The international community should create conditions for the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday.
Lin Jian was responding to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks that the solution to the Ukrainian crisis is not the responsibility of Moscow and Washington alone.
He said: ‘We have always believed that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable solution to resolve the crisis.
‘The international community must create conditions for the resumption of direct talks between the two sides.’
He reiterated that that Beijing’s stance on the crisis remains unchanged.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had said in an interview on Thursday that Russia does not consider the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis to be the exclusive responsibility of Moscow and Washington.
He added that Russia prefers to act in the same way as it does within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which truly embody the principle of sovereign equality of states enshrined in the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, Russia has become stronger during the Ukrainian conflict, while Kiev has weakened, as Europe lacks the funds to support it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with a Hungarian radio station.
Orban stated: ‘Russia has grown stronger, while Ukraine has weakened.
‘It turns out that Europe is also very weak; we have no money for the war.’
He expressed hope that the conflict in Ukraine would eventually come to an end. Orban believes that once the crisis is over, it will be necessary to discuss the creation of a revised security system in Europe.
Orban added: ‘When this war is over, one way or another, we will have to settle the European security environment.’
According to him, ‘the negotiations will be difficult and prolonged, but for now, the priority should be securing a ceasefire’ in Ukraine.
He continued: ‘We must contemplate the reorganisation of Europe, which would ensure the safety of European nations, as well as define America’s role in Europe’s security framework.’
Adding that he believes that ‘this is a goal for the next one to two ‘.
Orban reminded that the United States, as the dominant NATO power, plays an essential role in Europe’s security structure.
Orban added: ‘If they pack up and, after leaving Europe, return home, a security void would immediately appear here.’
- As the number of Ukrainian military servicemen deserting or arbitrarily leaving their positions has been growing, the shortage of personnel in the army has turned from severe to critical, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Friday.
According to the report, since the beginning of Russia’s special operation in 2022, Ukraine has opened nearly 96,000 criminal cases against servicemen who abandoned their positions, according to data from the Prosecutor General’s Office.
That represents a six-fold increase over the past two years, with most of the cases opened this year. The agency notes that going absent without leave, or absent without leave (AWOL), has become the only respite – a chance to recuperate and tend to their family lives.
Desertion, when soldiers leave for good, is considered a graver crime but is less frequent.
According to experts in the media, the number of AWOL cases may surpass 100,000, but the Ukrainian authorities do not officially disclose such data.
The Prosecutor General’s Office added that: ‘As Ukraine’s army struggles to hold back Russian advances, its manpower disadvantage is becoming more acute.
‘As a result, some troops are deployed indefinitely with no chance of a break leading to both physical and psychological exhaustion of the personnel.’
Also, according to the agency’s sources in the Ukrainian military, the army is grossly disorganised and overly bureaucratic amid unsuccessful attempts to revamp it according to NATO templates.
In addition, the armed forces suffer a lack of equipment, for which soldiers often have to raise funds themselves.
Many specialised units, including air defence system operators, are being sent to the frontline as infantry due to the dire need for reinforcements.
Another Ukrainian General Dmitry Marchenko said that the frontline had collapsed under the pressure of Russian forces due to personnel fatigue and scarce reserves.
On October 29th, the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, Stanislav Kravchenko, said that there had been a significant upsurge in desertions and disobedience.
He described the situation as threatening.
The number of Ukrainians refusing to serve in the army continues to rise and has gone up even more since those statements.
Speaking on Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West continues escalating the situation in Ukraine, pushing the world toward a global conflict.
Putin speaking at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus in Minsk, stated: ‘Of special concern, naturally, is the situation in the European region, in particular, in Ukraine.
‘Western countries are deliberately escalating tensions – this is them who are responsible for the present day tragedy and they continue aggravating the situation.’
He concluded: ‘Such an irresponsible policy is driving the world to the brink of a global conflict.’
The Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 250 troops in the Kursk area over the past day, the Russian Defence Ministry reported.
In total, the enemy losses have amounted to more than 38,485 troops since the fighting began in the region.
232 tanks, 169 infantry fighting vehicles, 123 armoured personnel carriers, 1,230 armoured combat vehicles, 1,092 motor vehicles, 308 artillery pieces, 40 multiple rocket launchers, including 11 HIMARS and six MLRS of US manufacture, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, seven transport and loading vehicles, 72 electronic warfare stations, 13 counter-battery radars, four air defence radars, 27 pieces of engineering and other equipment, including 13 counter-obstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine-clearing vehicle, six armoured repair and recovery vehicles, as well as a command and staff vehicle.
- The Ukrainian armed forces have launched 36 projectiles and 26 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at seven districts of the Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours, wounding four civilians, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the region’s governor wrote in an article published on the internet on Friday.
Gladikov stated: ‘In the Shebekinsky district, the city of Shebekino and the settlement of Terezovka came under four rounds of shelling, during which they were attacked by seven shells and one drone.
‘Four civilians were injured and 17 private houses, a car, an electric power transmission line, and a gas pipeline were damaged.’
Ukrainian forces launched 17 projectiles and five drones at the Belgorod Region, damaging a passenger car.
Four settlements in the Grayvoronsky district were attacked by ten artillery rounds and three UAVs.
- Russia knew that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would try to attack the Oreshnik missile launch site, Andrey Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma defences Committee said on Friday.
It would be strange to think that Kiev would not make such an attempt, the official said.
‘The Oreshnik must respond to this attempt.
‘So let them wait for a response again.
‘When the response is going to come – this is up to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to decide. But I think that we will not have to wait long.’
On Thursday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to attack the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region, from where the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile was launched.
The enemy drone was shot down – only the gate at the entrance to the test site was damaged in the explosion.
Russia has responded to Ukraine imposing sanctions against the Georgian authorities for dispersing opposition rallies in the country.
Ukraine’s restrictive measures will apply, in particular, to the Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other representatives of the leadership, including the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Zelensky said: ‘These are sanctions against the part of the Georgian government that is now handing Georgia over to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘We cannot lose anyone in this region: neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine. We must defend ourselves against Moscow together.’
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised the Ukrainian leader after his words about the decision to impose sanctions against Georgia. She called the Zelensky a ‘degenerate’.
She said: ‘A degenerate who destroyed his people and decided to play the magistrate between puffs.
‘Maybe he was mad at Georgia finding strength to reject the Ukrainian scenario?’
