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the promise of Xi Jinping to push for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Shortly after the Chinese president visited Moscow for the first time since the conflict began, Russia launched a flurry of drone strikes and stepped up the deployment of its forces in rival territory. The shelling claimed the lives of at least seven people in and around kyiv.
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In all, a swarm of 21 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were launched by Russia against the Kiev, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytsky oblasts, both west of the Ukrainian capital. The Ukrainian army managed to intercept 16.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, condemned the launch of “more than 20 Iranian assassin drones” and several missiles against various regions of the country and hours later denounced an attack against civilian targets in the city of Zaporizhia, more than 500 kilometers to the east. southeast of Kiev, where Russian forces attacked a residential building killing at least one person.
The attacks take on special significance when one considers that they took place on the day important international visits to kyiv and Moscow ended.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is the current chairman of the Group of Seven, left Ukraine on Wednesday after paying a surprise visit to Kiev on Tuesday to show his support and “unwavering solidarity” with the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But the attention-grabbing visit was Xi Jinping’s to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, suffocated by Western sanctions and the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, received the Chinese leader, whose political support is key to Moscow, with all the pomp.
In Moscow, Xi called for the end of tensions and the resumption of peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev and defended his own plan to achieve it, the same one that is criticized by the West because it does not consider the withdrawal of Russian troops or condemn the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
Although Putin affirmed that several points of the Chinese proposal “can serve as a basis for the settlement of the conflict”, he showed no intention of ending the war that he himself started more than a year ago.
A necessary ally for Moscow
Putin also wants more tangible support from Beijing that translates into weapons. The West, which is watching China’s move, has warned for weeks that the Xi government is considering Russian orders for weapons for war.
Despite this, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Beijing has not yet “crossed the line” to deliver lethal weapons to Russia amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow is seeking Beijing’s support at a time when its on-the-ground campaign in Ukraine has yet to achieve the goals desired by the Kremlin.
In fact, Zelenski traveled to the Bakhmut front on Wednesday to encourage the defenders of the city, where the toughest fighting on the entire front has been taking place for seven months. According to kyiv and some defense analysis, the Russian forces are losing momentum in the area due to their attempt to reinforce other areas in Donbas, such as Avdiivka, the focus of bloody fighting.
against the common enemy
During Xi’s visit to Moscow, the Chinese leader and his Russian counterpart categorically rejected Western hegemony in all international issues.
In line with the increase in tension, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused the West of obstructing the approval of an international convention that prohibits the use of projectiles with depleted uranium, which can cause ecological damage if used. .
Lavrov warned of the ecological danger of these projectiles and emphasized that Russia will react to the eventual shipment of this type of weapon to Ukraine.
While Xi and Putin have sent a clear message of rapprochement, it is still unknown if, as part of his announced attempt to seek a ceasefire, the Russian president will call Zelensky, something that Kiev expects and has been asked by the United States, the Union Union and NATO to Beijing.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
