Russia-Ukraine Latest: Russia Captures 7 New Settlements Plus More
RUSSIA – Welcome to the Russia-Ukraine latest news updates. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said that its forces had captured 7 new settlements over the past week.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said six settlements were captured in the Dnipropetrovsk region in an operation by the Vostok (East) group of forces, and one in the Kharkiv region by the Zapad (West) group of forces.
The ministry also said that it carried out one massive and five group strikes with high-precision weapons against Ukraine’s military industry enterprises and energy facilities, transport infrastructure, military airfields, arsenals, workshops for assembling Flamingo cruise missiles and long-range drones, storage sites, as well as temporary deployment sites for Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries.
The statement added that Ukraine responded with air raids; 17 guided aerial bombs, 10 US-made HIMARS rockets, two long-range guided missiles Neptune and 1,701 aircraft-type drones were shot down over the past week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russia launched a mass strike against different targets across Ukraine. He said most of the shells and rockets were shot down.
Ukraine Trying to Hide the Catastrophic Situation of Encircled Troops; Russia
A Kyiv ban on media visits after Russian forces surrounded Ukrainian forces in three cities is evidence of their “catastrophic situation,” the Defense Ministry in Moscow claimed on Friday.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov described a statement by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi as an “official recognition” of the dire circumstances.
On Thursday, on the US media company X, Tykhyi called on both foreign and Ukrainian journalists to reject a Russian initiative that would allow them to visit the conflict areas around the cities of Pokrovsk, Dymytrov, and Kupiansk via Russian-controlled territory.
Tykhyi warned that any such visits without Ukraine’s permission would violate Ukrainian and international law, adding that they would have “long-term reputational and legal consequences.”
This was Ukraine’s first public response to the Oct. 29 offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said the Defense Ministry was ready to grant foreign media access to the areas where Ukrainian units are encircled, stating that journalists should “see with their own eyes what was happening there.”
The following day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it received the relevant order and was prepared to pause combat operations for five to six hours to create safe corridors for journalists.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Thursday that the situation in Pokrovsk is currently the “most tense” and described the Kupiansk front as “difficult.” Despite this, he stated that Ukrainian forces have recently gained “more control of the situation.”
Russian Prime Minister to Have a 2-Day Official Visit to China Next Week
The Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will pay a two-day official visit to China next week, Beijing announced on Friday.
The visit, beginning Monday, comes at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Li and Mishustin will hold the 30th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government, the ministry said.
The sides will “comprehensively review cooperation progress in various areas, plan the next stage of collaboration, and exchange in-depth views on issues of common concern,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.
“We look forward to using this regular meeting between the two premiers to further enhance mutual trust, build greater consensus, deepen cooperation, and inject new impetus into the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era,” Guo added.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing in May last year, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a joint statement to further deepen their strategic partnership as the two nations marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Bilateral trade between Russia and China has also reached a new milestone, hitting $240 billion.
