My colleague Streiff posted his latest update about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine earlier in the week. He noted that it has now reached the 13 month mark.
He updated us on one story: Putin’s meeting on Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The meeting did not result in any major announcements of Chinese aid. The agreements were merely for generic purposes. China didn’t pledge military support to Russia, however.
The meeting is scheduled after The Hague’s International Criminal Court issued warrants of arrest for war crimes against Putin and another Russian official.
Streiff also included the following tweet regarding recent fighting in Ukraine, specifically in Zaporizhzhia.
There are now reports that Russia launched numerous drone strikes against Ukraine, including in the Zaporizhzhia region, on Wednesday. Putin could have intended to use the attacks to signal his support for Xi’s visit. Some of the missiles struck “civilian infrastructure” and at least 10 people were injured.
Russia launched a series of devastating attacks against cities and towns across Ukraine on Wednesday after Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, left Moscow following talks between President Vladimir Putin.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Xi returned to Beijing after flying back with the Russian military. They launched a series of strikes against Iran-made Shahed drones in Kyiv, killing at most nine people. According to Andrii Niebytov (chief of the Kyiv Region’s Police), seven other people were hurt when a drone crashed into a dormitory in Rzhyshchiv.
According to Mykhailo Polyak, a senior Ukrainian official and presidential advisor, the attack by Russian missiles on apartment blocks in Zaporizhzhia left at least one person dead and 34 others injured. This was in addition to two children.
The video shows the explosion exploding through two nine-story residential buildings.
According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, at least six missiles struck the city, causing severe damage.
According to the statement, “One missile struck between two high-rise buildings, partially degrading apartments and balconies, damaging roofs, and breaking windows,” “The debris and blast also caused damage to other residential buildings nearby, as well as cars and other civil infrastructure within the city.”
The Biden administration issued a statement in response to Russian attacks. Although they didn’t agree with Podolyak about strikes against civilians being deliberate, it is a good response.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration did not accuse Russia of attacking civilians in Zaporizhzhia with missile strikes. However, it stated that it was “certainly consistent” with other such attacks.
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator of strategic communications, stated that “it’s clearly right out of Russia playbook to target civil infrastructure and to show zero regard for the targeting of civilians.”
As more information becomes available, we’ll keep you updated on the story. The war between Russia, Ukraine and China will not end anytime soon.