The US has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to press Vladimir Putin to “halt the war crimes” in Ukraine when the two leaders meet for formal talks in Moscow .
The White House’s National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called on Mr Xi to urge his Russian counterpart to withdraw troops and end the invasion, saying seeking a ceasefire would not be enough.
“We hope that President Xi will press President Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals and schools, to halt the war crimes and atrocities and to withdraw his troops,” he said.
“But we are concerned that instead China will reiterate calls for a ceasefire that leaves Russian forces inside Ukraine’s sovereign territory and any ceasefire that does not address the removal of Russian forces from Ukraine would effectively ratify Russia’s illegal conquests.”
On Monday Mr Xi and Mr Putin held more than four hours of what were described as informal talks, with more formal discussions scheduled for Tuesday as part of Mr Xi’s three day visit.
Mr Putin has said he will discuss a 12-point plan proposed by Mr Xi to “settle the acute crisis in Ukraine”.
A vague statement by the Ukrainian defence ministry said multiple Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed by an explosion in Dzhankoi city, without explicitly saying Ukraine was responsible or what weapon had been used.
The agency implied the Kyiv government was responsible by saying the explosion destroying the missiles continues “the process of Russia’s demilitarisation and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation.”
The Russian-installed head of the Dzhankoi administration was quoted as saying the city had come under attack from drones. None of the reports could be independently verified.
