Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to deepen their bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of Moscow's 10-month war in Ukraine. 9News
, which weathered another night of drone and rocket attacks following a large-scale missile bombardment.in their opening remarks by videoconference, which were broadcast publicly, before going into private talks.
The Russian leader said he expected Xi to visit Moscow in the spring. Such a trip "will demonstrate to the whole world the strength of the Russian-Chinese ties on key issues, will become the main political event of the year in bilateral relations," he said.Putin said military cooperation has a "special place" in the relationship between their countries. He said the Kremlin aimed to "strengthen the cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China.
Ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown stronger since Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on February 24. Just last week, Moscow and Beijing held joint naval drills in the East China Sea. Putin and Xi also spoke by video link last December. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its Friday morning update that Russian forces had unleashed a total of 85 missiles and 35 airstrikes on targets across Ukraine in the previous 24 hours. Russia also launched 63 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems, the military report said.