Highlighted are the key events on day 1,143 of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Conflict

• Russia’s defense minister claimed that air defenses took down 13 Ukrainian drones in 30 minutes late Friday. Late Friday (10-10:30 PM local time), nine drones over Rostov region and four drones over Kursk region were destroyed.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the site of a Russian attack in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih a week after a missile strike killed 19 people, including nine children and teens.
• Ukrainian officials have recently provided the US with a list of targets struck by Russia in violation of an energy infrastructure ceasefire agreed upon last month, in attempts for a nationwide ceasefire.
• Military analysts suspect Russia is gearing up for a new military offense in the coming weeks to strengthen their position in ceasefire discussions.

• President Zelensky accused Moscow of involving China in its invasion, stating that hundreds of Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russian forces. “China has provided information that there are at least several hundred Chinese nationals fighting as part of Russia’s occupying forces,” Zelensky stated.
• According to Reuters, more than 100 Chinese citizens who are fighting for Russia are mercenaries with no direct ties to the Chinese government, as per US intelligence and a former Western intelligence official. However, Chinese military officers have been present with Beijing’s approval for tactical lessons from the war, officials informed Reuters.
• Zelensky mentioned Ukraine’s readiness to purchase additional air defense systems, which he discussed with US President Donald Trump.

Ceasefire

• US Special Envoy Steve Witcoff, during his Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, lasted over four hours without announcing any concrete outcomes. No precise outcomes were announced; however, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out the possibility of another call between Putin and Trump following the discussions.
• Trump stated on Truth Social earlier: “Russia needs to get moving. Thousands are DYING every week in this terrible and pointless war – A war that should never have happened, and wouldn’t have if I were President!!!”
• Russia has deemed a US-backed proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as rejected and is hesitating on a more limited Black Sea truce, as per analysts.

• Following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated on Friday that due to ongoing Russian aggression, reaching peace in Ukraine appears unattainable in the immediate future.
• If a ceasefire is not achieved by the end of this month, Trump might impose additional sanctions on Russia, as noted by US news site Axios.
• Ukraine could experience a partition similar to Berlin after World War II, as suggested by President Trump’s envoy to Kyiv, General Keith Kellogg, amid Russia’s persistence in rejecting a truce. The country might be divided into control zones, with British and French troops serving as a “reassurance force” in the west, and Moscow’s forces in the east. The area in between would contain Ukrainian forces and a demilitarized zone.

Military Aid

• European countries have committed to providing billions of dollars in additional funds to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Ukraine’s allies promised the record-breaking figure of 21 billion euros ($23.9bn) in military aid, with British Defence Secretary Healey warning that 2025 is “the critical year” for the war.
• Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stated that his country is monitoring the global armaments market and sees opportunities for Ukraine’s supporters to purchase more weapons and ammunition.
• While leading a Ukraine donor’s forum for several years, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was absent from the event; however, he addressed the meeting via video.

Sanctions

• A former Russian government minister, Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, was sentenced to more than three years in prison in England for violating UK sanctions. The first person to be convicted of violating sanctions placed after Russia’s unlawful annexation of Crimea in 2014.
• Estonia’s navy detained a Russian oil tanker believed to belong to Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Gulf of Finland to scrutinize its documents.

Regional Security

• A decrease in the number of US soldiers stationed in Eastern Europe would be perceived as another step toward Moscow and seen as a disturbing sign for Europeans, according to analysts. This week, NBC cited US and European sources as stating that the US Department of Defense could withdraw 10,000 troops from Europe.
• President Putin announced billions in investments for the rearmament of Russia’s navy. Over the next decade, the country will allocate 8.4 trillion rubles ($97bn) to build new ships and vessels for the navy, including nuclear submarines equipped with new Zircon hypersonic missiles.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized European Union politicians while the Kremlin was warming up to the new US administration. Politicians such as Germany’s acting Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, European Union top diplomat Kaja Kallas, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to Lavrov, prioritized punishing Russia over the welfare of their constituents.