China’s Xi Spoke With Russia’s Putin on 3rd Anniversary of Ukraine War

The Xi–Putin phone call occurred hours before Trump was to host French President Emmanuel Macron as part of Washington’s efforts to bring an end to the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Jan. 21, 2025, in a pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik. Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24, marking the second publicly known exchange between the two leaders this year.

Meanwhile, world leaders gathered in Kyiv to commemorate the third anniversary of the Russia–Ukraine war, a conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike.