Sixteen people killed in Russian shelling over eight regions of Ukraine
From CNN's Maria Kostenko
Sixteen civilians have been killed and fifty-nine people injured in Russian shelling across eight regions of Ukraine, according to the Defence Forces of Ukraine.
Ukraine's Defense Force said in a statement that "119 settlements have been shelled with various weapons including mortars, tanks, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, S-300 air defense missile system, Lancet UAVs and Onyx cruise missiles."
It is the latest wave of Russian attacks -- Russia pounded towns and cities across Ukraine on Wednesday as Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed from Moscow following talks with President Vladimir Putin, killing at least nine people.
In the aftermath of that attack one man, a student in Zaporizhzhia, told CNN: “We are mostly angry. We are not afraid. Why would we be? It is our home."
Ukraine's top general says situation in Bakhmut is "stabilized" in discussion with UK Chief of Defense staff
From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Vasco Cotovio in London
The commander in chief of Ukraine’s military emphasized the difficulty of the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut during a call Friday with the head of the British Armed Forces.
Ukrainian Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi shared a Telegram post outlining his conversation with Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff Adm. Sir Tony Radakin.
“We also discussed the issue of strengthening Ukrainian air defense,” he added.
Zaluzhnyi thanked Radakin, the United Kingdom and other allies for their support.
“Thanks to the help of our partners, we are holding on and will definitely win,” he said.
The battle for Bakhmut: The besieged city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region has been a focal point of the frontline fighting between Russia and Ukraine for months.
One of Kyiv's top generals this week said that Russian forces are depleted in Bakhmut, and a Ukrainian counteroffensive could soon be launched. It raised the prospect of an unlikely turnaround for Ukraine.
While experts say that capturing Bakhmut is unlikely to dramatically alter the overall picture of the war in eastern Ukraine — where little territory has changed hands in 2023 — it would hand Russia a symbolic victory and mark the first Ukrainian city it has captured in eight months.
"I think we vastly exaggerate it": Biden downplays the strength of Russia-China alliance
From CNN's DJ Judd
President Joe Biden said Friday he’s not alarmed following the high-profile meetings earlier this week between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Instead, Biden said “we’re the ones expanding the alliances.”
“Look, I don't take China lightly. I don't take Russia lightly, but I think we vastly exaggerate it,” Biden told reporters during a news conference in Ottawa, Canada.
The president noted that while US officials have recently warned of signs that China could be considering increasing its military support for Russia, “they haven’t yet.”
“Doesn't mean they won't, but they haven't yet,” Biden said. “And if anything's happened, the West has coalesced significantly more.”
Biden went on to cite increased cooperation across alliances, including through the G7, the Quad Alliance, ASEAN and AUKUS. He added he has now met with 80% of the world's leaders.
UN documents hundreds of disappearances and arbitrary detentions by Russian and Ukrainian forces
From CNN’s Jade Wurapa and Hira Humayun
The United Nations has documented hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions by both Ukrainian and Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion, according to the Head of the UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The UN has documented more than 600 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions carried out by Russian forces, and 91 by Ukrainian forces, since the war began on February 24 of last year up until the end of January 2023.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued Friday its latest report, which cataloged cases of civilian casualties, torture, rape, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention.