Zelenskyy bets on a 'strong' Chinese role to end the war

Kyiv-Moscow-Agencies: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is counting on further cooperation with China and on Beijing’s “strong diplomatic role” to help end the war with Russia, as Moscow and Kyiv continue to exchange strikes on key facilities and sites in the Black Sea and inside Russian territory. Zelenskyy wrote on the X platform: “Peace can be our joint achievement,” expressing his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping for congratulating him on Ukraine’s Independence Day. Zelenskyy’s remarks come amid ongoing clashes on the front lines, with slow Russian advances in the Donbas region, while Ukraine has intensified its drone and missile attacks deep inside Russian territory, targeting military installations and oil refineries. The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces struck three cargo ships, which it claimed were carrying supplies for the Ukrainian army, as well as a tanker at the port of Pivdennyi in the Black Sea. It added that it also targeted a cargo ship at the port of Odesa, along with infrastructure at the ports of Pivdennyi and Odesa, and fuel storage facilities at the port of Chornomorsk. At the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the administration appointed by Moscow said two employees were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack near the plant’s hydraulic facilities.