This week, fighting continued to rage all along the front lines. Russia continued to strike Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure deep in the rear.
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday rose to 35 people, including two children. At least 119 others were injured. Ukrainian drones attacked the base of the Russian 112th Missile Brigade that launched the strike on Sumy. Ukrainian troops have regained control of the village of Dniproenerhiia, in Donetsk region, and have achieved tactical gains in the Pokrovsk direction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said Ukraine was ready to buy 10 U.S.-made Patriot missile systems for 15 billion dollars, but his request remained unanswered. He also responded to U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff’s remarks on “five territories” by saying that Ukraine will not recognize any temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian.
Head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, accused NATO of an increase in military activity near the country’s borders. The Trump administration proposed cutting the budget of the State Department and what remains of the U.S. Agency for International Development by almost half, according to an internal memo, reviewed by The Washington Post. Funding for the United Nations, NATO and 20 other organizations would be ended, the memo states.
Russia could step up attacks on Ukraine on Easter, the warnings say.
China is supplying weapons to Russia, Zelenskyi says.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said he has intelligence suggesting China is supplying arms to Russia, and is manufacturing weapons within Russia. Supplies include gunpowder and artillery, he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
“We finally have information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. We have reports of gunpowder and artillery from intelligence agencies and security services. We would be able to provide more details next week. (…) We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” Zelenskyi said.
The Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the war and asked him directly about the possibility of Beijing supplying arms to Russia. “He gave me his word that he won’t sell or give weapons to Russia. Unfortunately, we see the opposite information,” Zelenskyi said, adding, “We already have facts that China is strengthening Russia’s defense capability. And this is bad.”
He said Ukraine will release some of the documents proving such cooperation between the two countries next week.
