Ukraine/Russia War: Latest reports

On Friday, reports revealed by Ukrainian officials said that Russia attacked Ukraine with 16 Iranian-made Shahed drones through the night. This is a day after Moscow fired dozens of missiles in its latest bombardment against critical infrastructure. It was 16 “kamikaze” drones launched into Ukraine Kyiv’s military, and air defenses had shot down all 16.

RUSSIA/CHINA DISCUSSION

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his mission is to deepen military cooperation with China and expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Russia in the spring of 2023. President Jinping told Putin in their discussion that “the road to peace talks on Ukraine would not be smooth, and China would continue to uphold its objective and fair stance on the issue.” Chinese state media said after a video conference between the two leaders.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Russia’s finance ministry Anton Siluanov said that the maximum possible share of Chinese yuan in its National Wealth Fund (NWF) had been doubled to 60% as it restructured its rainy-day fund to reduce dependency on currencies from so-called unfriendly nations. Putin further confirmed that Russia had become one of China’s leading oil and gas suppliers, with 13.8 billion cubic metres of gas shipped to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline in the first 11 months of 2022.

NATO SUPPORT

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine, according to an interview. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said air commands in central, southern, eastern, and western Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones on Thursday. Also, more than 18 residential buildings and ten critical infrastructure installations were destroyed in Thursday’s attacks, a defense ministry statement.

THURSDAY ATTACKS

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Friday described the attack as a “massive strike” on Ukraine’s energy and military-industrial infrastructure using high-precision weapons. The Kremlin said it was highly concerned about a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that had been shot down after flying into the air space of its close ally Belarus on Thursday. Ukraine’s defense ministry said it would investigate the incident, suggesting it was a Russian provocation and reserves the right to protect its skies.

Reuters/S.O