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”.
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
4:03
NATO allies ‘agree Ukraine will become member’
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”.
Advertisement
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”.
China’s new role as peacemaker is unlikely to change much in reality
There have been rumours this call was going to happen around the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
It’s come to pass a little later than first expected, but it is no less significant.
For the Chinese it plays an important role in their claim to be a neutral peacemaker – remember China says it wants to broker peace and has never overtly condemned or condoned the war.
But the reality is China has provided finance technology and crucial diplomatic cover to Russia, and Xi has spoken to Putin numerous times since the invasion and even spent a three-day state visit to Moscow in March.
Many asked how China could possibly claim to be neutral in light of all this and have never even spoken to Zelenskyy; it now has the answer to those critiques. However, while this call allows China to continue to present itself as “the great statesman” – it is probably unlikely to change much in reality.
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 hevisited Mr Putin 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.
The Kremlin has criticised President Joe Biden for adding “fuel to the fire” after giving Ukraine permission to launch US missiles into Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to… continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict.”
Russia‘s Foreign Ministry added that the action by Mr Biden‘s administration would fundamentally alter the nature of the war and trigger “an adequate and tangible” response.
The UK has refused to reveal if it plans to follow suit, for example extending the use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles by Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia.
Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons commenting would “compromise operations and security”, adding that he will speak with the US and Ukrainian defence secretaries on Monday evening.
At the G20 Summit in Brazil, Sir Keir Starmer gave a similar response: “I’m not going to get into operational details because the only winner, if we were to do that, is [Vladimir] Putin, and I’m not prepared to do that.”
For over a year Ukraine has been calling on America changes its policy on the use of long-range missiles.
Donald Trump Jr,the son of president-elect Donald Trump,suggested in a post on X that Mr Biden was risking a third world war “before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:04
The use of tactical missile systems for Ukraine
Hungary: Policy is ‘astonishingly dangerous’
There has been a strong, but mixed, reaction across Europe to America’s change of policy.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said the decision was “astonishingly dangerous” – although the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has a close and often sympathetic relationship with Moscow.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Slovakia’s leader Robert Fico, who has also fostered a stronger relationship with his Russian counterpart, said it was an “unprecedented escalation of tensions” and “a decision that thwarts hopes for the start of any peace talks”.
But other countries have been more positive.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said: “This decision was very necessary… Russia sees that Ukraine enjoys strong support and that the West’s position is unyielding and determined.”
Meanwhile, Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna was equally positive. He said easing restrictions on Ukraine was “a good thing”, adding: “We have been saying that from the beginning – that no restrictions must be put on the military support [for Ukraine].”
How could Russia respond?
In the past, Russia’s president has mentioned sending weapons to the West’s adversaries to strike Western targets abroad. He didn’t mention any nations specifically, but the assumption was it was a reference to Iran.
Moscow has also recently changed its nuclear doctrine, to allow it in theory to respond with nuclear weapons if the West attacks targets on Russian soil.
So are these threats genuine? Or is it more sabre-rattling?
The calculus in Washington seems to be that this is another bluff from Moscow, following the obliteration of previous red lines without consequence.
The West has supplied missiles, battle tanks and fighter jets to Kyiv, all without invoking the escalation that was threatened.
But could Russia respond in other, more subtle ways, which it doesn’t want to broadcast? Think sabotage, cyber attacks, closer alignment with Iran (and of course North Korea).
So in that sense, it’s not the Kremlin’s public fury the West will be worried about, it’s what happens behind the scenes.
Missiles are ‘not a game changer’
Former British ambassador to Russia Sir Toby Brenton has told Sky News: “Nobody is really expecting this to be a game changer.
“They’re expecting it to make life more difficult for the Russians, slow the Russian advance down, but… from all the stories I’m hearing, there are not actually that many of these missiles available to be used.”
Barely anyone speaks – there is virtual silence apart from the sounds of passing vehicles and the wind whipping through flags and photographs commemorating the dead in a war that started 1,000 days ago when Russia invaded.
What is really striking is the sheer number of people who have died, and this memorial in Kyiv’s Maidan Square represents just some of those who gave their lives defending their country.
Soldiers in camouflage fatigues pause to pay their respects to comrades, civilians stop and stare, heads often bowed.
At the same time, on mobile phones, news alerts announce another missile strike on Ukraine. This time in the port city of Odessa.
More dead, more injured, it never stops here.
As this war grinds on, with Russia making significant gains in the east, it says something about the Ukrainian people’s resolve to keep going.
For months the Ukrainian government has been pleading with the United States and its western partners for permission to use long range weapons to attack deep inside Russia.
These weapons would allow Ukraine to target airfields and bases where drones and missiles are launched against Ukraine, and to attack supply routes and military camps. In effect – to take the fight to Russia.
Time and again civilians and soldiers alike tell me the West and the United States are scared of annoying or provoking Russia. Wrongly or rightly, most believe the West is happy for Ukraine to hold the line but not beat Russia.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:25
Ukraine allowed to use US long-range missiles in Russia
News that President Biden, in the twilight of his time in office, has changed his position allowing American missiles to be fired into Russia, has been greeted with euphoria.
Although it’s tempered by his decision to allow them to be used only in the Kursk region of Russia, where North Korean troops are augmenting the Russian military.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
I met Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko in the capital, she heard the news as she arrived back in Ukraine from a trip abroad.
She says the decision has “lifted spirits here” and calls the move “extremely significant” but says it needs to go further.
“As members of parliament we have been echoing the president in every single meeting we have abroad, asking for the permission to strike inside Russia’s territory, what this means is permission to liquidate 16 airbases from which Russia on a daily and nightly bases sends airplanes carrying missiles that are hitting Ukrainian homes, Ukrainian infrastructure, and basically making civilian life impossible in the country,” she told me.
She continued: “Having permission to strike inside of all of Russia would really change things round for the people of Ukraine first and foremost, but also on the battlefield.”
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
She told me that despite the war dragging on, the Ukrainian people remain resolute and united.
“The resilience is still there, for us this resilience equals survival, if Ukraine stops fighting there will be no Ukraine, there will be no us as Ukrainians, there will be no housing, we would not be allowed to live under the Ukrainian flag, so the only option here is to make sure that Russia stops fighting and that Russia can never fight again.”
Over the past almost two weeks I have driven from the west to the east of this huge country.
It strikes me that you can barely pass a town or a village cemetery without the blue and gold colours of the Ukrainian flag punctuating the grey skies – marking the graves of the war dead.
A thousand days since the Russian invasion began, soldiers and civilians alike are still dying, but Ukraine is still fighting.
An undersea fibre optic cable between Germany and Finland has stopped working and might have been deliberately cut by an unknown party, according to authorities.
The 729 mile (1,173km) C-Lion1 cable under the Baltic Sea from Helsinki to Rostock went offline just after 2am GMT on Monday.
The outage was reported by Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecoms company Cinia.
A physical inspection has not yet been done but the abrupt nature suggests it was completely severed by an outside force, said chief executive Ari-Jussi Knaapila.
Germanyand Finland‘s foreign ministers said they were “deeply concerned” and it “immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage”.
A joint statement said: “Our European security is not only under threat from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors.
“Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies.”
Cinia said “corrective measures” were under way and a repair ship was being prepared.
The damage to the fibre optic cable could take around five to 15 days to fix, Mr Knaapila told reporters.
Advertisement
He said the damage occurred near the southern tip of Sweden’s Oland island and that Cinia was working with authorities to investigate.
The cable links central European telecoms networks to Finland, other Nordic countries and Asia.
Another submerged gas line and several telecoms cables were seriously damaged last year in the Baltic Sea.