The Russian invasion

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP 

The Russian invasionThe China-Russia relationship  

Putin plans visit to China - first since the invasion Russian 

President Vladimir Putin plans to go to China, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, according to Reuters. 

- Now is an absolutely opportune moment to maintain a high level in the development of bilateral Russian-Chinese relations, Peskov said during a press conference.  

There is no exact date for the trip yet. The trip is Putin's first to China since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Sergey Surovikin AP  

Russian invasionWagner rebellion  

The absent general is "resting" according to the Kremlin  

The top Russian general, Sergei Surovikin, has not been seen since the Wagner Group uprising during the Midsummer weekend.  

In a video posted on social media, Andrej Kartapolov, head of the State Duma's defense committee, says Surovikin is "currently resting" and unavailable.  

According to a previous US intelligence report obtained by the New York Times, Surovikin is being investigated for involvement in the uprising by Russian authorities. The general is said to have had a good relationship with the Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.  

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video clip of a meeting with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian Air Force Chief of Staff Viktor Afzalov. According to the British Ministry of Defence, the appearance of Afzalov strengthens the hypothesis that Surovikin has been removed from his post. 

"Afzalov is building up his public profile, while Surovikin's whereabouts are still unknown," the ministry writes. 

Cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine/Biden, Zelenskyj and Stoltenberg in Vilnius. TT  

The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world  

Analysis: Cluster bombs a moral dilemma for Biden  

The US decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine is controversial, something that is highlighted by several observers.  

- I think this was Joe Biden's biggest moral dilemma during his time in power, says New York Times security correspondent David Sanger in The Daily podcast.  

Sanger assesses that advisers to Biden tried to postpone the decision as far as possible. 

- Then they reached a point where they had no choice, says Sanger, who believes that Ukraine has now reached a "desperate point" where it is judged that these weapons are needed.  

Bloomberg's Conrad Quilty-Harper highlights that the US has opted out of an international agreement not to use cluster bombs.  

"The United States military considers cluster munitions to be an effective weapon, and considers the risks of unexploded ordnance to be acceptable."  

But what will be the consequence of the decision? The BBC's Frank Gardner writes that an immediate effect is that the US risks being perceived as hypocrites. The move could create division among allies in the West, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin wants.

Archive image. A Russian MIG-31 plane. AP  

Russia: Norwegian fighter plane near border - sent up plane 

 

Russia has dispatched a fighter jet of the MIG-31 model in response to a Norwegian fighter jet approaching the border over the Barents Sea, Reuters writes with reference to the Russian news agency Ria, which in turn refers to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense. 

 

It does not appear when the incident should have occurred.  

 

A spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces tells Norwegian TV2 that it is not unusual for events like this to occur.  

 

- Among other things, we send up our F-35 aircraft to identify Russian aircraft when they are in our vicinity, of course in international airspace, says Brage Wiik-Hansen.