Preliminary
Both Putin and UN Secretary-General Guterres appeared in China, but at the same time, two extremely unfavorable news came from Europe.
In such an occasion of jointly demonstrating the results of cooperation, Ukraine not only did not shed sight, but instead "through external channels" came back.As soon as Putin left Moscow, Ukraine's cruise missiles flew out, and the European Union also issued a new statement that it may send troops.
Faced with this situation, Guterres chose to remain silent. What about China? It's not that I don't want to take care of it, but it's not yet for China to take action.
UN chief silent as missile hits behind Putin
At the end of August, Putin just arrived in China for the SCO summit and has not yet fully started his itinerary.There was news in Ukraine that the Flamingo cruise missile was used. This is the first time that this missile has appeared on the Russia-Ukraine battlefield, and three of them were fired in one go, targeting Russian military positions.
The range of the "Firebird" exceeds 3,000 kilometers, and theoretically could hit directly to Moscow. It was not just a battlefield test, but a deterrent. Although the missile attack did not cause obvious casualties, this is not the focus. The message Zelensky really wanted to convey is "I have the ability to hit your door."
The news was released at a very sensitive time, Putin had just left Russia, and Ukraine immediately acted, apparently intentionally, and according to public reports, there was probably a shadow of NATO support behind this deployment.
Zelensky's move this time actually shows that Ukraine does not want to negotiate now, but wants to continue to increase its weight before negotiations and use military pressure in exchange for more chips. But the question is whether this approach is really effective for Russia and whether it will force Putin to compromise is probably not optimistic.
Russia has suffered a number of deep strikes from Ukraine since last year, including drone attacks in the direction of Crimea and gunfire on border cities, but none has changed the tone of Putin's war.
Another news that came out almost at the same time as the Ukrainian missile came from Europe.In an interview with the Financial Times, von der Leyen, president of the European Union Commission, made it clear that many European Union countries are actively discussing the specific plan of sending troops to Ukraine. More importantly, she also revealed that the United States has promised to provide security for European troops.
What does this mean?The U.S. does not go directly to the army, but will be the backbone for the armed European countries.This actually forms a new operational model, U.S. and European "work-sharing cooperation", the U.S. is responsible for strategic support and defense, and the EU is engaged in military intervention.
Of course, at present, the EU's troop dispatch is still in the policy discussion stage, and a unified decision has not yet been formed. However, judging from the statements of France, Germany, Poland, the Baltic countries and other countries, it is true that more and more European countries no longer reject "direct military intervention". In particular, frontline countries such as Poland and Lithuania have already privately sent military advisers and technical support troops to Ukraine.
This is a huge pressure for Russia. Once the European Union really sends troops, even if it is only a nominal peacekeeping force, Russia will face a new situation of "front-line + European double-sided attack".
At the same time as the two bad news broke out, UN Secretary-General Guterres was also attending the Summit in Tianjin. But so far, Guterres has not responded publicly to the situation in Ukraine, but only posted a comment on the situation in Gaza on social platforms.
The United Nations has been absent for a long time in the Russia-Ukraine war. On the surface, it seems that it is inconvenient for neutral institutions to intervene, but in essence it is unable to intervene. One of the permanent members of the Security Council is the belligerent Russia, and it is difficult to pass any sanctions or resolutions. Coupled with the constant game between the United States, Russia and China within the Security Council, the United Nations can only do some technical coordination on secondary issues.
Guterres, of course, understood the seriousness of the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, but he was more clear that he said nothing would have a substantial impact.
Where is the space for China's intervention?
And just as the United Nations is lying flat, the outside world is actually paying more and more attention to China.Putin, in particular, who came to China with three vice prime ministers and a dozen ministers, obviously wanted to take the opportunity of the SCO summit to strengthen bilateral cooperation with China.
Just hours before Putin’s arrival, Zelensky actively called India’s Prime Minister Modi and asked him to speak for Ukraine during the Summit. The call itself indicated that Ukraine was trying to seek a breakthrough indirectly through SCO countries, especially China.
The problem is that it is not that China does not want to care, but that it does not have the space to take the initiative at present. First, there is no consensus between Russia and Ukraine on the issue of territorial sovereignty, and there is no starting point for negotiation. Second, Europe, America, and especially the United States, including the Republican camp, are always worried that China will take the opportunity to steal international reputation and are unwilling to give China a positive authorization to mediate.
What China can do at the moment is to keep in touch and wait for the situation to change.When European-American mediation fails, the war continues to worsen, is the window period for China to come out.
Putin's visit to China will last for four days. It will be a long time and has a high standard. In addition to attending the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, he will also hold a series of bilateral talks with China. The size of the delegation brought was also very rare, showing the importance Russia attaches to this trip.
From the Russian perspective, the main demands of this visit to China are two: one is to expand economic cooperation, especially in the fields of energy, trade, science and technology, and the second is to seek more Chinese support at the international level, and the second is to hope to obtain China's "standpoint" to ease the pressure of Europe and the United States on the level of diplomatic public opinion.
Putin clearly knows that China will not easily openly vote on the Ukraine issue, but as long as China remains neutral and does not join the Western sanctions camp, it is a strategic victory for Russia, and it is an additional dividend if China can provide diplomatic support on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations and the Summit.
It’s also a window of opportunity for China.Putin, of course, also knows that the war will hit today and Russia’s drag down costs will only be higher.So he has to look for more non-military space to ease more pressure.
References:
Von der Leyen: Europe is formulating specific plans for sending troops to Ukraine
2025-09-01 05:39 · CCTV News
Itinerary disclosure! Russian presidential aide: Putin's stay in China for so long is rare
2025-08-30 21:07·Observer Network