Stressing that Russia expects other nations to cooperate with them, Putin said that terrorists have no nationality and there is no future for them…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish terrorists after they carried out an attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, on Friday evening (local time), which claimed 115 lives.
In his televised address to the nation posted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, Putin said, “Our people, our children, just like the Nazis that once killed our people during the war. They do the same. All the orchestrators, all those who are responsible for this crime will inevitably be found responsible, they will pay. We will identify everyone who stands behind these terrorists and they will pay. This is a strike against Russia.”
He said that Russia will investigate the terrorist attack and added that all four perpetrators who were directly involved in the attack were apprehended. He asserted that the investigative authorities will make every effort to identify the details of the attack. Russian President said that these criminals went specifically to kill people, point black.
Putin said, “We will investigate this terrorist attack and we already have some results. All the four perpetrators, who were directly involved who were gunning people down, killing people. They were found and apprehended. They tried to escape. They were moving towards the border with Ukraine and we have data that suggests that they were about to be moved towards the territory of Ukraine by those in Ukraine.”
“Our military services, our emergency services, our investigators are working on finding out the orchestrators of this terrorist attack, those who gave them transportation, who gave them weapons, etc. The investigative authorities will do everything to identify all details of this crime. But it’s already evident that we face not just a cynically organized terrorist attack, but a massive mass killing of civilians. These perpetrators, these criminals went specifically to kill, to kill people, point blank,” he added.
Stressing that Russia expects other nations to cooperate with them, Putin said that terrorists have no nationality and there is no future for them. He called on the people of Russia to stand united.
He said, “We know what terrorist threat means, and we expect that other nations that share our pain will cooperate with us, and we will stand united against this common enemy, international terrorism. No matter where it shows its ugly head, these terrorists have no nationality, and there is only one future for them – retribution and oblivion. Our duty right now, our common duty right now is to stand together, to stand united, and I believe we will stand together.”
“Nobody can divide us, can undermine our common strength nation of Russia’s nation or sought discord in our multinational society. Russia has faced a lot of challenges in its history, terrible challenges, but it always came out stronger, and this will be the same this time,” he added.
Following the deadly firing at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee has claimed that the death toll has been confirmed at 115 people and warned that this figure is likely to rise, Russian state news agency, RT News reported on Saturday.
“According to preliminary data, the causes of death were gunshot wounds and poisoning by combustion products (smoke inhalation),” investigators said, adding that they are continuing to establish all the details of the attack by analysing evidence at the scene, going through CCTV footage and taking statements from the victims.
The service had previously stated that the death toll was 93, but later issued an update announcing that additional bodies were found after emergency services started clearing the rubble.
The Moscow Region Health Ministry had also previously reported that there were at least three children among the deceased.
Meanwhile, the Russian intelligence agencies detained 11 people, including four ‘terrorists’, who they claimed were ‘directly’ involved in a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall, TASS reported citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) statement on Saturday.
“The activities of intelligence and law enforcement agencies have resulted in the detention of 11 people, including four terrorists, who directly participated in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall,” the statement read.
The tragic events unfolded on Friday evening at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the western outskirts of the Russian capital. The concert venue, with an estimated capacity of 7,500, was almost full when the terrorists struck. The assault took place ahead of a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic, RT news agency reported.
According to the mobile phone footage and eyewitness accounts, at least five gunmen wearing military-style gear and carrying assault rifles first opened fire at unarmed security guards at the main entrance to the venue. They then proceeded to shoot indiscriminately at the fleeing crowd of panicked visitors.Once the terrorists reached the concert hall, they appeared to set fire to rows of chairs inside, with the blaze quickly engulfing much of the building, including its roof.
Investigators have stated that preliminary findings based on evidence at the scene appear to confirm that the terrorists used automatic weapons during the attack, and used some sort of flammable liquid to set fire to the premises.
The Investigative Committee said it is now carrying out ballistic, genetic, and fingerprint analysis based on the material evidence found at the scene. Meanwhile, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Aleksandr Bortnikov has informed President Vladimir Putin that eleven suspects, including four terrorists who were directly involved in the Crocus attack, have been detained, the Kremlin press service has said.
The ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack at the concert venue complex near Moscow on Friday night after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, CNN reported. (ANI)
The surge in strikes took place ahead of elections that saw Putin win a predictable fifth term as president, after running against no real opposition…reports Asian Lite News
Russia said Tuesday that its troops had made gains in eastern Ukraine, building on recent advances against Ukrainian forces in critical need of Western aid. Facing a difficult situation on the front lines, Kyiv has responded with an increasing number of incursions and attacks on Russian territory bordering Ukraine.
Some of these incursions were carried out by Russians who volunteered to fight in pro-Ukrainian units, which Putin has called to “punish.” “On the Avdiivka front, units of the ‘Center’ grouping of troops liberated the village of Orlivka,” the Russian defense ministry said.
It is the latest in a string of gains for Moscow, which has built on the capture of Avdiivka a month ago.
Avdiivka’s seizure had forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw to defensive lines along Tonenke, Berdychi and Orlivka. The Ukrainian army has not addressed the potential seizure of Orlivka.
But Kyiv has acknowledged a difficult situation on the battlefield and urged the West to keep up and deliver on its promises of support. European deliveries have fallen behind, and its industrial capacities remain limited.
Kyiv has urged the US Congress to unblock a $60 billion aid package, which has been stalled due to political infighting. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told US Senator Lindsey Graham that is was “critically important” for the US to make a swift decision. “We are at a critical moment for the future of the armed conflict,” Graham told reporters after his meeting with Zelensky.
Kyiv has intensified its attacks on Russian territory, with shelling and incursions in the regions of Belgorod and Kursk. In the past week these attacks killed 16 people and wounded nearly a hundred in the region of Belgorod, its governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Speaking at a meeting of ruling party members, he also announced the evacuation of thousands of children from areas at risk. “We are evacuating a large number of villages, and now we are planning to evacuate about 9,000 children because of the shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Gladkov said.
The surge in strikes took place ahead of elections that saw Putin win a predictable fifth term as president, after running against no real opposition.
“I am proud that the residents of the region did not succumb to the difficult situation and that many more people came to the polling stations than ever before,” Gladkov said.
Putin addressed the border assaults, which have marred his re-election week, in a meeting with his FSB security services.
He claimed Russian troops inflicted “heavy losses” on units that he said where made up of regular Ukrainian soldiers, foreign mercenaries and pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters.
“About these traitors… we must not forget who they are, we must identify them by name. We will punish them without statute of limitations, wherever they are,” Putin said, calling them “scum.”
Ukraine-based militias — made up of Russian citizens who oppose Moscow’s offensive and have taken up arms for Kyiv — have claimed to be behind previous incursions into Russian territory.
One of them is the Russian Volunteer Corps. Its head of staff, identified as Aleksandr, gave an interview on Ukrainian television, denying heavy losses.
“There are losses, but absolutely not of the scale claimed by Putin or the defense ministry,” he said.
On the naval front, Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed more than two dozen Russian ships since the conflict began in February 2022, including a military patrol boat earlier this month.
Russian state media earlier confirmed Moscow had replaced the head of its navy, after reports the previous naval chief had been sacked for repeatedly losing Black Sea warships to Ukrainian attacks.
Pamfilova noted that the cyberattack activity increased significantly on Saturday from Friday and ended in failure….reports Asian Lite News
Russian election authorities have said that about 160,000 cyberattacks on the country’s remote electronic voting resources were blocked.
The attacks were mainly directed toward the voting portal, with 30,000 attacks launched against the monitoring portal for the remote electronic voting system, Ella Pamfilova, head of the Russian Central Election Commission, was quoted as saying on Saturday by Xinhua news agency.
Pamfilova noted that the cyberattack activity increased significantly on Saturday from Friday and ended in failure.
Vadim Kovalev, head of the Public Headquarters for Election Observation in Moscow, said Saturday that cyberattacks on Moscow’s information systems were traced to the US and the UK.
“We see that most of the servers where the attacks come from are located in the US and the UK, at least it is the way they are detected,” Kovalev said.
Russia’s eighth presidential election is scheduled for March 15-17. Remote electronic voting is introduced to parts of the country for the first time.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for the country’s top office again as an independent candidate, cast his electronic vote in the presidential elections, Russia-based TASS reported.
Footage released by the Kremlin showed Putin walking towards a computer in his office, casting his vote and then smiling and waving at the camera. A notification on the computer monitor then read that a vote had been successfully cast.
It was not the first time that Putin cast his vote online. In the last few years, the Russian President cast his vote online during the autumn single election day.
The ongoing polling to elect the Russian President marks the first time that online voting has been made available, according to TASS report.
More than 3.5 million people cast their vote online on the first day of the presidential election across Russia, TASS reported, citing the e-voting monitoring portal.
As of 7:28 pm (local time), as many as 3,500,331 ballots were issued to voters in 28 Russian regions, who had applied for voting online. The federal platform of electronic voting recorded a 73 per cent voter turnout on the first day, TASS reported.
As many as 4.76 million people in Russia planned to cast votes on the federal platform, the state agency reported, adding that people in Moscow could vote on the city’s own platform and were not required to apply for remote voting prior to the polls.
More than 180 election experts from 58 countries are overseeing the Russian presidential election. They are witnessing the elections at the invitation of the Russian Civic Chamber’s (CC) invitation, the CC said in a statement on the Telegram channel, TASS reported.
To celebrate the accession formally, a flag-raising ceremony has been planned for Monday (March 11) at the alliance headquarters in Brussels…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday vowed to deploy its troops and strike systems near the Finnish border following its accession to NATO.
Putin said Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO is ‘ a meaningless step’, adding that Russia will deploy troops and systems of destruction on the Finnish border following its accession to the alliance last April.
“This is an absolutely meaningless step [for Finland and Sweden] from the point of view of ensuring their own national interests,” Putin told Russia’s RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television in a wide-ranging interview.
“We didn’t have troops there [at the Finland border], now they will be there. There were no systems of destruction there, now they will appear,” he added.
Following the launch of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine more than two years ago, Sweden abandoned its long-standing neutrality and joined NATO on Thursday, becoming the organisation’s newest member. After Hungary–the last of the 31 alliance countries to approve Sweden–submitted its ratification document, the membership became official.
Sweden is now fully covered by Article 5 of the alliance, which requires all other members to defend one another in the event of an attack.
To celebrate the accession formally, a flag-raising ceremony has been planned for Monday (March 11) at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.
Finland, Sweden’s neighbour, became a member of the alliance on April 4 last year. With the two Nordic countries in the alliance, NATO controls almost all of the Baltic Sea.
Both a robust armaments industry and a well-equipped military are present in Sweden.The nation intends to spend 2.1 per cent of GDP on defence this year, about twice as much as it did in 2020 and over NATO’s target. (ANI)
The Russian Federation Council, or the Upper House of the Russian Parliament or Duma, officially scheduled the presidential election on March 17…reports Asian Lite News
President Vladimir Putin called on Russians to take part in the upcoming presidential election to be held on March 15-17, state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.
“We need to confirm our consolidation, our determination to go forward together. Each vote counts. That is why I am calling on you to realise your right to vote in the coming three days,” Putin said in a video address ahead of the voting.
According to TASS, President Putin addressed the nation ahead of federal elections eight times–in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2018 (twice before the presidential election and after announcing their results), in 2021, and 2020, before the nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments.
Meanwhile, early voting for Russia’s presidential election was ongoing abroad, with over 40,000 people casting their ballots, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“Early voting is underway. It has already taken place in 23 countries, and 29 election commissions are supervising it. As of March 12, more than 40,000 Russians have already voted,” the diplomat said. “Voting is taking place without any serious incidents,” she said.
She added that local Russian officials were ready to provide any assistance at the first request of their fellow citizens.
The Russian Federation Council, or the Upper House of the Russian Parliament or Duma, officially scheduled the presidential election on March 17.
The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) announced subsequently that voting will take place over three days–from March 15 to 17, making it Russia’s first three-day presidential election.
President Putin is widely expected to sail through the polls, securing a fifth term in office and a full third decade as Russia’s supreme leader, CNN reported.
With the death of imprisoned Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it’s fair to say Putin’s political career has reached the president-for-life stage, CNN noted its report, adding that his re-anointment lays bare an uncomfortable fact for Russia’s future political stability.
The President and his circle have not made any visible preparations for a post-Putin era, it added.
Putin is the longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, CNN noted, adding that in 2020, Russian voters endorsed constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power until 2036.
Even before Putin announced his candidacy, the Kremlin made it clear that it did not see any alternatives on the horizon to his system of one-man rule, the report added. (ANI)
The joint maneuvers mark the fourth collaboration among China, Iran, and Russia since 2019…reports Asian Lite News
China, Iran, and Russia have kick started a joint naval exercise, dubbed “Marine Security Belt 2024,” in the Gulf of Oman, a strategic waterway adjacent to the Persian Gulf. The drill involves significant maritime assets, with China deploying the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi and guided-missile frigate Linyi, while Russia’s contingent is led by the Varyag, a Slava-class cruiser. Over 20 vessels, including support craft, combat boats, and naval helicopters, are participating from the three nations.
Covering an expansive area of 17,000 square kilometers (6,600 square miles) of water, the exercise aims not only to bolster maritime security but also to enhance trade, combat piracy and terrorism, facilitate humanitarian efforts, and promote information exchange in rescue operations, according to Adm. Mostafa Tajaddini, the spokesperson for the drill.
The joint maneuvers mark the fourth collaboration among China, Iran, and Russia since 2019. This heightened military cooperation aligns with Iran’s response to escalating tensions with the United States. Notably, Iran’s military collaboration includes supplying military drones to Russia, which are currently utilized in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, and South Africa are observing the exercise, underscoring its regional significance. The Gulf of Oman, amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, has witnessed a series of attacks and ship seizures, predominantly attributed to Iran by the U.S. Since the breakdown of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, tensions in the region have escalated. Given that a substantial portion of global oil trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, securing these waters remains a critical priority for international stakeholders.
The border village of Tetkino in the Kursk region appeared to be one of the targets in Tuesday’s raids, with the FRL claiming that “liberating forces” now had full control over the settlement…reports Asian Lite News
Three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups said that they have crossed into Russia and are now fighting government troops there, media reported.
The Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and Siberian Battalion (SB) posted videos purportedly showing their fighters in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions, BBC reported.
The FRL and an exiled Russian politician claimed two villages were now in control of “liberation forces”.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the breakthrough attempts were thwarted.
It claimed more than 234 Ukrainian troops had been killed and several tanks had been destroyed.
According to Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, one member of Russia’s territorial defence forces was killed and 10 civilians were injured, BBC reported.
These numbers have not yet been verified by the BBC.
Ukraine’s military denied any involvement in Tuesday’s cross-border raids.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the country’s military intelligence, said the paramilitary groups were “independent organisations” of Russian nationals, and therefore operating “at home”.
In a separate development, Russia said Ukraine had launched 25 drones on targets across Russia, but the attack was thwarted.
However, videos have emerged which appear to show several Russian oil facilities on fire, BBC reported.
In the Ivanovo region, just east of Moscow, an Il-76 military transport plane with eight crew and seven passengers crashed shortly after take-off, Russia’s Defence Ministry was quoted as saying by Russian state-run news agencies.
The Ministry said an engine fire caused the crash. It gave no details of survivors.
Videos have emerged purportedly showing the plane on fire circling in the sky, and later plumes of black smoke from the crash site.
Elsewhere, at least three people were killed and 38 injured on Tuesday night when a Russian missile struck two apartment buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko.
Klymenko said children were among the victims and that the number of deaths may go up as the search and rescue operation is continuing, BBC reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country would “inflict losses on the Russian state in response — quite rightly”.
A full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin is now in its third year, with no signs that the biggest war in Europe since World War Two could end soon.
On Tuesday, the FRL posted what it said was a video from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
“Like all our fellow citizens, in the Legion we dream of a Russia freed from Putin’s dictatorship. But we don’t just dream: we make every effort to make these dreams come true. We will take our land away from the regime, centimetre by centimetre,” an armed FRL soldier in the footage is heard saying.
Meanwhile, the SB said “fierce fighting is going on the Russian Federation territory”, publishing a clip purportedly showing its fighters engaging with Russian government forces.
It also condemned Russian presidential elections on March 15-17, in which Putin is widely expected to be declared the winner.
“Ballots and polling stations in this case are fiction. You can really change your life for the better only with weapons in your hands,” the SB said.
Another Ukraine-based Russian group, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), also published footage of what it said were its fighters engaging with Russian government troops, BBC reported.
“The army of the Kremlin regime lays down its weapons without even starting the battle,” it said.
The videos have not been independently verified.
The border village of Tetkino in the Kursk region appeared to be one of the targets in Tuesday’s raids, with the FRL claiming that “liberating forces” now had full control over the settlement.
The BBC has verified the authenticity of FRL footage depicting a strike on an armoured personnel carrier in Tetkino.
Kursk Mayor Igor Kutsak ordered all schools in the regional capital to be put on remote learning from March 13-15 “in connection with recent events”.
He also warned that the “missile alert” regime was still in place in the city, which has a population of more than 400,000.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukraine-based Russian opposition politician Illya Ponomarev claimed that the border village of Lozovaya Rudka, Belgorod region, was “under full control of liberating forces”.
In a statement later on Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry said its forces together with border guards and FSB security service units “thwarted an attempt by the Kiev regime to make a breakthrough” into Russia, BBC reported.
It said enemy fighters — backed by tanks and armoured personnel carriers — had tried to invade Russia “simultaneously in three directions in the areas of the settlements of Odnorobovka, Nekhoteevka and Spodaryushino, Belgorod region”.
It added that another four attacks had targeted Tetkino, but were “repulsed”.
The Ukraine-based Russian armed groups have made several cross-border raids since the full-invasion of Ukraine began.
Last May, Russia’s military said a similar attack in the Belgorod region was rebuffed and armed insurgents defeated.
The Lithuanian Police have been informed of the incident and are investigating, according to the Reuters news agency…reports Asian Lite News
Leonid Volkov, a long-time ally of the late Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been attacked outside his home in Lithuania, the media reported.
Volkov was assaulted with a hammer and tear gas while in his car in Vilnius on Tuesday night, Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said as quoted by BBC report.
The alleged assailant is unknown, as is their motive.
The Lithuanian Police have been informed of the incident and are investigating, according to the Reuters news agency.
Another member of the Navalny team, Ivan Zhdanov, posted pictures on social media of Volkov with a bloodied lower left leg and what looked like bruising to his temple. He has been taken to hospital, BBC reported.
Asked whether the assailant shouted anything, Zhdanov said: “Everything happened in silence.”
“Of course this is a clear political attack, there is no doubt here.”
Volkov has lived outside Russia for some years for his own safety and served as Navalny’s Chief-of-Staff until the Opposition leader died suddenly in prison in the Russian Arctic last month while serving a 19-year sentence after being convicted of charges that were “politically motivated”.
Volkov, 43, also faces various politically motivated charges in Russia, BBC reported.
He served as Chairman of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation until last year when he resigned following the revelation he had signed letters calling for the European Union to drop some Russian sanctions.
Despite living outside Russia he has also made sure that the activism of Navalny and his team could continue.
This has included anti-corruption investigations, YouTube videos and livestreams during protests and major events in Russia.
Many more activists moved to join Volkov abroad in 2021 after Navalny’s entire political organisation was labelled “extremist” and banned in Russia, BBC reported.
Several of Navalny’s former team are now in prison, as well as some of his lawyers.
With presidential elections this weekend, Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya has called on opponents of Vladimir Putin to turn up at polling stations across Russia at midday on Sunday in an act of peaceful political protest.
It was an idea supported by Alexei Navalny before he died.
In March 2021, Russia and China had inked an intergovernmental MoU to set up an International Lunar Research Station, a road map for which was presented on June 16, 2021…reports Asian Lite News
With the ongoing wars in Ukraine and in Gaza sharpening the geo-political divide between the US-led West and the China-Russia axis, the recent close collaborations being planned by the latter bloc in cutting-edge military technology make for interesting reading.
On Tuesday, the head of Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, Yuri Borisov announced that Russia and China were collaborating on a plan to set up a nuclear power plant on the Moon in 2033-2035.
“Today, we are seriously considering a project, somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035, for the delivery and installation of a power plant on the lunar surface with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said during a world youth festival in Moscow.
He added that it would be done “automatically, using robotic means”.
In March 2021, Russia and China had inked an intergovernmental MoU to set up an International Lunar Research Station, a road map for which was presented on June 16, 2021.
Interestingly, a top-level Russian delegation recently visiting Beijing has discussed cooperation and collaboration in detail on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in the area of military application of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, a development reported by both the Russian and Chinese state-owned media.
The Russian foreign ministry said in its communique on Friday after the Russia-China inter-agency consultations: “The sides had an extensive exchange of assessments of the situation in this area. The sides discussed doctrinal guidelines and initiatives of Russia and China, related to application of AI technologies for military purposes. Special attention was paid to the coordination of actions within the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS).”
The foreign ministry statement also reaffirmed the similarity of the Russian and Chinese approaches to military application of artificial intelligence. The domain of aerospace and artificial intelligence, among other niche technology areas, are the new battlegrounds where the US-led West and the China-Russia axis continue to confront each other. Besides extensive collaboration in conventional military research and development, the other areas of cooperation include the cyber domain and critical materials.
The emergence of China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin as national leaders in their respective countries is commonly understood to be a strong signal that the unipolar world was changing to a multipolar one with the emergence of the China-Russia bloc.
Both nations are aggrieved by perceived humiliation at the hands of the West, and they are likewise led by two men who share values of nationalism, centralized power and autocratic governance. Furthermore, they hubristically think their countries’ future survival depends upon them….reports Asian Lite News
Although Chairman Xi Jinping has a personal affinity with President Vladimir Putin, the two countries’ bilateral relations are marked by reserve rather than trust.
Furthermore, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has proved rather awkward for China. Despite becoming bogged down in its “special military operation” that has now extended into its third year, Russia, the weaker partner in a bilateral relationship that is perhaps best described as a quasi-alliance, remains vital in China’s plans to build an axis against the US and Western allies.
Philipp Ivanov, Senior Fellow at the US-based Asia Society Policy Institute, said: “China and Russia are drawn to each other by virtue of their strategic geography, alignment of values and views of their current leaders, common enemy in Washington, natural economic complementarities and opportunism. Despite these areas of convergence, Russia and China are also driven apart by historical animosities, power asymmetry, competition in overlapping spheres of interest, deep cultural differences and shallow societal links.”
Both nations are aggrieved by perceived humiliation at the hands of the West, and they are likewise led by two men who share values of nationalism, centralized power and autocratic governance. Furthermore, they hubristically think their countries’ future survival depends upon them.
Yet the Ukraine war is the biggest test of Sino-Russian ties in the past few decades.
Putin’s military adventurism has both accelerated and disrupted bilateral ties, emphasizing to Beijing that Moscow is not a reliable partner.
Ivanov further wrote: “The war in Ukraine … has deepened Russia’s economic dependence on China, increased the power asymmetry between the two countries, and squeezed Moscow’s diplomatic playing field vis-a-vis China. Beijing has gained an even more loyal ally, as well as discounted access to Russian commodities, but its partnership with Moscow has damaged China’s ties with Europe and deepened the rift with the United States.”
In fact, Ivanov suggested that their relationship may have reached its zenith since both are fiercely independent and unwilling to compromise their strategic autonomy. “This, together with their growing power asymmetry and competition for spheres of interest, will limit the scope for further alignment. Yet, at this historic juncture, for both China and Russia, the benefits of their partnership offset the risks.”
Of course, China and Russia make perfect trading partners. The former is the world’s foremost supplier of manufactured goods, while Russia is rich in natural resources, meaning China can diversify its dependence on energy from the Middle East.
However, Ivanov argues the West is incorrectly overplaying the view that Russia has become a Chinese vassal.
A short time before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Xi and Putin met in Beijing, jointly declaring a strategic partnership “without limits”. Then, on the eve of the invasion, the PLA Daily declared: “The Sino-Russian relationship is in the best shape on record, and it has already become a great power relationship with the highest degree of mutual trust, cooperation, coordination and strategic value; the key to such a relationship is the strategic leadership of the leaders of the two states.”
Such an all-embracing declaration created a foreign-policy quagmire for China. The war put Beijing in a difficult position, as it was forced to side with Russia. Initially, Xi might have been invigorated by a swift Russian victory, for this would give him confidence to do the same against Taiwan. However, Ukraine’s staunch resistance has imposed a heavy cost on Russia, and made Xi realize that victory against Taiwan would not be as quick and tidy as he once imagined. Furthermore, international support for Ukraine surpassed anything Putin or Xi could have feared, and many were quick to impose sanctions on Russia. This is a key deterrent for China, since its economy relies upon international trade.
Guoguang Wu, Senior Fellow on Chinese Politics, Center for China Analysis at the same Asia Society Policy Institute, discerned three phases in China’s evolving policy over the Ukraine conflict. Xi has been forced to recalculate policies, and his miscalculations in his notion that the East is rising and the West is inexorably declining have been laid bare. Underwriting it all, he maintains the utmost priority on his own regime’s security, and his desire to challenge the Western-led world order.
The first policy stage, from February to May of 2022, according to Wu, was “friendship without limits”. China could not bring itself to call Russia’s military actions an invasion, and it has oft repeated Russia’s narrative that NATO must take primary responsibility for the war.
The second phase coincided with the stagnation of Putin’s offensive in Ukraine and his regime becoming odious to most of the world. After Putin’s blitzkrieg failed, China started to play down its “no limits” partnership with Russia. It detached itself from Russian actions, pretending to be a responsible peacemaker, and published a vague proposal for China-mediated peace talks in February 2023. Naturally, this was mere diplomatic deception, for China still condoned Russian aggression. Beijing claims to be “on the right side of history”, but it has actively undermined international solidarity in condemning Russia. One example is how Beijing lobbied Indonesia to exclude Ukraine as a topic at the G20 meeting in November 2022.
Xi was disappointed his “two-hands” policy was not accepted or applauded, ignorant that such a position only exposed Chinese hypocrisy and created growing disenchantment with Beijing. Russia, too, may have been annoyed by China’s public stance.
The third phase began around mid-2023, where China reaffirmed its alliance with Russia because Xi’s “two-hands” strategy of appeasing the West while supporting Putin did not work. Last year, for instance, Xi told Putin after a personal meeting,
Ukraine war pictures.(photo:instagram)
“Right now there are changes [in the world], the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years, and we are the ones driving these changes together.”
Wu assessed: “China’s new policy, in my interpretation, is merely a revision of its initial stance on the war, reverting to clear support for Russian military action in Ukraine with less emphasis on diplomatic camouflage. However, the recalculation takes into account the reality that the West is still powerful enough to block Xi’s grand strategy.” Xi faces challenges on the home front with a more fragile Chinese economy, and he cannot afford Western-led sanctions that would exacerbate the situation.
Xi’s original dilemma remains, though. By supporting Putin, he upsets numerous other nations and risks bad press, sanctions and questions about his leadership. Yet he cannot abandon Putin, for that might accelerate defeat in Ukraine. The conflict has adversely affected China’s relations with the USA and Europe, at a time when it was trying to drive a wedge between the two. It has also undermined China’s narrative about respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of others.
If Putin loses in Ukraine, this would threaten his survival as Russia’s leader. Such uncertainty is not welcomed by Xi, who counts Putin a friend, plus a weakened and chaotic Russia does not help China at all.
Early on, the West threatened Beijing with severe repercussions if it supported Russia. It has not done so overtly, but it has provided ongoing support throughout the conflict.
Ivanov noted: “As far as we know, apart from limited transfers of dual-use equipment that can be used in Russia’s war effort, China has refrained from providing direct military aid to Russia. That might change if Russia faces a comprehensive defeat in Ukraine, which China may deem contrary to its interests. At this stage of the conflict, China sees the risks of Western sanctions and further damage to its vital relationship with Europe as outweighing the benefits of supporting Russia.”
In July 2023, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) published a report detailing Chinese support for Russia. In 2022, Russian imports from China increased 13% to USD76 billion, while chip exports increased 19%, mostly through shell companies in Hong Kong. The ODNI stated that China “is providing some dual-use technology that Moscow’s military uses to continue the war in Ukraine, despite an international cordon of sanctions and export controls. The customs records show PRC state-owned defense companies shipping navigation equipment, jamming technology and fighter jet parts to sanctioned Russian government-owned defense companies.”
Other items documented as being sold to Russia are smokeless gunpowder, drones and spare parts, helmets and body armor.
Sino-Russian military ties include joint exercises, arms sales and military-technical cooperation. However, with Russia focused intently upon Ukraine, this has affected the regularity and depth of bilateral joint training.
China, too, would have watched with consternation the June 2023 rebellion by the Wagner private military contractor firm, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. John Culver, Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council, said: “As Beijing watched Prigozhin’s private army move toward Moscow, one thought may have entered Xi Jinping’s head: ‘I was correct to jail Generals Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong and purge disloyalty and corruption from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).'” When Xi rose to power, the PLA was effectively a self-run entity, its top commanders having been appointed by Xi’s predecessors.
Culver elaborated: “As Xi rose in the Chinese Communist Party to be the designated heir by 2010, the party leadership watched in terror as the Arab Spring briefly swept autocrats from power, backed by the US/West. The lords of Zhongnanhai may have asked themselves, if the 1989 Tiananmen Square crisis happened here today, would the PLA again save the party? Or would the army – as the Egyptian military did – put its interests above its loyalty to the revolution? Looking at the corrupt military of that period, they likely concluded, ‘We don’t know. It probably would depend on the circumstances.’ For the party’s army, this is the wrong answer. Under Xi, party control over the PLA…has been greatly tightened. And lessons forgotten after 1989 were recalled, especially the need to move/replace general officers frequently and never again allow independent power bases to emerge in the PLA.”
It is patent that Putin’s actions in Ukraine have caused great discomfort to Xi, and also forced him to progressively alter his foreign policy. Given this, Wu suggested three elements in China’s ongoing policy. “First, Beijing will cease to try to significantly distance itself from Russia; but neither will China return to its ‘no limits’ partnership with the country. Instead, Beijing will cover its tracks while trying to reduce, if not entirely avoid, the costs of standing with Russia.
“Second, and most important, Xi’s revised calculations do not seem to be based on a Russian military triumph in Ukraine, but rather on Russia’s ability to fight for as long as possible. Xi might still expect that Putin could gain military advantage in Ukraine, especially if Western support for Ukraine begins to flag. In any case, a long war of attrition could have the effect of weakening both the West and Russia, thus making China the winner in both grand strategy and regime security.”
“Third,” Wu said, “China’s new policy will give it a bargaining chip in its growing rivalry with the West, particularly the United States. If necessary, Xi could leverage the shifting goals of the war, giving China more freedom for international manipulation.”
As Ivanov concluded: “The Russian war on Ukraine has dramatically raised the stakes. The war remains the most acute challenge to the international system, with profound consequences. One of them is how a Russian victory in Ukraine (defined by a larger territorial grab) would influence decision-making in Beijing on Taiwan. It is possible that as Xi ages, his power remains unchallenged, his fear of US encirclement grows and the Chinese economy slows down, he will be more willing to take risks to achieve reunification with Taiwan.” (ANI)
