Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to a Russian drone strike on a Chinese vessel. Zelenskyy said on X that a Russian drone had hit a vessel owned by China.
As the president emphasized, Russia carried out attacks on Dnipro and the region for more than six hours. The attack also targeted energy facilities and residential buildings across the region.
Drones struck Odesa as well, the president said, adding that one of the UAVs hit a vessel owned by China.
“There were drone strikes in Odesa, and one of the unmanned aerial vehicles struck a vessel belonging to China,” he wrote in a post on X.
Referring to the strike, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that “Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea.”
Zelenskyy also once again emphasized the need for strengthening the Ukrainian air defense. “Europe must have its own anti-ballistic systems and be self-sufficient in the face of these threats. We repeat once again: we need our own anti-ballistic capabilities and stronger Ukrainian air defense right now,” the statement reads.
Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” respectively to the 10th China-Russia Expo ahead of the latter’s visit to Beijing, just few days after US president Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes visit.
Putin will pay a state visit to China, shortly after Trump’s visit to Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping. It will be President Putin’s 25th visit to China, during which the two presidents will exchange views on bilateral relations, cooperation in various fields and international and regional issues of mutual interest.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in a regular press conference on Monday said the two sides will take this opportunity to continue deepening and elevating relations between China and Russia, so as to “inject more stability and positive energy to the world.”
Putin’s visit comes amid growing geopolitical tensions over the Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
