<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting on economic issues at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Mikhail Metzel\/Mikhail Metzel\/Pool Sputnik Krem<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, while leaving after a visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Evan Vucci\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Evan Vucci\/Evan Vucci\/Pool Reuters via AP<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel\u2019s war in Iran.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin\u2019s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.<\/p>\n
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as \u201ckey international and regional issues\u201d and economic cooperation.<\/p>\n
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.<\/p>\n
When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an \u201cold friend.\u201d Putin also addressed Xi as \u201cdear friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The Russian leader is also scheduled to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Shenzhen in November.<\/p>\n
Continued strikes and returned remains<\/p>\n
Ukraine repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers Saturday following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.<\/p>\n
Russia returned 528 bodies that \u201caccording to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Experts will now \u201ctake all necessary measures aimed at identifying the deceased who have been repatriated,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
It comes after Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war on Friday.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians had been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war\u2019s fiercest battles, he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Russia launched overnight drone attacks against Ukraine\u2019s southern Odesa region on Saturday, regional authorities said.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Russian drones struck a five-story apartment block and a one-story residential building, injuring two people, said regional head Oleh Kiper. The city\u2019s port was also damaged, he added.<\/p>\n
Russia launched 294 drones overnight, Ukraine\u2019s Air Force said, adding that 269 of them were shot down.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down 138 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions, including Moscow. Drones were also destroyed over the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, as well as the Black and Azov seas, it said.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian attacks killed two civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region on the western border with Ukraine, local officials said. One man was killed when a Ukrainian drone hit a vehicle in the village of Krasnaya Yaruga, while another died when his home was hit in a strike on the village of Dubovoye. An apartment block in the region was also damaged in a separate attack, officials said.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n