For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit
.
A Russian warship armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons will participate in joint exercises with the navies of China and South Africa in February, the Russian state agency, TASS, as saying on Monday.
It was the first official mention of the participation by the frigate, "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov," which is armed with Zircon missiles.
The missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound, with a range of more than 1,000 km (620 miles), Russia says. They form the centerpiece of its hypersonic arsenal, along with the Avangard glide vehicle that entered combat duty in 2019.
"'Admiral Gorshkov' ... will go to the logistic support point in Syria's Tartus, and then take part in joint naval exercises with the Chinese and South African navies," the agency said, citing an unidentified defense source.
On Thursday, the South African National Defense Force said the drills, to run from February 17 to February 27 near the port city of Durban and Richards Bay, aim "to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China."
The exercise will be the second involving the three countries in South Africa, after a drill in 2019, the defense force added in its statement.
The "Gorshkov" held exercises in the Norwegian Sea this month after President Vladimir Putin sent it to the Atlantic Ocean in a signal to the West that Russia would not back down over the war in Ukraine.
Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to comparisons between himself and the monk Rasputin who treated the son of the last tsar for haemophilia, saying on Sunday his job was not to staunch bleeding but to spill the blood of Russia's enemies, .
The Financial Times newspaper said at the weekend that Prigozhin had growing influence on the Kremlin and likened him to Orthodox monk Grigory Rasputin, who had considerable influence on the wife of Russia's last tsar, Nikolai II.
"I am not very familiar with the history of Rasputin, but as far as I know, an important quality of Rasputin is that he staunched the blood flow of the young prince with incantations," Prigozhin's press service quoted him as saying, referring to the article.
"Unfortunately, I do not staunch blood flow. I bleed the enemies of our motherland. And not by incantations, but by direct contact with them.
: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised Sunday he would continue to root out corruption in Ukraine's government, .
The pledge came amidst allegations of senior-level corruption, including a report of dubious practices in military procurement despite officials promoting national unity to confront the invasion, Reuters said.
"I want this to be clear: there will be no return to what used to be in the past, to the way various people close to state institutions or those who spent their entire lives chasing a chair used to live," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
Transparency International in 2021 ranked Ukraine's corruption at 122 out of 180 countries.
The German government will not object if Poland decides to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, Germany's top diplomat, . The statement suggests movement on supplying weapons that Kyiv has described as essential to its ability to fend off an intensified Russian offensive.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French TV channel LCI that Poland has not formally asked for Berlin's approval to share some of its German-made Leopards but added "if we were asked, we would not stand in the way."
German officials "know how important these tanks are" and "this is why we are discussing this now with our partners," Baerbock said in interview clips posted by LCI.
The fear of a fresh military mobilization by Moscow to support its war in Ukraine has prompted many Kyrgyz workers in Russia to return to their home country. But some of the workers who have got Russian passports, and are eligible for the military draft, say they have been prevented from leaving Russia in recent weeks, .
A group of youngsters from Ukraine calling themselves Light Balance Kids, danced themselves to the finals of America's Got Talent. They received the “Golden Buzzer” for an inventive dance celebrating Ukraine's unity and projecting light against the darkness of Russia's invasion of their homeland.
New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday that he expected a decision soon on the delivery of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, whichever way it may go, Reuters reports.