LIVE war Ukraine | New Year’s wishes for Putin confirm close ties between leaders Russia, China and North Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un both conveyed their New Year’s greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim wrote in a letter to Putin that he wants to further strengthen ties with Russia. And Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 150 soldiers imprisoned on both sides of the front, after mediation by the United Arab Emirates. Read all about the war in Ukraine and the situation in Russia in the live blog below.

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