Dhe Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping this Monday for a three-day state visit to Moscow. The visit takes place against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, the talks, which are scheduled to run until Wednesday, are about developing relations into an all-encompassing partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China. Putin and Xi have met about 40 times over the years.
The guest from Beijing comes in handy for Putin because he can show that he is not internationally isolated. China has not condemned the war against Ukraine and is ostensibly committed to peace talks. It is also the first visit since an arrest warrant was issued against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.
Zelenskyj: Arrest warrant against Putin is a turning point
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to this arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in The Hague in his video address on Sunday. He spoke of a turning point: from now on it is clear that Russia will have to answer for its crimes. “The evil state will be held accountable for every act of terrorism against Ukrainians,” said Zelenskyy. For his country, Monday is the 390th day of fighting back against the Russian invasion.
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 newspaper Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily). The Kremlin published the Russian version of the text on its website.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the fighting in eastern Ukraine continued to be violent. The city of Bakhmut in the Donbass will continue to be defended. Several attacks by the enemy were repelled there.
According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian artillery attack killed three civilians in a village near the front 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 multiple rocket launcher (hail). Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an accident at a military training ground north of Kiev. The army announced this without details.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock promised Ukraine support for as long as it was needed. “As long as Putin is bombing innocent people, breaking the UN charter and not withdrawing his troops, we will try to help save lives by supporting Ukraine,” she told Die Welt newspaper. This is done “with arms deliveries, but also with financial help, with medicines, with the reconstruction of school buildings, for example, or the water and electricity supply”. It is clear that peace and freedom cannot be created purely militarily in the long term. “But as long as the Russian president is holding the gun to Ukraine’s head, negotiations would be blackmail,” she said.
Xi Jinping’s visit will begin in the second half of the day. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, an informal meeting and a tête-à-tête dinner of the heads of state is planned. The official talks between the delegations are planned for Tuesday.
The foreign and defense ministers of the EU states want to discuss further support for Ukraine. The meeting in Brussels is said to be primarily about the procurement of ammunition. The background is concerns that Ukraine could soon lack artillery shells and other important types of ammunition