Russia-Ukraine live news: ‘Five killed’ in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia

At least four people have been killed in a Russian drone attack in Kyiv while one person has died in a missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is being shelled “with bestial savagery”.
China says President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia has been a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”, and again criticises Washington for providing military support to Ukraine.Blinken says China has not ‘crossed line’ on lethal aid to Russia
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that while China’s political and material support for Russia goes against US interest, Beijing has not provided substantial “lethal aid” to Moscow.

“As we speak today, we have not seen them cross that line,” Blinken said in response to a question at a Senate sub-committee hearing.

Blinken has publicly warned for weeks that China is considering Russian requests for weapons to fight in Ukraine. He spoke after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow this week to push a proposal for a ceasefire in the war that has been met with scepticism by Washington.

Blinken added that Asia, and China in particular, are looking at the Russian invasion “very carefully. They will draw lessons from how the world comes together or doesn’t, to stand up to this aggression.”One killed, 25 wounded after Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia
At least one person has been killed in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after a Russian missile slammed into an apartment building, Ukrainian officials have said.

Ukrainian media showed charred apartments on several stories of the affected buildings, with flames billowing from some of them.

Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev said that one person was killed in the attack and 25 wounded were taken to the hospital, where three were said to be in critical condition.

Two of the injured were children.

Earlier Wednesday, an overnight drone attack partially destroyed a high school and two dormitories in the city of Rzhyshchiv, south of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, officials said. It wasn’t clear how many people were in the dormitories at the time.Ukraine soldiers ride out war stress with hippotherapy
A group of Ukrainian soldiers take a break from the war with the help of hippotherapy – using riding and contact with horses for therapeutic effect.

Therapists are using other animals, as well. The soldiers have to deal with the difficulties of war but they appear childlike, roaring with laughter over the therapist’s dogs play-fighting or the cat sneakily eating their biscuits.

The troops in small groups mount the horses and ride in circles with helpers beside them, trying to relax their legs and gradually raising their arms to waist and shoulder level and then above their head.Zelenskyy visits troops near front-line city of Bakhmut
President Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops on Wednesday near the front-line city of Bakhmut, and handed out medals to soldiers he said were heroically defending their country’s sovereignty.

Video footage posted on social media showed the Ukraine leader dressed in a dark sweatshirt and military khaki trousers, handing out awards to exhausted-looking soldiers in combat gear in what appeared to be a large warehouse

“I am honoured to be here today to give awards to our heroes. To shake hands and thank them for protecting the sovereignty of our country,” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app under the video footage.