China’s economic support for Putin growing
China’s economic ties with Russia have helped limit the effect of punishing western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a US intelligence report said on Thursday.
AFP reports that according to the intelligence, China “has become an even more critical economic partner for Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”. The unclassified report was released by Democratic lawmakers.
“Beijing is pursuing a variety of economic support mechanisms for Russia that mitigate both the impact of western sanctions and export controls,” it says.
Key events
Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, has said on television in Ukraine that despite a relatively quiet night, residents should stay vigilant as there is still “a high probability of missile attacks”.
Ukrinform quotes Ihnat as saying:
The night was quiet. There was little activity of enemy aircraft. There are not many nights like this. Many Ukrainians had the opportunity to sleep at least. We hope this day will be calm, but according to the general staff there is still a high probability of missile attacks. Therefore, we all need to be vigilant and respond to the messages we receive about air threats every time.
The Russian state-owned media outlet Tass is reporting the consequences of two attacks ascribed to Ukrainian forces.
It says a drone attacked an oil facility in occupied Shakhtarsk, in Donetsk region. It quotes the Russian-imposed occupying mayor of the city, Alexander Shatov, as saying: “At the site of the fire, fragments from a drone were found. In all likelihood, they hit it with a drone.” He said a fire at the site was extinguished.
In a separate report, it carries claims from emergency services in occupied Kherson that three civilians were injured on the left bank of the Dnipro River by Ukrainian shelling from the north.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that three residential buildings and a garage were damaged overnight by Russian shelling in Seredyna-Buda, in Sumy region.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has issued its daily intelligence briefing on the war, and today the focus is on grain. It notes that “the impact of the war in Ukraine will almost certainly compound food insecurity across Africa for at least the next two years”.
The ministry adds that the number of African heads of state attending the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg is 17, “down from 43 at the last iteration”.
North Korea has carried out demonstration flights of new military drones, state media reported, as Kim Jong-un shared centre stage with senior delegates from Russia and China in a show of unity at a parade in the capital.
State media said on Friday that Kim rolled out his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles during the Victory Day parade in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that stopped fighting in the Korean war.
Joining Kim were the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong. Earlier, Shoigu gave Kim a “warm and good letter” signed by Vladimir Putin that noted Pyongyang’s support for Russia in its conflict with Ukraine, adding that the Korean war had laid the foundation for good relations in confronting the west.
More now on that US intelligence report, via AFP: China has boosted energy imports from Russia and provided tankers and insurance coverage to move crude oil.
The two sides have also “increased the share of bilateral trade settled in yuan” as well as “expanding their use of domestic payment systems”, which will help “Russian entities to conduct financial transactions unfettered of western interdiction.”
The report says Beijing has probably supplied Moscow with dual-use civilian-military equipment employed in Ukraine, but notes that it is “difficult to ascertain the extent to which [China] has helped Russia evade and circumvent sanctions and export controls”.
Russia failed in its attempt to take Kyiv and decapitate the country’s government in the early days of the war, but seized swathes of other territory that Ukrainian troops are fighting to retake.
Beijing says it is a neutral party in the conflict but has been criticised by western countries for refusing to condemn Moscow and for its continued ties with Russia.
Russia says drone downed over Moscow
Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian military drone before it could attack its targets near Moscow on Friday, the RIA news agency cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying.
The ministry said the incident caused no casualties or damage to buildings.
China’s economic support for Putin growing
China’s economic ties with Russia have helped limit the effect of punishing western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a US intelligence report said on Thursday.
AFP reports that according to the intelligence, China “has become an even more critical economic partner for Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”. The unclassified report was released by Democratic lawmakers.
“Beijing is pursuing a variety of economic support mechanisms for Russia that mitigate both the impact of western sanctions and export controls,” it says.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Our top stories this morning:
Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian military drone before it could attack its targets near Moscow on Friday, the RIA news agency cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying.
The ministry said the incident caused no casualties or damage to buildings.
And China’s economic ties with Russia have helped limit the effect of punishing western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a US intelligence report said on Thursday.
Elsewhere:
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a video showing Ukrainian soldiers saying they had recaptured the village of Staromaiorske. In the video, the fighters say they have “liberated the village”, located east of Zaporizhzhia city.
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Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian attacks had intensified in recent days, primarily on the frontline running through Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. Speaking to Russian TV on the margins of the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Putin said Ukraine had not had success on any part of the front.
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Putin used the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg to announce that Russia could replace Ukraine as a supplier of grain to African nations. Having pulled out of the Black Sea grain initiative and accused by Ukraine of blocking ships reaching Ukrainian ports, Putin said Moscow would be ready to start supplying grain for free to six African countries within three to four months. He named Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea as recipients.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to be among the attenders at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg. Late on Wednesday, a close ally of Prigozhin posted a picture purportedly showing the Wagner group leader meeting African officials. In the unverified photograph, Prigozhin is seen standing next to a senior official from Central African Republic (CAR), which has welcomed thousands of Wagner mercenaries over the last few years.
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The British government has allowed Russian oligarchs under sanctions to spend hundreds of thousands on perks such as private chefs, chauffeurs and housekeepers thanks to numerous sanction exemptions, according to a New York Times report.
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The European Commission has no money to help Ukraine with extra transport costs after the Black Sea deal collapse, reports suggest. Sources told Reuters that the commission had no immediate money in the budget and no clear way to help finance the extra transport costs that Ukrainian grain exports will face with the end of the Black Sea deal.
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Russia has granted debt relief on more than $684m owed by Somalia in a deal finalised on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, Somali officials have said. “This step will play a big role in the completion of the country’s debt forgiveness process,” the Somali finance minister, Bihi Egeh, said of the deal with Moscow in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page.
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Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian-born British newspaper owner, has claimed he was a victim of “Russophobia” in the UK amid the war in Ukraine. In an article in the Evening Standard newspaper – of which he is the owner – Lebedev said the UK was “long overdue” a reckoning with “corporate hypocrisy”.