China’s Prez Xi arrives in Europe to reinvigorate ties

KYIV: As Ukraine marked its third Easter at war, Russia launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukraine’s east where the situation on the front line is worsening. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in an Easter address to be united in prayer and called God an “ally” in the war with Russia. Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that Russia had launched 24 Shahed drones, of which 23 had been shot down by air defenses.

Six people, including a child, were wounded in a drone strike in the eastern Kharkiv region, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.

Fires broke out when debris from drones that were shot down fell on buildings in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. No casualties were reported. Officials in Kyiv urged residents to follow Orthodox Easter services online due to safety concerns. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, warned that “even on such bright days of celebration, we can expect evil deeds from the aggressor.”

Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to unite in prayer for each other and soldiers on the front line. In a video filmed in front of Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, wearing a traditional Vyshyvanka embroidered shirt, Zelenskyy said that God “has a chevron with the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder.” With “such an ally,” Zelenskyy said, “life will definitely win over death.”

A majority of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians, though the church is divided. Many belong to the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church was loyal to the patriarch in Moscow until splitting from Russia after the 2022 invasion and is viewed with suspicion by many Ukrainians.

PARIS: Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a threecountry trip to Europe on Sunday with the continent divided over how to deal with Beijing’s growing power and the USChina rivalry.

European carmakers are losing ground to subsidised Chinese electric vehicles. Diplomats fret about alleged Chinese spies in European capitals. And China’s continued defence trade with Russia worries anyone in Europe who supports war-ravaged Ukraine and fears that the Russian army won’t stop there.

But Europe and China have hefty economic ties — EU-China trade is estimated at 2.3 billion euros per day — and Xi appears determined to rebuild and deepen relations with European leaders after a prolonged absence prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xi starts Sunday in France, whose president wants Europe to have more economic and strategic independence from other world powers. Then the Chinese president heads to Serbia and Hungary, both seen as China-friendly and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and recipients of substantial Chinese investment. Xi’s trip will be closely watched in Washington for signs of diminishing European support for its key foreign policy goals. At the same time, there’s increasing uncertainty in Europe about future US support for trans-Atlantic allies.