Vladimir Putin appeared to pretend he was asleep as Ukraine’s athletes arrived at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing on Friday.
With political tension and the threat of war hanging over the Games, Putin attended the opening ceremony despite Russian athletes being banned from the event due to doping.
The 69-year-old sat with his arms folded and closed his eyes for a number of seconds on TV as Ukrainian athletes walked into the Bird’s Nest stadium.
Russia have athletes competing in Beijing, but they are forced to compete under the banner of the ‘Russian Olympic Committee’ and cannot use their nation’s flag or anthem.
The moment comes amid fears Putin is set to invade Ukraine, which has led to the worst standoff with the West since the Cold War.
However, Xi Jinping arrived to rapturous applause as he attended the ceremony, which featured frog-matching People’s Liberation Army soldiers hoisting the Chinese flag as the national anthem blared out.
Earlier in the day, Xi backed Putin over the Ukraine conundrum and signed a joint document that condemned America's influence in Europe, opposed the further expansion of NATO, and criticised Washington's 'negative impact on peace and stability' in the Asia-Pacific region. This is referencing the South China Sea and Taiwan.
Putin was one of just a handful of foreign diplomats to attend the ceremony after most Western leaders boycotted due to China's human rights record and persecutions of Uighur Muslims in the eastern Xinjiang province.
They were joined in the stands by just a handful of guests as the event takes place inside a Covid-secure bubble to comply with China's strict zero Covid policy.
However, Putin defied his hosts as he appeared at the Olympic Stadium maskless - despite strict Chinese restrictions insisting masks must be worn, with Xi even donning a mask. Heavy fines and arrests are made on those in China who refuse to wear masks and the obedience is near 100 per cent.
The Russian leader is also using his visit to the Winter Games to meet the leaders of 20 other nations in what is used as a diplomatic push to win them over as tensions in Ukraine continue to simmer.
Despite the international strife, it is Covid that is perhaps the biggest threat to China and the Games.
Around 60,000 people - including athletes, coaches, officials, federation delegates, volunteers and media personnel - are in China for the Games and are being made to take Covid tests every day of their stay.
