, accounting for % of global crude oil production and approximately half of global natural gas reserves, providing a vast space for global trade development. The five goals of the "Peace BRICS," "Innovative BRICS," "Green BRICS," "Just BRICS," and "Cultural BRICS" also indicate that BRICS will become the main channel for "Global South" unity and cooperation, a vanguard force driving global governance reform, and play a greater role in global cooperation.

Russia undoubtedly hopes to strengthen cooperation with countries in the "Global South" through the BRICS mechanism, enhancing its weight in the international political landscape. In this way, Russia can balance the negative impacts brought by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, accelerate the development of the international landscape towards multipolarity, and form a strong counterbalance to the United States' unipolar hegemony.

At this summit, Russia extended invitations to countries, with countries confirming their attendance, including countries represented by their highest-level leaders. Russia is actively engaging in diplomatic activities within the BRICS framework, and President Putin will hold bilateral talks with almost all attending leaders. Among these, Russia aims to upgrade cooperation with China across various fields, discuss and sign a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement with Iran, and strengthen interactions with countries such as India, Egypt, the UAE, and Turkey, laying the diplomatic foundation for Russia to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict in a favorable manner.

On the date, Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Modi. "Single Platform" radiates "Multiple Fields". During its presidency, Russia organized multiple political, economic, and social activities, aiming to transform the BRICS mechanism into a comprehensive framework based on finance, trade, technology, and other fields. Through this, Russia may attract more emerging markets and developing countries to participate, promoting the rise of the "Global South" countries and gaining more voice on the international stage.

In the financial sector, Russia is actively promoting the construction of the "BRICS Bridge" cross-border payment platform to circumvent the issues of fund collection and payment faced in global trade due to sanctions, accelerating the de-dollarization process of the international financial and trade system. In the trade sector, Russia aims to leverage the "Big BRICS" resource market advantage to facilitate investment; utilize the complementary nature of member countries' resources to build a BRICS energy partnership; establish a BRICS grain trading system to counter Western rules and grain pricing.

In the cultural sector, Russia actively promotes the establishment of a comprehensive and multi-level structure for people-to-people exchanges, covering areas such as education, health, sports, youth, and tourism, continuously strengthening the foundation for cultural exchange and cooperation among BRICS countries. These practical collaborations not only help Russia alleviate economic pressures but also provide it with more diplomatic leverage and international influence.

Russia's diplomatic breakthrough still faces challenges. The Western efforts to divide, alienate, and coerce the BRICS countries are significant challenges for Russia. As the BRICS organization expands its global influence, the West will inevitably employ various means to undermine, hinder, and suppress its development. Although the BRICS countries have not explicitly aligned themselves with sanctions against Russia, most member states have also not explicitly sided with Russia.

This gives the United States and Western countries ample room to exert influence on BRICS member states, undermining the unity and cooperation among BRICS nations. It is precisely for this reason that Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, temporarily reversed its stance and declined to join the BRICS mechanism; Saudi Arabia politely declined the invitation and instead sent its foreign minister to attend at a lower level; India expressed skepticism about establishing an independent payment system. In the future, whether Russia can unite the "Global South" and successfully achieve diplomatic breakthroughs remains to be tested by time.