As Russian forces suffer a string of stunning defeats in Ukraine, Moscow is playing up Beijing’s support for its invasion ahead of a key meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week.
Russian troops were forced to flee the strategic city of Izium — their main bastion in northeastern Ukraine — on Saturday after a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive.
It was Moscow’s worst defeat since its retreat from Kyiv in March — and a sign that the war might be entering a new phase. Over the past week, Ukrainian forces have.
Back in Russia, senior Russian and Chinese officials put on a united front to pave the way for an expected meeting between Putin and Xi on the sidelines of a regional summit in Uzbekistan — their first face-to-face meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And according to the Russian Parliament, a senior Chinese leader has voiced explicit support for Russia’s war on Ukraine — claims that are not included in the statement from the Chinese side, and run contrary to Beijing’s previous efforts to maintain a veneer of neutrality.
Credit: cnn.com
