Ukraine 'following closely' as Vladimir Putin welcomes Xi Jinping to Russia

China's leader is expected to present Beijing as a peacemaker intent on ending war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. AFP

Ukraine fears Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Kremlin on Monday could influence the outcome of the war if China decides to supply its ally with arms.

Mr Xi will be the first world leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin since an International Criminal Court arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader on Friday over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Moscow rejects the charge.

Mr Xi is expected to present China as a global peacemaker intent on brokering an end to the war in Ukraine.

“Ukraine's expectations are at a minimum level: for things not to deteriorate,” Sergiy Solodkyy, first deputy director of New Europe Centre think tank in Kyiv, told AFP.

Ukrainian authorities do not wish to comment publicly on the trip, planned from Monday to Wednesday during which Mr Putin and Mr Xi are to meet at least twice.

“Ukraine will follow this visit closely,” a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

“For us it is critically important that China maintains its policy of unwavering respect for the territorial integrity of other countries,” the official said, in reference to how Russia has claimed the annexation of five Ukrainian regions.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut in Ukraine. AP

Resident Svetlana Boiko, 66, who was wounded in recent shelling, is comforted near her destroyed house in Donetsk. Reuters

A wounded Ukrainian soldier is treated in a front-line stabilisation ambulance, near Kreminna. Reuters

A house in Donetsk destroyed in recent shelling. Reuters

Ukrainian volunteer soldiers hold their positions at the front line near Bakhmut. AFP

Volunteers carry the remains of a Uragan rocket as they clear the area around the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery in Dolyna. AFP

A man sits inside a damaged car in the village of Chasiv Yar. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen fire at Russian positions in the region of Donbas. AFP

Rescue workers put out a fire in a house shelled by Russian forces in Kostiantynivka. AP

A Ukrainian serviceman moves towards the frontline city of Bakhmut. AFP

Vladyslav, a Ukrainian paratrooper of the 80 Air Assault brigade, rests in a dugout at the front line near Bakhmut. AP

Residents of the village of Bohorodychne cross the Seversky Donets river to retrieve bread from the other bank. AFP

At the same time, the US in February accused Beijing of considering supplying arms to Russia.

China released a 12-point proposal to solve the Ukraine crisis last month.

At the start of his visit to Moscow, Mr Xi said Beijing's proposal reflects global views and seeks to neutralise consequences, but acknowledged that the solutions are not easy.

“The document serves as a constructive factor in neutralising the consequences of the crisis and promoting a political settlement,” Mr Xi wrote in an article in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily newspaper published by the Russian government, according to Reuters' translation from Russian.

“Complex problems do not have simple solutions,” he said.

This week's meeting follows Friday's ICC announcement of charges that Mr Putin is personally responsible for the abduction of thousands of children from Ukraine. Governments that recognise the court's jurisdiction would be bound to arrest Mr Putin if he visits.

Mr Putin has yet to comment on the announcement, but the Kremlin rejected the move as “outrageous and unacceptable”.

Ahead of the meeting, China's Foreign Ministry said the ICC should “uphold an objective and impartial stance, respect the jurisdictional immunity enjoyed by the head of state in accordance” and “avoid politicisation and double standards".

“China will uphold its objective and fair position on the Ukrainian crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks,” said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

'Powerful partners'

The meeting gives Mr Putin and Mr Xi a chance to show they have “powerful partners” at a time of strained relations with Washington, said Joseph Torigian, an expert in Chinese-Russian relations at the American University in Washington DC.

“China can signal that it could even do more to help Russia and that if relations with the United States continue to deteriorate, they could do a lot more to enable Russia and help Russia in its war against Ukraine,” Mr Torigian told AP.

China has stepped up purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping to top up the Kremlin's revenue in the face of western sanctions. But it has avoided doing anything visible that crosses the red lines laid down by Washington and European governments in regard to financial sanctions and the provision of military aid.

In a show of defiance, Mr Putin visited Crimea and the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's seizure of the peninsula from Ukraine. Russian news reports showed him chatting to Mariupol residents and visiting an art school and a children’s centre in Sevastopol in Crimea.