Ukraine live briefing: Putin tours occupied Mariupol in show of bravado; Xi to visit Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, the city devastated last year in a deadly Russian siege, in a show of defiance against the warrant for his arrest that the International Criminal Court issued over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. It was his second foray of the weekend into occupied Ukraine, several dozen miles from the front, in what the Kremlin press service on Sunday described as a “working trip.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to begin a state visit Monday to Moscow, where he will meet with Putin in Beijing’s strongest show of support since the war began. The Kremlin said the two will discuss “deepening Russian-Chinese cooperation.” Beijing, which insists it is neutral in the conflict and has sought to portray itself as a potential mediator, said Xi will promote peace talks.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
China’s Xi to meet Putin in Russia this week: Xi’s visit to Moscow will be his first since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Xi’s decision to travel to Russia is a show of defiance in the face of increasingly loud U.S. criticism of Beijing’s “no-limits” partnership with Moscow, Lily Kuo writes.
The trip highlights Russia’s growing dependence on China, one of its few remaining allies and trading partners.
