Ukraine diplomat in Beijing for talks; Russian attacks injure scores in southern Ukraine

by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Dec 18, 2025

A senior Ukrainian diplomat announced on Thursday he had arrived in Beijing, a close ally of Russia, where he was expected to hold talks with Chinese officials.

The visit represents a rare meeting between officials from Kyiv and Beijing, which has been accused of aiding Moscow to prolong its war against Ukraine.

"Busy day ahead in Beijing," Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya wrote on social media.

Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to AFP that Kyslytsya would hold consultations with Chinese diplomats, without giving details.

Kyslytsya said he was meeting with US ambassador to China David Perdue.

China -- a major Russian trading partner -- has said it takes a neutral stance on the war, and has never condemned Moscow's invasion.

Beijing regularly calls for peace talks and respect for the territorial integrity of all countries.

But Western governments accuse Beijing of providing Russia with crucial economic support for its war effort, notably by supplying military components for its defence industry.

Russian attack wounds at least 32 in southern Ukraine
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (AFP) Dec 17, 2025 - Russian air strikes on and around the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday wounded at least 32 people, according to the local authorities.

The head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote on Telegram that all of those wounded came from the city and its surroundings.

Rescue services earlier in the day said that five children were among the casualties in a provisional toll of 30, after strikes on a block of flats, a house and an educational establishment.

AFP journalists at the scene saw firefighters battling a blaze in a multiple-storey housing block, where black smoke was billowing into the sky.

Fedorov said two people were also wounded in a Russian drone strike on a civilian car in Kushuhum, south of Zaporizhzhia.

The industrial city of Zaporizhzhia had a pre-war population of around 710,000 people and lies 27 kilometres (17 miles) from the front line. It has been targeted frequently by Russian forces since they invaded in February 2022.

The Kremlin claimed in late 2022 that it had annexed the wider region, along with three other eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.

The attacks came with the United States pushing Ukraine to accept peace terms to halt the fighting that critics have said are favourable to the Kremlin.