President Xi visits warlord Putin – the nightly update without photos

Xi on a visit to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Monday for a three-day state visit to Moscow. The visit takes place against the background of the Russian offensive against Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, the talks, which will last through Wednesday, are about developing relations into a comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China. Putin and Xi have met about 40 times over the years.

The guest from Beijing serves Putin well as he can show that he is not isolated internationally. China has not condemned the war against Ukraine and is committed to peace negotiations. It is also the first visit since an arrest warrant was issued against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin: Thank you for China’s “balanced stance” on Ukraine

Before the visit from China, Putin underlined the importance of bilateral Russian-Chinese relations. They have never been as close as they are now, Putin wrote in an article for the Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily) newspaper. The Kremlin has published the Russian version of the text on its website.

The Kremlin chief thanked China for its balanced attitude to the events in Ukraine. China is considered a close ally of Russia. At the same time, Beijing has largely adhered to international sanctions against Moscow so as not to become the target of punitive action itself. A peace initiative recently presented by Beijing was met with disappointment in the West.

The current developments around the war in Ukraine in the live ticker:

Xi Jinping continued these Chinese ideas in an article for the Russian government newspaper Rossishkaja Gazeta. He explained that any settlement of the conflict in Ukraine must respect the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. This includes the territorial integrity of all states. At the same time, Xi said the “reasonable security concerns of all states should be taken into account”. All efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis must be supported. It is important to maintain the stability of global production and supply chains.

In his article, Putin welcomed Beijing’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the conflict. The two heads of state spoke out for a multipolar world order that would not be dominated by one power.

Zelenskyj: Russia will have to answer for itself

According to Zelenskyy, Russia will have to answer for all crimes committed in the war against Ukraine. It’s about “responsibility for every attack on Ukraine, for every life destroyed, for every deported Ukrainian child.” The international arrest warrant against Putin for kidnapping Ukrainian children is “a very important result of international law for Ukraine”: from now on it is clear that at the end of the war Russia will have to “take full responsibility”, the Ukrainian president said .

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, fighting in eastern Ukraine continued to be violent. The city of Bakhmut in the Donbass will continue to be defended. Several enemy attacks were repelled there.

According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian artillery attack killed three civilians in a frontline village in the Zaporizhia region. Two people were injured. According to the information, the house in the village of Kamianske was hit by shells from a Grad (hail) multiple rocket launcher. Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an accident at a military training ground north of Kiev. The army made this known without details.

Baerbock: We help with weapons, money and reconstruction

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has pledged support to Ukraine as long as it is needed. “As long as Putin bombs innocent people, violates the UN charter and does not withdraw his troops, we will try to save lives by supporting Ukraine,” she told Die Welt newspaper. This is done “with arms deliveries, but also with financial aid, with medicines, for example with the reconstruction of school buildings or the supply of water and electricity”. It is clear that peace and freedom cannot be created purely militarily in the long run. “But as long as the Russian president holds the gun to Ukraine’s head, negotiations would be blackmail,” she said.

That will be important on Monday

Xi Jinping’s visit will begin in the second half of the day. An informal meeting and a tête-à-tête dinner of the heads of state is planned, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Official talks between the delegations are scheduled for Tuesday.

The ministers of foreign affairs and defense of the EU countries want to talk about further support for Ukraine. The meeting in Brussels would mainly be about the purchase of ammunition. The background is the concern that Ukraine could soon run out of artillery shells and other important types of ammunition. (sda/dpa)