By John Ikani
Chinese President Xi Jinping personally cautioned Russian President Vladimir Putin against the utilization of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
A report by the Financial Times (FT) on July 5, citing both Western and Chinese sources, revealed that Xi Jinping cautioned Putin during his visit to Moscow in March.
Following the meeting, Chinese officials have privately taken credit for dissuading Putin from deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the FT noted.
Prior to the meeting, Russian officials and media outlets have resorted to both indirect and explicit threats, alluding to the potential use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and its Western allies.
China, on the other hand, has consistently voiced its opposition to such actions.
In a November meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Xi Jinping concurred with his American counterpart, emphasizing that “a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won.”
Both leaders underlined their shared stance against employing or even threatening to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian intelligence services have issued a warning regarding Russia’s alleged plan to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under Russian occupation.
Oleksii Danilov, the Chief of the National Security and Defense Council, asserted that any terrorist attack on the nuclear facility would be treated as a nuclear weapon deployment.
