Xi Jinping's Visit to Putin Amid Ukraine War Raises Questions and Hopes

Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a three-day state visit to Moscow to discuss deepening economic and political cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the war in Ukraine. Putin's surprise visit to the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol and the Crimean peninsula has angered Kyiv, with one official saying Putin had come to visit the "ruins" of Mariupol, showing no remorse for Russia's bombardment of the city early in the war. The Institute for the Study of War said Russia's much-anticipated spring offensive against Ukraine has likely reached its high-water mark, leaving Ukraine's defenders "well positioned to regain the initiative and launch counteroffensives."