Russia says that US Patriot missiles in Ukraine will not stand in its way or help resolve the conflict, following a statement made during Ukrainian President Zelenskyi’s visit to Washington about new defense supplies. Although the Patriot air defense system is considered advanced, President Vladimir Putin considers it “quite old”, telling reporters that Moscow will find a way to counter it. At the same time, he said that Russia wants an end to the war in Ukraine and that this will inevitably require a diplomatic solution.

The main thing from Friday, the 303rd day of the Ukrainian war, LIVETEXT:

07:31 Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Rogozin said Thursday that he needs surgery after being injured in an explosion in Ukraine.

07:27 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea denied media reports about the supply of ammunition to Russia, calling them “baseless” and condemning the United States for supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Friday, The Guardian writes.

Earlier, Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun reported that North Korea sent ammunition, including artillery shells, to Russia by train across their border last month, and that additional shipments were expected in the coming weeks.

07:07 Iran is trying to “deepen and expand” the supply of advanced weapons to Russia, which is currently waging a war in Ukraine, the head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, said Thursday evening, AFP reported.

06:56Russia has held exploratory talks with at least one major leasing company to buy the planes stuck in the country

06:22 In Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi provided images for the history books as well as promises. But only on the battlefield will Ukraine really be able to convince the United States and the West to continue supporting it, analysts believe, AFP comments.

01:25Chief Wagner rejects US claim of North Korean weapons

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said Thursday that US claims that his group received arms shipments from North Korea were “nothing more than gossip and speculation.”

“Everyone knows that North Korea has not supplied weapons to the Russian Federation for a long time,” Prigozhin said on his Telegram channel.

01:10 More than 10,000 new graves were discovered on the territory of Mariupol

The Associated Press reports that it has discovered what it believes to be at least 10,300 new graves dug in an area of ​​mass graves near the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

00:48 The US Senate on Thursday approved a bill on public funding for 1.7 trillion dollars / Aid to Ukraine

The Senate approved a $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Thursday, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives, where it will be passed by a Friday night deadline to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government. News.ro refers to CNBC.

A quick recap of the latest developments on Thursday morning:

• The extremely critical position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania after Kyiv adopted a new law on national minorities in Ukraine. A list of “negative impact” provisions that Aurescu sent to Kulebi.
• Vladimir Putin says Patriot systems are “old” and Russia will shoot them down: “We will always find an antidote,” the Kremlin leader said after a journalist asked him to comment on the US decision to supply Patriot to Ukraine. missile complex.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he wants the war in Ukraine to end “as soon as possible” after nearly 10 months of intense fighting with Kiev’s military, AFP reported.
• On Thursday, the Kremlin condemned the lack of “willingness to listen to Russia” after the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the United States, AFP reports.
• Wagner group bought weapons from North Korea for war in Ukraine The White House on Thursday issued a stark warning against the rise of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which it says is a rival of Russia’s regular army in Ukraine and now receives weapons from Korea. according to AFP and Reuters.
• Russians are using crowdfunding to buy boots and bulletproof vests for the Kremlin’s ill-equipped troops. Local campaigns raise funds for Russian soldiers stationed in Ukraine, as well as in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United States in his first foreign visit since Russia’s war against Ukraine to enlist support for his military effort until next year.
• In his address to Congress, Zelenskyi said that Ukraine will “never surrender,” repeating that his country and the United States “are allies in this battle.” “Next year will be a turning point, a moment when Ukrainian courage and American determination will become a guarantee of Ukraine’s freedom, the freedom of people who defend their values,” Zelenskyi said. “Russian tyranny has lost control over us,” he added. “Despite all odds and all appeals, Ukraine did not fall. Ukraine is alive and well.”
• Zelensky also tried to convince Republican lawmakers to continue funding his country’s defense against Russia. “Your money is not alms. These are investments in global security and democracy that we manage most responsibly,” he said.
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda on Thursday, returning from Washington.
• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the US has imposed new sanctions against 10 Russian naval organizations due to operations against Ukrainian ports. The US State Department said on Thursday that six business entities targeted by the latest sanctions were identified as working or working in both the defense and related maritime logistics sectors of the Russian economy.

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Thursday’s events were broadcast live on HotNews.ro