Moscow and Beijing have ‘similar’ positions on Ukraine – Kremlin
Moscow and Beijing are on the same page about solving the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the United States, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In a press release published on Monday, the ministry highlighted the two countries’ close ties, following talks between Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The pair “discussed in detail the current situation in Ukraine, noting the futility of attempts to resolve the crisis without taking into account Russia’s interests”, explained the text.
It also underscored their “similar” views on “US actions on the international scene, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature.”
In February, China published a 12-point peace plan, which was flatly rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
Explaining the plan, Wang told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that China’s resolution “takes into account the security concerns of all parties and is favourable to eliminating the roots of the conflict,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.
A US intelligence report in June Beijing has “probably” provided Moscow with key technology, including drones and fighter jet parts, it is using to wage war in Ukraine.
China is trying to position itself as a neutral party to the Ukraine war. Despite its outward support of the Kremlin, Beijing’s stance on the conflict is complex, pushed and pulled in competing directions. Find out more below.
Explosions heard amid drone attack in Lviv
Drones attacked the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Tuesday, where authorities reported a warehouse fire and at least one person injured.
Several waves of drones were heard from the early hours of the morning, plus explosions, according to an AFP journalist on site.
The Ukrainian Air Force indicated the city was under attack and air defences were operating in the area.
Russia frequently uses Iranian-made Shahed-type drones to attack cities in Ukraine.
“As a result of a strike on Lviv, a fire broke out in an industrial warehouse,” Lviv Mayor Andriï Sadovyi wrote on Telegram.
“So far, we are aware of one injured person,” he said later, explaining that it was a 26-year-old man “found under the rubble of a warehouse.” He was taken to hospital, according to Sadovyi.
Governor of the regional military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, reported on Telegram that “two people were pulled from the rubble in Lviv, a man and a woman”, detailing that the woman appeared unharmed, but the man was in a “bad state”.
Drone warfare has become a prominent part of the fighting in Ukraine, with both sides firing unmanned aerial vehicles deep inside one another territory.
Strikes by Kyiv typically lack a military objective and almost always cause no casualties, so what’s the point of them? Read more below.
