Vladimir Putin arrives in China for safety summit – Ukraine battle reside

A Russian drone assault in a single day broken 4 energy services close to the southern Ukrainian metropolis of Odesa, leaving greater than 29,000 clients with out electrical energy this morning, the area’s governor and energy agency DTEK mentioned.

Hardest hit was the port metropolis of Chornomorsk, simply outdoors Odesa, the place residential homes and administrative buildings had been additionally broken, in accordance with Oleh Kiper, the governor of the broader Odesa area. One particular person was reported to have been injured within the assault. In a Fb publish, the DTEK Group wrote:

The enemy continues its power terror within the Odessa area. 4 DTEK power services had been attacked throughout the night time assault.

Russian drones additionally focused Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv area this morning, damaging power infrastructure and leaving 30,000 households with out electrical energy, the native governor, Viacheslav Chaus, mentioned.

The Guardian’s Russian affairs reporter, Pjotr Sauer, has written a bit about Putin’s journey and what it might imply for the battle in Ukraine. Right here is an extract of his story:

Key on the agenda, analysts say, can be for Putin and Xi to align their positions on the battle in Ukraine amid US efforts to finish the preventing. “It is an important time for them to talk about where the war is headed and how likely it is to be stopped in the near future,” mentioned Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre.

Gabuev mentioned Moscow wished to know whether or not it may count on any additional help from China and the way Beijing would reply if the US had been to ask it to place stress on Russia to finish the preventing…

China has emerged as an financial lifeline for Russia throughout the battle in Ukraine, and Kyiv has been more and more outspoken about what it says is China’s direct aiding of Moscow’s battle effort.

Bilateral commerce climbed to greater than $240bn final yr, two-thirds greater than earlier than the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Beijing is now the main purchaser of Russian oil and coal and can shortly surpass Europe as Moscow’s major marketplace for pure gasoline…

The talks are additionally prone to contact on deepening navy cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, a growth that has alarmed western governments.

Whereas China has stopped in need of offering direct navy support, US officers say Beijing has equipped about 70% of the machine instruments and 90% of the semiconductors Russia must rebuild its battle machine. In return, China is believed to be receiving help in delicate defence applied sciences.

China claims it’s a impartial mediator within the battle in Ukraine, however the two nations have pulled nearer collectively because the begin of the invasion.

Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi are among the many greater than 20 world leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which is being held within the northern Chinese language port metropolis of Tianjin.

The SCO contains China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus – with 16 extra nations affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”. The China and Russia-led regional safety grouping is making an attempt to rebalance world energy of their favour and away from the US.

Putin, who is needed for battle crimes by the worldwide felony court docket, arrived in Tianjin on Sunday to a purple carpet welcome and heat greetings from top-ranking metropolis officers.

Throughout his journey, which is anticipated to stretch to shut to per week, the Russian president will maintain talks with Chinese language president Xi Jinping, his shut ally, and watch Beijing’s Victory Day navy parade marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat within the second world battle, the place Putin is because of be the star visitor alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and leaders of Iran and Cuba.

Kim and Putin signed a mutual defence pact final yr, and North Korea confirmed this April that it had deployed troopers to the frontline in Ukraine to struggle alongside Russian troops.

Putin has turned to Beijing for commerce and political assist since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched in February 2022. China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership when Putin visited Beijing simply days earlier than he despatched tens of hundreds of troops into Ukraine.

Welcome again to our reside protection of Russia’s battle on Ukraine. Ukraine’s armed forces mentioned on Sunday that Russian forces failed to achieve full management of any main Ukrainian metropolis over the summer time.

The chief of Russia’s normal workers, Valery Gerasimov, mentioned on Saturday that since March Russia had captured greater than 3,500 sq. km (1,351 sq. miles) of territory in Ukraine and brought management of 149 villages.

“Despite Gerasimov’s claims, Russian forces have not gained full control over any major city,” the overall workers of Ukraine’s armed forces mentioned. “The figures presented by the occupiers regarding captured territories and settlements are grossly exaggerated.”

Now we have not but been capable of independently confirm any of those claims. Ukraine acknowledged for the primary time on Tuesday that Russia’s military had entered the Dnipropetrovsk area, a central administrative space beforehand spared from intense preventing.

Russian forces have slowly gained floor in expensive battles for largely devastated areas in jap and southern Ukraine, usually with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia launched a sweeping assault throughout Ukraine in a single day on Saturday, with one particular person killed and 24 injured, together with three kids, when a five-storey residential constructing was hit in Zaporizhzhia, in accordance with officers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asking for “tougher” western sanctions on Russia as he says Vladimir Putin’s assaults exhibits he’s not in any respect excited by making an attempt to pursue peace.