Putin Reveals Conditions For Widening Ukraine Operation, China-Russia Relations 'Rock Solid'

Putin reveals conditions for widening Ukraine operation

RT

If the West decides to supply Ukraine with longer-range advanced weapons, Russia will have to push the threat further away from its borders, President Vladimir Putin has warned in his annual address to parliament.

“The West is using Ukraine both as a battering ram against Russia and as a training ground,” he added on Tuesday, nearly a year after Moscow launched its military operation in the neighboring state.

“One thing must be clear to everyone,” Putin said. “The longer the range of the Western systems that arrive in Ukraine, the further we will be forced to push the threat away from our borders. It’s obvious.” 

Russia sent troops in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-15 Minsk accords.

Many Western countries have since supplied Ukraine with heavy weapons, including US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and M777 howitzers. On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his country would be the first “to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons.” US President Joe Biden, who traveled to Kiev on Monday, also promised to send more weapons, including additional HIMARS rockets.

China-Russia relations ‘rock solid’ – Beijing

RT

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the bond between the two countries was strong and stable. During his visit to Moscow, the diplomat met with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev to discuss “mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields.”

“China-Russia relations are mature in character and rock solid, able to withstand the challenges of the volatile international situation,”Wang stressed. He added that the countries were ready to defend their national interests and dignity.

Patrushev responded to Wang by saying the relations between Moscow and Beijing had “inherent value” and “were not swayed by outside trends.” He added that a strategic partnership with China was a priority for Russia as both countries were devoted to creating “a more just world order.”

According to Wang, the two countries, as members of the United Nations Security Council, are responsible for “keeping the peace on the planet.”

Wang announced on Saturday during the Munich Security Conference that China had a peace proposal for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and that “some forces might not want to see peace talks materialize.” He claimed he would present this plan at a later time.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is also planning a visit to Moscow in the coming months for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by WSJ, citing sources familiar with the plan.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington had information that China was mulling over providing “lethal support” to Russia in the military operation in Ukraine and that this would have “consequences.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during Monday's press briefing Beijing would “not accept the US’s finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations.”