In (an essentially pro-Moscow) intervention by Beijing today called Monday in decline, while Ukraine has been conducting a large-scale operation in the Russian border region of Kursk in recent days, which appears to have taken the Kremlin by surprise.

China appears to be a measured interlocutor in relation to the West who, according to it, are “adding fuel to the fire” by supplying arms to Ukraine.

“China invites all parties in […] de-escalation”the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement underlining the need for each warring party “not to expand the battlefield, not to intensify the fighting and not to add fuel to the fire.”

Beijing regularly calls for an end to the fighting in Ukraine. This position is controversial as it means, according to Westerners, that Russia will be allowed to consolidate its territorial gains.

After months of pushing back against Russian troops on the eastern front, Ukraine last Tuesday began a large-scale operation in the border Russian region of Kursk. Ukrainian forces penetrated tens of kilometers deep into Russian territory and took control of locations, according to analysts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kiev was seeking to “move the war to aggressor’s territory”.