China urges Ukraine to lift sanctions
China has officially urged Ukraine to immediately lift sanctions against Chinese citizens and companies. This statement was made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, in response to the Ukrainian President's decision to impose restrictions for cooperation with the Russian defense complex. According to the spokesperson, about 70% of the components for Ukrainian and Russian UAVs have Chinese origins.
Expert Ruslan Valentynovych noted:
'China is providing military-technical assistance to Russia – this is 100%.'
Situation on the front and internal challenges
The situation on the front remains tense. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have retreated from Siversk, and in Donbas, Russian troops are advancing from several directions, having a high density of assault units. Over the past two weeks, the situation in this area has worsened. As the same expert points out,
'if things continue like this... then after the New Year we will hear new cities. This will include Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk.'Active hostilities are also taking place in Sumy region.
In addition to military challenges, Ukraine faces internal problems:
- For the telethon, according to data, an additional 109 million hryvnias have been allocated by the end of the year, and total expenses have reached 2.7 billion.
- The country ranks seventh in the world for the outflow of highly qualified personnel, second only to a number of developing countries.