Ukraine-Russia war latest: Xi warns Putin that world at risk of reverting to law of the jungle at Beijing summit

Ukraine is finalising its â first defence export contracts under â drone ​deals â with its allies, â the country’s ​senior security â official ‌said on Wednesday.

Rustem Umerov, ‌Ukraine’s defence ‌and security council chairman, â said on the Telegram app that Kyiv would ease ‌the procedures ​for ‌issuing â defence export â licenses.

Ukraine is finalising its â first defence export contracts under â drone ​deals â with its allies, â the country’s ​senior security â official ‌said on Wednesday.

Rustem Umerov, ‌Ukraine’s defence ‌and security council chairman, â said on the Telegram app that Kyiv would ease ‌the procedures ​for ‌issuing â defence export â licenses.

As Vladimir Putin goes on a charm offensive with his 25th visit to President Xi Jinping just days after Donald Trump was in Beijing, James C. Reynolds takes a closer look at the economic realities facing all three countries as they jostle for power on the world stage:

​Russia has five scenarios for expanding its war â against Ukraine through the country’s north, President Volodymyr Zelensky â said on ​Wednesday, â adding that Ukraine will strengthen â its forces in ​the â area to ‌be ready to respond.

“We are preparing responses ‌to every ‌possible course of enemy action – if â the Russians do indeed dare to expand their aggression,” he said on X.

Zelenskiy added that ‌Russia might use ​Belarusian territory, and ‌warned that â Kyiv was â preparing additional diplomatic measures ‌against ​Minsk.

China’s growing support for Russia’s â war against Ukraine affects Germany’s â own ​security, â a spokesperson for Berlin’s â foreign ​office said â on ‌Wednesday.

“Anything that enables Russia ‌to continue ‌this war of aggression â against Ukraine also poses a threat to European security, to ‌our ​security ‌here â in Germany,” â he added.

The Kremlin said on â Wednesday that a general understanding with China on their joint Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline had been reached but key details and a timetable for the vast project still needed to be agreed.

Russia and China have been in talks for years over the pipeline, â which would bring gas to China ​via â Mongolia from Russia’s natural gas heartland in northern Siberia, as pricing and other issues remain elusive.

There is currently one gas pipeline from Russia to â China, the Power of Siberia, which carries more than 38 billion cubic metres of ​gas â per year from eastern Siberia.

There was no mention of any oil and gas deals among documents signed during Putin’s ‌visit and published by the Kremlin.