As Russia’s advance in Ukraine comes to a halt, the US warns China about its support for Putin

*Paromita Das

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russia is not making enough efforts in peace talks with Ukraine to end the conflict. Blinken also stated that he believes Moscow is guilty of war crimes, citing recent attacks on Ukrainian cities that targeted civilians.

Earlier, on Thursday, the United States expressed concern that China may provide military equipment to Russia. This comes as Russian troops appear to have halted their advance in several locations across Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its fourth week.

As rescuers in the port of Mariupol dig survivors from the rubble, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is being shelled by Russia.

The two countries’ officials met again for peace talks, but to no avail. They stated that their positions remained diametrically opposed.

According to Western sources and Ukrainian officials, Russia’s assault has stalled since the invasion began.

Despite sanctions and setbacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of backing down. Russia appears to have been counting on China to assist it in combating economic setbacks.

The US is also concerned that China is “thinking about directly assisting Russia with military equipment for use in Ukraine,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

President Joe Biden will tell China’s President Xi Jinping in a phone call on Friday that Beijing “will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs,” according to Blinken.