MOSCOW – Beijing will stand with Moscow in the face of “hegemonic bullying,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Kremlin on Thursday.
Xi, whom Putin calls a “dear friend,” is the highest profile guest for Moscow’s celebrations to mark the defeat of the Nazis. Russia has become increasingly economically reliant on China during its Ukraine offensive.
Beijing has portrayed itself as a neutral party throughout the conflict, but the West accuses it of enabling Russia economically and diplomatically.
“In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behaviour, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,” Xi told Putin, hailing strengthening ties with Moscow.
“The political mutual trust between China and Russia is becoming deeper, and the ties for pragmatic cooperation are becoming stronger,” he said.
Putin said Russia and China were “developing our ties for the benefit of the peoples of both countries and are not opposed to anyone.”
Xi was in Moscow as Ukraine accused Russia of violating its own ceasefire within hours.
His visit comes ahead of large May 9 celebrations to mark 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Putin said Russia and China will not forget the “27 million lives that the Soviet Union lay on the altar of the fatherland and the altar of victory, and the 37 million lives that the war took away from China for its freedom and independence.”
Both countries defend “historical truth”, said Putin, who has long accused the West of downplaying Moscow’s part in WWII and argued the Soviet Union was the main victor in the conflict.
“Together with our Chinese friends we firmly stand on guard of historical truth, protect the memory of events of the war years and counter modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,” Putin said.
Russian society has seen unprecedented militarisation during three years of conflict with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine reported limited strikes on its northeastern region of Sumy but no missile or drone attacks on Thursday morning, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a three-day truce with Ukraine was supposed to take effect.
Putin unilaterally ordered the temporary truce to coincide with Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Friday, a proposal Ukraine dismissed as theatrics.
“As of 08:00 am, no missile attacks or attack drones were recorded in Ukrainian airspace. However, during the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,” the air force said, after reporting several launches in the morning.
A strike hit a residential area near Bilopillya, a village close to the border between Sumy and Russia’s Kursk region, the emergency services said.
Rescuers managed to free a woman trapped under the rubble, according to the statement from the emergency services.
The head of Ukraine’s disinformation countering centre, Andriy Kovalenko, claimed Russia was “violating the ceasefire by attacking the Sumy region.”
He also reported attacks on “the front line in the east and the Kharkiv region” in northeastern Ukraine — though the General Staff was yet to comment on this.
