China has vowed to maintain what it described as its “objective and fair” stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine following a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
President Xi said Beijing and Moscow should closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs and emphasised Russia’s willingness to engage in negotiations over Ukraine, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in its report on a call between him and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“The Chinese side has noted that the Russian side has said it has never refused to resolve the conflict through diplomatic negotiations, and expressed its appreciation for this,” Mr Xi was quoted as saying in the video call by CCTV.
Elsewhere, residents in Kyiv were told to rush to air raid shelters as air raid sirens wailed across the capital city at 2am local time. Ukraine’s military said it came under attack from 16 “kamikaze” drones, all of which it had shot down.
In his overnight address, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelemnsky said air commands in central, southern, eastern and western Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones on Thursday.
