Ukraine says ‘difficult to hold ground’ as Russia intensifies attacks

We reported earlier that Putin will visit Beijing this week for talks with China’s Xi Jinping. This will be his first foreign trip since being sworn in for a new six-year term earlier this month.

Here is a look at the last five years of the Xi-Putin friendship:

2019: Xi visits ‘best friend’

Xi paid a state visit to Russia in June of 2019, during which he praised the strong economic relationship between the countries and declared an upgrade in bilateral ties.

Xi also referred to Putin as “a best friend” in remarks to journalists following talks at the Kremlin.

2022: ‘No limits’

Just days before Russia’s launch of a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Putin was in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Following Xi’s first meeting with a foreign leader since the start of the pandemic, he and Putin declared in a joint statement that their partnership had “no limits”.

2023: Xi in Moscow

After overseeing an abrupt scrapping of China’s zero-tolerance COVID policy and being handed a third term in office, Xi travelled to Moscow in March 2023 to meet with Putin.

That meeting saw the two leaders reaffirm their close ties, even as Beijing came under increasing pressure from Western countries to use its influence to stop the war.

2023: Putin in China for development forum

Putin returned the visit in October 2023, when China held a major international forum for its signature Belt and Road global infrastructure project.

The Russian leader’s trip, which came despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, included another personal meeting with Xi, whom he described as a “dear friend”.

With the war in Ukraine still continuing and a new war under way in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Putin said after the talks that global conflicts would “strengthen” ties between Russia and China.