Putin-Xi speaks this week
12:00 | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will speak later this year. This was reported by the Russian state news agency Tass. When and where the meeting will take place is not specified.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now Putin’s Security Council deputy chairman, spoke with Xi during a visit to Beijing last week. Xi told Medvedev that China hoped all sides in the Ukraine crisis would maintain restraint and resolve security issues through political means, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.
With Western countries condemning the war and punishing the Russian economy with sanctions, the partnership with China has become even more important to Putin, even as he publicly acknowledged in September that Beijing had raised “questions and concerns” about Ukraine.
Killed by shooting down a drone over a Russian army base
07:30 | The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Russian army base in Engels, several hundred kilometers from the front line in Ukraine, in the early hours of Monday morning. Three soldiers were killed by falling debris from the drone. It was already the second attack on the army base this month.
The three soldiers worked in the technical service of the air base in the Russian region of Saratov. The Russian ministry said in its statement that aviation equipment on the base was not damaged. However, according to Ukrainian social media reports, some planes were actually damaged. Reuters news agency could not independently verify the reports.
Zelensky: Russia has lost everything it could possibly lose
06:00 | According to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, Russia has lost everything it could possibly lose with its invasion of Ukraine. He warned that Moscow is trying to compensate for its losses “with the cunning of its propagandists”. He pointed to rocket attacks especially in the energy sector, which regularly causes power outages.
Russian attacks can also take place in these last days of the year. The Ukrainian people must be prepared for any scenario, Zelensky said during his daily video speech. “We must be aware that our enemy will try to make this moment dark and difficult for us. I know that darkness will not prevent us from inflicting further defeats on the occupiers.’
Zelensky once again lashed out at the Russian army, which killed at least 16 people in artillery attacks in southern Kherson on Saturday. He called the authors “inhuman”. “We will find all the killers,” he insisted.