Russia testing defences around Kupiansk-Lyman as its Avdiivka offensive wanes, says Ukraine; Moscow admits reliance on China for drones

Russia hopes to break through Ukrainian defences in the Kupiansk-Lyman sector of the frontline in north-eastern Ukraine, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Monday according to Reuters. Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi was shown in video footage telling soldiers the situation on the north-eastern frontline had “significantly escalated” and the Russian military wanted “revenge” by retaking territory it once occupied.

A days-long attempt by Russian forces to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appeared to be waning, Kyiv officials said. Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, the Ukrainian general staff said on Monday.

Russia’s drones are mostly sourced from China and Moscow will spend more than $618m on a new national project to make them itself, Russia’s finance minister, Anton Siluanov, has said. “The task is that 41% of all drones by 2025 should have the label ‘Made in Russia’. Today, drones are mainly from the People’s Republic of China.”

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin has confirmed. It will be the Russian president’s first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the international criminal court issued a warrant for him in March over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Russia’s top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Beijing on Monday.

Ukraine has called for Russia to be excluded from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), warning the body faces a “slow death” if Moscow remained a member. The OSCE was founded to ease tensions between east and west during the cold war, and helps its members coordinate on issues like human rights and arms control.

Moscow can expect more diplomatic pressure from the 57-nation OSCE, according to the chief diplomat of North Macedonia, which holds that body’s rotating presidency. Its foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, on Monday urged Russia to cease its attacks on Ukraine and withdraw its forces.

The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said support for Ukraine remained a “top priority” for the US and Europe, reaffirming the Biden administration’s commitment to support Kyiv “for as long as it takes”. Yellen told reporters that Joe Biden would submit a supplemental funding request for Ukraine and Israel “as soon as we have a functional House of Representatives”.