Russian Warships And Chinese Navy Meet In East China Sea For Joint Naval Interaction 2022 Exercise

This is the moment Russian warships and Chinese naval ships meet at sea as they set off to perform joint tasks as part of the Naval Interaction 2022 exercise.

Aerial footage filmed from a Ka-27 military helicopter shows the two fleets come together in the East China Sea, where the exercises will be held until 27th December.

The planned exercises include the development of anti-submarine manoeuvres and joint firing.

The images were obtained by Newsflash from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 22nd December, along with a statement.

The statement said: "Rear Admiral Valery Kazakov, commander of the Pacific Fleet greeted Rear Admiral Wang Yu, Vice Commander of the PLA Eastern Joint Naval Command, by radio and agreed on plans for joint work."

The Russian squadron sailed off to the exercise site led by the Varyag missile cruiser on Wednesday, 21st December, the Russian MoD said.

Russian cruiser Varyag is a guided missile cruiser built for the Soviet Navy that is now serving the Russian Navy.

The statement continued: "In the sea crossing, the sailors of the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy worked out joint tactical manoeuvring, and conducted communication training.

"Russian carrier-based Ka-27 helicopters also flew over the East China Sea."

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation". Today marks the 302nd day of the invasion.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 22nd December, Russia had lost about 100,400 personnel, 3,003 tanks, 5,981 armoured combat vehicles, 1,978 artillery units, 413 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defence systems, 283 warplanes, 267 helicopters, 1,693 drones, 653 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,615 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 178 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Washington, DC to meet with US leaders on 21st December with a plea for military aid.

Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in US military and economic assistance to Ukraine an investment in democracy and “not charity”.

And the US Congress is set to announce an additional aid package for Ukraine that would include nearly USD 45 billion (GBP 37 billion).

The Kremlin warned that increasing the supply of US weapons to Ukraine would aggravate the war.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russia needs to prepare an "appropriate" response to NATO’s military expansion near Russian borders, including Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership aspirations, and proposed to expand the military.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian forces had faced challenges with mobilization, lack of drones and new equipment.

The head of the local grid operator in Kyiv, Serhiy Kovalenko, said power outages in Ukraine's capital remain the most difficult.

He added that the situation may improve if the remaining 40 per cent of transformers do not get hit in new attacks.

Moreover, heavy fighting has been going on in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces attempt to make further advances in the region.

General Staff spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Ukrainian forces repelled attacks around more than 25 populated areas in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The bodies of seven civilians, including a teenage girl, were found in a mass grave in the village of Pravdyne in southern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian defence minister.

In other developments, the former Russian deputy prime minister and former director of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, was wounded in the Ukrainian bombing of a hotel in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.