By Zoey
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China next week for a two-day visit that will include talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Kremlin announced Saturday, underscoring the increasingly close partnership between Moscow and Beijing at a time of heightened global tensions.
The visit, scheduled for May 19-20, comes just one day after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a state visit to China, where he held meetings with Xi Jinping focused on trade relations and the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
In a statement released by the Kremlin, officials said Putin’s trip would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship, a landmark agreement that laid the foundation for closer political, military and economic ties between the two countries.
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Xi are expected to discuss the future of bilateral relations, major regional and international developments, and ways to expand economic cooperation between their nations. The talks are also expected to touch on energy exports, infrastructure projects, technology partnerships and coordination on global diplomatic issues.
The upcoming summit highlights the strategic alignment that has steadily deepened between China and Russia over recent years. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Moscow has faced sweeping Western sanctions and growing diplomatic isolation from Europe and North America. That pressure has pushed the Kremlin into greater dependence on Beijing for trade, financial cooperation and international political support.
China has stopped short of providing direct military assistance to Russia but has significantly expanded trade with Moscow, purchasing large quantities of Russian oil and natural gas while offering an important economic lifeline to the Russian economy.
The personal relationship between Putin and Xi has also become a defining feature of the partnership. During Putin’s visit to China in September 2025, Xi referred to the Russian leader as an “old friend,” while Putin described Xi as his “dear friend,” language that reflected the increasingly warm ties between the two authoritarian leaders.
Putin is also expected to return to China later this year to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November, further reinforcing the importance Beijing holds in Russia’s foreign policy strategy.
The announcement of the Beijing summit came as fighting between Russia and Ukraine continued with no sign of a lasting ceasefire despite renewed diplomatic contacts and recent discussions involving Trump and Putin about possible peace negotiations.
Ukraine announced Saturday that it had received the bodies of hundreds of fallen soldiers from Russia following another exchange involving prisoners of war between the two sides.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Russia had returned 528 bodies that, according to Moscow, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen killed during the war. Ukrainian officials said forensic specialists would now begin the lengthy process of identifying the remains.
The exchange followed a prisoner swap carried out Friday in which Russia and Ukraine each released 205 prisoners of war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the exchange marked the first stage of a broader agreement that could eventually see 1,000 prisoners returned by each side. Zelenskyy noted that some of the released Ukrainian soldiers had been in Russian captivity since 2022 and had fought in several of the war’s most brutal battles.
At the same time, Russia and Ukraine continued launching large-scale drone attacks against each other overnight.
Officials in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region said Russian drones struck residential areas, damaging a five-story apartment building and a smaller residential home. Regional governor Oleh Kiper said two people were injured in the attacks and that infrastructure at the port city had also sustained damage.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 294 drones overnight, adding that Ukrainian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 269 of them before they reached their targets.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 138 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, including areas surrounding Moscow. Russian officials also reported interceptions over the annexed Crimean Peninsula as well as the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions.
The continued wave of aerial attacks illustrates how the war has evolved into a grinding conflict dominated by drones, long-range strikes and attritional warfare, even as world leaders continue to discuss the possibility of future peace talks.
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