Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet later this week as Ukraine is in the midst of its most successful counterattack since Russia invaded.
The two authoritarian leaders are set to meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Ahead of the confab, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo, and Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov met on Monday, when they discussed the two countries’ ongoing cooperation.
UKRAINIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE RECAPTURES MORE RUSSIAN-CONQUERED TERRITORY
“China is ready to work together with Russia, to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation, protect the common interests of the two countries, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction,” Yang said, per the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Putin and Xi’s relationship has grown since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. But Ukraine’s counterattacks in the eastern part of the country have demonstrated a new level of success since the beginning of September. The Ukrainian forces have recaptured almost all of Kharkiv Oblast, according to the Institute for the Study of War’s Sunday update, after they recaptured the town of Kupiansk, which is located roughly 30 miles north of Izyum, in recent days. In some places, Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russia’s military to a depth of roughly 40 miles.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed it had pulled its forces out of the cities of Balakliya and Izyum on Saturday, claiming they are planning to “regroup” in order to “achieve the goals of the special military operation.”
It’s unclear whether this current counteroffensive could prove to be a war-altering assault, though Ukraine has already recaptured more territory over the last week or so than Russia had conquered since the beginning of April.
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The SCO summit is scheduled for September 15-16 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and the group consists of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Another U.S. adversary, Iran, has reached an agreement to join the alliance as well, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday, according to TASS, a Russian state media outlet.
Both Putin and Xi have consequential moments in the coming weeks as the Russian president pushes forward with the war despite Ukraine’s successful counterattacks while facing more pressure at home. Xi, in October, is expected to seek a third term in power, a break from the norm, at a major political meeting in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party is hosting the 20th National Congress in Beijing, which is held only twice a decade.
