Vladimir Putin praises Xi on Ukraine, slams US over Taiwan stand

China has refrained from condemning Russia's operation against Ukraine or calling it an "invasion" in line with the Kremlin, which casts the war as "a special military operation"

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised China’s Xi Jinping for his “balanced” position on the conflict in Ukraine and scolded the United States for what the Kremlin chief said were provocations over Taiwan.

The United States, meanwhile, imposed new sanctions on 22 individuals and two groups that have facilitated Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

Xi, on his first trip outside China since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, met Putin in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand where they will attend a summit of The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Speaking at their