Russian invasion

Russian reactions
Sources: Russia to train 600 Chinese soldiers

Russia will train 600 Chinese in combat techniques learned in Ukraine, sources within the Ukrainian intelligence service HUR told the Kyiv Post.

The focus will be on defense against Western and NATO weapons, according to the sources. Among other things, the Chinese will be trained in tanks, artillery, engineering and air defense.

– Such decisions by Moscow and Beijing clearly illustrate the Russian regime's intention to ally with China in a global confrontation with the West, says a source.

Kim builds giant factory – to manufacture weapons for Putin

North Korea appears to have begun construction of a huge weapons factory, according to satellite images from Planet Labs that NK News was first to report.

The factory is said to be the country's largest and is expected to outshine a nearby weapons factory. Several buildings in the area also appear to have been demolished to make way for the new weapons factory.

Bild writes that there is much evidence that it is not North Korea itself that needs the weapons, but that they are to be sold to Russia. Iran has supplied Russia with drones and missiles, but due to Iran's conflict with Israel, arms exports from there are believed to be decreasing.

- Since Iran is no longer an arms supplier, support from North Korea is likely to become even more important for Russia, says Korea expert Frederic Spohr to the German newspaper.

Ukrainian to stop being taught in occupied schools

Russia plans to completely remove the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian literature from the primary school curriculum, including in the occupied Ukrainian territories. This is shown by a draft regulation from the Russian Ministry of Education, according to the Moscow Times.

Until now, Ukrainian has been a mandatory subject for students in the partially occupied regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson. In occupied Donbas and in Russia, Ukrainian lessons have been available upon request by parents.

“It is difficult to understand that the same people who are trying to eradicate the Ukrainian language in occupied territories are demanding respect for the Russian language in territories they fail to take,” writes independent political analyst Abbas Galljamov on Telegram.

The world’s response
Volvo investigates truck at Russian ski federation

The Russian ski federation has published photos of them posing with a new Volvo FH16 750 truck, which was first reported by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.

Volvo stopped its sales to Russia and Belarus in connection with the invasion of Ukraine, and an investigation is now underway to find out how the vehicle ended up in Russian hands, press officer Claes Eliasson tells Expressen.

“We are going through all the records to see who we have sold this model to, in this color, in recent years and then we will see if it is possible to trace it to which customer it was sold to, and how this customer in turn handled the truck,” he writes in an email.

According to Dagbladet, it is common for vehicles to first be ordered to the Middle East or Central Asia and from there to be transported to Russia.