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Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Tuesday to begin official talks that will focus on the Ukraine crisis and deeper economic cooperation.
The two presidents shook hands and stood together for the national anthem before entering the talks, footage from state television showed.
Xi’s visit is a boost for Moscow as it struggles to make ends meet after years of conflict in Ukraine. But it has been criticized by Washington as providing “diplomatic cover” for Putin and for the war crimes his forces are accused of committing there.
As China seeks to position itself as a potential peacemaker in the conflict, the visit underscores closer ties between Moscow and Beijing and challenges to the West.
On Monday, the first day of Xi’s visit, the two leaders discussed Beijing’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
The two spoke for more than four hours on Monday and enjoyed a state dinner in the Kremlin, praising each other as “dear friends,” Russian media reported.
In contrast, Xi could only speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone, if at all.
But in a trip that coincided with Xi’s talks in Moscow, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to deliver a message of solidarity and support for Ukraine.
The air raids continued
In another development, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said an explosion in Dzhankoi in the north of the Russian-held Crimean peninsula destroyed a Russian cruise missile intended for Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
In the battle in eastern Ukraine, Russia has continued its airstrikes as well as missile and rocket attacks over a wide area, Ukraine’s military said.
Ukraine says Russia’s main goal is to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas, a large area already under Russian control.
Russian forces again launched an attack on the city of Bakhmut – the site of the longest and bloodiest battle of the war – and other targets but had been repulsed, he said.
US accuses China of providing ‘diplomatic cover’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Xi on Monday spoke about China’s proposal calling for de-escalation and a ceasefire in Ukraine.
WATCH | Vladimir Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow:
“There was a very deep exchange of looks, a serious conversation,” he said.
He declined to provide further details, telling reporters to wait for a joint statement on Tuesday.
The Chinese document sets out some general principles in the 12-point plan but offers no details on how to end the war, now in its 13th month.
The proposal was largely dismissed in the West as a ploy to buy Putin time to amass forces and strengthen his grip on the lands he controls.
Ukrainian and Western officials fear the ceasefire will only freeze the front line, giving Russia an advantage as it struggles to advance after serious setbacks since launching its invasion in February last year.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Xi’s visit suggested that “China feels that it is not responsible for the Kremlin’s responsibility for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.”
“Instead of even punishing them, it’s better to give Russia diplomatic cover to continue to commit these serious crimes,” Blinken said.
China has not condemned Russia or referred to Moscow’s intervention in its neighbor as an “invasion.” He also criticized Western sanctions against Russia.
Foreign policy analysts say that while Putin will seek strong support from Xi on Ukraine, they doubt his visit to Moscow will result in military support.
Washington has said in recent weeks that it fears China could support Russia, a plan Beijing has rejected.
Kyiv, which says the war cannot end until Russia withdraws its troops, has been wary of China, cautiously welcoming Beijing’s peace proposal when it was announced last month.
It is unclear if and when exactly Xi will speak with Zelenskyy.
But Kishida’s visit at the same time as Xi is in Moscow is a sign of Western determination to support Kyiv.
The mortar fire was continuous
In the city of Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut, and the village of Kalynivka in eastern Ukraine, there was heavy artillery fire from nearby Ukrainian positions and the impact was coming.
Among the apartment blocks in the center of Chasiv Yar, mainly elderly residents queued for water and food delivered by teams from the State Emergency Service.
Oleksii Stepanov, speaking in the town of Kostyantinivka, said he had been in Bakhmut until five days ago but had been evacuated by the military when his house was destroyed by a missile.
“We were in the kitchen and the missile came through the roof. The kitchen is all that’s left,” said the 54-year-old man. He said there was mortar fire in town when he left.
Missile claim destroyed
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said an explosion in the Crimean town of Dzhankoi damaged a Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missile while it was being transported by rail.
A ministry statement said the missile, designed to be launched from surface ships in Russia’s Black Sea fleet, has an operational range of more than 2,500 kilometers on land and 375 kilometers at sea. It stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack.
Officials stationed in Russia’s Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, said the blast was caused by a drone linked with shrapnel and explosives and targeting civilian sites. One person was injured.
Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian or Russian reports. A Russian military air base is located near Dzhankoi.
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