Russian drones swarm Kyiv in display of force as Xi leaves Moscow
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[March 22, 2023]
By Dan Peleschuk
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched a swarm of drones into Ukraine
overnight, killing at least four people near Kyiv in a display of force
as China's President Xi Jinping left Moscow with promises of friendship
but little public mention of the war.
Sirens blared across the capital and swathes of northern Ukraine and the
military said it had shot down 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed suicide
drones. Two accommodation blocks and an educational facility in the
riverside town of Rzhyshchiv south of the capital had been partially
destroyed, the State Emergency Service said on the Telegram messaging
app.
Four people were killed there and others buried under the rubble. More
than 100 workers and 28 vehicles were deployed to the scene, and that
the search for survivors was continuing.
"Over 20 Iranian murderous drones, plus missiles, numerous shelling
incidents, and that's just in one last night of Russian terror against
Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter.
In an apparent reference to the Chinese leader's visit, he added: "Every
time someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow, another order is
given there for such criminal strikes."
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Hosting Xi this week was Putin's grandest diplomatic gesture since he
launched the war a year ago and became a pariah in the West. Xi and
Putin referred to each other as dear friends, promised economic
cooperation and described their countries' relations as the best they
have ever been.
The two leaders "shared the view that this relationship has gone far
beyond the bilateral scope and acquired critical importance for the
global landscape and the future of humanity," said a statement released
by China.
As Xi departed he told Putin: "Now there are changes that haven't
happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes."
"I agree," Putin said, to which Xi responded: "Take care of yourself
dear friend, please."
Xi did not specify the changes and had little to say in public about the
Ukraine war beyond saying that China's position was "impartial".
The White House urged Beijing to pressure Russia to withdraw from
Ukraine to end Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two. Washington
also criticised the timing of the trip, just days after the
International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war
crimes charges for deporting Ukrainian children. Moscow says it has
taken in children for protection.
PEACE PLAN
China proposed a peace plan for Ukraine last month, which the West has
largely dismissed as vague at best, and at worst a ploy to buy time for
Putin to regroup his forces.
"A ceasefire right now, freezing the lines where they are, basically
gives him the time and space he needs to try to re-equip, to re-man, to
make up for that resource expenditure," White House national security
spokesperson John Kirby said.
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![](../images/032223PIX/news_y26.jpg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception at the Kremlin in
Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Pavel Byrkin/Kremlin via
REUTERS
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Putin praised Xi for the plan, and blamed Kyiv and the West for
rejecting it. Kyiv, for its part, has cautiously welcomed the
Chinese proposal while urging Beijing to consider Ukraine's own
peace plan. Zelenskiy has called on Xi to speak to him.
Ukraine says there can be no peace unless Russia withdraws from
occupied land. Moscow says Kyiv must recognise territorial
"realities", referring to Russia's claim to have annexed a fifth of
Ukraine.
Major waves of Russian air strikes on targets far from the front
like Wednesday's took place roughly weekly in late 2022, but have
become less frequent in recent weeks, with Western countries saying
Moscow is running low on missiles and drones.
After Ukraine recaptured territory throughout the second half of
2022, Moscow has launched a massive winter offensive using hundreds
of thousands of freshly called-up reservists and convicts recruited
as mercenaries from jail.
Despite the bloodiest fighting of the war, which both sides describe
as a meat grinder, the front line has barely moved for four months.
Russia's only notable gains have been around the small city of
Bakhmut in the east, but Kyiv has decided in recent weeks not to
withdraw there, saying its defenders were inflicting enough losses
on the Russian attackers to justify holding out.
In an intelligence update, Britain's ministry of defence said
Moscow's Bakhmut assault could be running out of steam. A Ukrainian
counterattack in recent days west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve
pressure on the threatened supply route to the city, the Wednesday
update said.
There was still a risk the Ukrainian garrison could be surrounded,
but there was now "a realistic possibility that the Russian assault
on the town is losing the limited momentum it had obtained".
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Britain also rejected accusations from Moscow that supplying Ukraine
with ammunition made from depleted uranium created a risk of
"nuclear collision". Britain on Monday confirmed it was supplying
Ukraine with such shells, used by many militaries to penetrate
armour due to the metal's high density.
"There is no threat to Russia, this is purely about helping Ukraine
defend itself," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
(Reporting by Reuters bureauxWriting by Peter GraffEditing by
Philippa Fletcher)
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