Ukraine: China’s Xi Jinping calls Volodymyr Zelenskyy for first time since Russian invasion
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has had a “long and meaningful” call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During the long-anticipated conversation between the two leaders, Xi appealed for Russia and Ukraine to restart peace talks and warned “there is no winner in a nuclear war”, according to state media.
The Chinese government also pledged to send a “special representative” to Kyiv for talks about a possible “political settlement”.
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Writing on Twitter following the discussion, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
It comes two months after Beijing said it wanted to act as a peace mediator.
China has tried to appear neutral about the conflict, but has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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President Xi reportedly said China will send special representatives to Ukraine to hold talks with “all parties” on the “political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
He said China is willing to continue to provide “humanitarian assistance” to Ukraine.
“The two sides should focus on the future, persist in viewing and planning bilateral relations from a long-term perspective, continue the tradition of mutual respect and sincerity between the two sides,” he said.
‘No winner in a nuclear war’
“Negotiation is the only viable way out,” Chinese state TV also quoted Xi as saying in a report about the call.
He added: “There is no winner in a nuclear war.
“All parties concerned should remain calm and restrained in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look at the future and destiny of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis.”
Before the February 2022 invasion, the Chinese president and Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement saying their governments had a “no limits friendship”.
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But earlier this year, the Chinese government released a peace proposal and called for a ceasefire and talks.
The phone call between the two leaders was for China another step toward deeper involvement in resolving the ongoing war.
It comes after Mr Zelenskyy said in late March that he had not spoken with Xi since the war began and has repeatedly asked to meet with him – including after he visited Mr Putin in Moscow last month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow last month
Why China’s stance matters
An official for China’s foreign ministry added that President Xi’s call with President Zelenskyy “shows China’s objective, impartial position on international affairs”.
They said what the country has done to help resolve the crisis has been “above board”.
Sky’s Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith said the phone call between President Zelenskyy and President Xi is “really significant”.
She added: “China’s position on this war is really very important, it is presenting itself as a potential peacemaker.
“It wants to be seen as the power capable of brokering peace because it says it is one of the only mutual parties.
“The West sees that claim with a degree of scepticism. China has never condemned the invasion, but it has provided Russia with finance and technology and significant diplomatic cover.”
The phone call between the two leaders also comes after France President Emmanuel Macron urged Xi to “bring Russia back to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table” over the Ukraine war earlier this month.
Mr Macron had been on a visit to Beijing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said she expects China to promote a just peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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