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6 mins ago
Missile attack in Kramatorsk leaves two dead and six injured
By Yulia Kesaieva
At least two people have died and six have been injured after a missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk hit a residential and an administrative building on Friday, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional administration.
Other details are currently being clarified, he said.
11 mins ago
Chinese official says Beijing respects 'sovereignty and territorial integrity'
By Beijing bureau
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
(Photo: CCTV)
China respects "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Friday.
"China always upholds respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abides by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, attaches importance to the legitimate security concerns of all countries, supports all efforts leading to peaceful resolution of the crisis and promoting peace talks and alleviating the humanitarian situation," Zhao said.
"China's position is superior, fair, objective and unquestionable," he added.
China's friendship with Russia: Since a February meeting between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, China has spoken of its "boundless partnership" with Russia.
5 reasons why the call between Joe Biden of the US and Xi Jinping of China is so important
US officials believe that Russia has asked China for military and economic support to wage its unprovoked war in Ukraine and that Beijing has signaled its willingness to help Moscow.
Both Russia and China have denied the allegation.
The United States has indicated that China would pay an economic price if its support for Russia goes beyond rhetoric.
In his speech on Friday, Zhao repeated China's public rebuke, saying "some people in the US have been spreading disinformation to smear and pressure China, which is extremely irresponsible and will not help resolve the issue. China is strongly opposed to this and will never accept it."
"The United States should seriously reflect on its role in the Ukrainian crisis, assume its responsibilities and take concrete steps to alleviate the situation and resolve the issue, instead of adding fuel to the fire and transferring the conflict to others," he said.
Zhao stated that Ukraine needs food and not weapons, and that the US sending military aid to the country will not bring peace.
Why the leaders' meeting is important: The call comes at a potentially defining moment for US-China ties.
White House officials are watching the nascent partnership between Xi and Putin with growing concern, and China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left Western observers concerned.
White House officials said they expected the call to get intense;
A preliminary meeting between aides to the two leaders went on for seven hours earlier this week.
13 mins ago
5 reasons why the call between Biden and Xi Jinping is so important
By Kevin Liptack
When President Joe Biden speaks to China's Xi Jinping this Friday, it will not be just another call in an ongoing flurry of phone diplomacy.
This call comes at a potential turning point for US-China ties.
White House officials are watching with growing concern the budding partnership between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left Western observers concerned.
Beijing appears to be neither fully supportive nor outright opposed, creating an uncertain stance that Biden hopes to figure out — and influence — when he speaks with Xi on Friday.
White House officials said they expected the call to be intense;
A preliminary meeting between advisers to the two leaders went on for seven hours earlier this week.
And Biden raised the stakes when he alluded to his call a day earlier, declaring that his Chinese counterpart "doesn't think democracies can sustain themselves in the 21st century."
Read the full note here.
14 mins ago
One dead in a fire after a downed rocket hit a Kyiv residential building
By Yulia Kesaieva
One person was killed and four others were injured in a fire at a residential building in Kyiv's Podilskyi district on Friday, Ukraine's Emergency Service said.
The fire broke out after debris from a downed rocket hit the five-story building, the service said.
The initial report of a fire was received at 8:04 a.m. local time, it said.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw that there was a fire from the first to the third floor.
The fire is being extinguished at this time.
According to preliminary information, 12 people were rescued and 98 people were evacuated, the service said.
On Tuesday, a 10-story apartment building in the district's Podil neighborhood was hit in an attack, sparking a fire on the first five floors of the building, according to emergency services.
18 mins ago
UK revokes Russian state-funded RT broadcasting license
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Britain on Friday revoked the broadcasting license of the Kremlin-backed propaganda network RT, according to a statement from regulators.
The statement from regulator Ofcom said its investigation into RT had found that its licensee, ANO TV Novosti, was neither fit nor appropriate to hold a UK broadcast license.
Employee of Russian state channel bursts into news to condemn Ukraine invasion
"RT is funded by the Russian state, which has recently invaded a neighboring sovereign country," the statement said.
"We also note new laws in Russia that effectively criminalize any independent journalism that departs from the Russian state's own news narrative, particularly in relation to the invasion of Ukraine. We believe that, given these limitations, it seems impossible for RT to comply with the due fairness rules of our Broadcasting Code in the circumstances," the statement said.
RT went off the air in the UK two weeks ago after the country and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
war in ukraine