Putin, Xi to talk as Ukraine war drags on

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will speak before the end of the year, Russian state news agency TASS said yesterday, as the 10-month-old Ukraine war shows no signs of slowing down.

The development comes a day after Putin said Russia was ready for talks with Ukraine to end the war, receiving a shrug from Kyiv.

It also comes as Moscow yesterday said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to a long-range bomber base deep inside Russia, while Ukraine said the Russians had unleashed heavy artillery barrages on its cities in the past 24 hours.

Kyiv, meanwhile, yesterday called for Russia’s ouster from the United Nations.

The same day, Russia’s domestic security agency said it killed four Ukrainian “saboteurs”, who allegedly attempted to enter Russia via a border region.

Putin and Xi proclaimed a “no limits” partnership between the two countries when the Russian leader visited Beijing in February, three weeks before his invasion of Ukraine.

With Western countries condemning the war and slamming Russia’s economy with sanctions, the partnership with China has taken on even greater importance for Putin, though he publicly acknowledged in September that Beijing had expressed “questions and concern” over Ukraine.

The drone was allegedly flying near Russia’s Engels air base, where long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure are based.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement three air force personnel had been killed in the incident but no planes were damaged.