According to observers, Putin recently visited the command points of the front and listened to the report of Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces General Graziov: 5,000 Ukrainian troops in Kharkov, Kupiyansk, and 5,500 soldiers in the direction of the Red Army City, have fallen into a double siege.
In addition, in Volchansk, the Russian army continued to advance deep into the urban area after controlling 70 percent of the area; in the Zaporozhye direction, six settlements were torn apart by the Russian defensive lines.
The defeat of the Ukrainian army was not accidental.
Its logistics system was on the verge of collapse months ago. At the same time, conflicts within the Ukrainian army have openly intensified. The Kiev General Staff issued a "death order", but frontline troops generally disobeyed and retreated.
The tide of deserters continued to ferment, and the exhaustion of troops forced the Ukrainian authorities to implement the "capture of strong men" recruitment.
In a live video broadcast on a mobile phone, Ukrainian soldiers raised a white flag to surrender to the Russian army and said straight: "Officers ran away early, we don't want to kill Zelensky."
In response to this phenomenon, Putin issued an order: to protect Ukrainian soldiers who want to surrender from being shot dead by Ukrainian personnel.
This order directly hits the Ukrainian army's psychological defense line-when the soldiers are deeply surrounded, their logistics is cut off, and there is gunpoint coercion from the warlord team behind them, the promise of "surrender and live" will become a weapon to disintegrate fighting spirit.
Russian military experts analyzed that this move is more effective than indiscriminate bombing. "It makes Ukrainian soldiers realize that resistance is futile and surrender is the legal path to survival."
The deeper reason is Russia’s growing confidence in the battlefield.
In the report, Grazimov mentioned the success of the nuclear-powered cruise missile "Haiyan", which lasted 15 hours and reached 14,000 kilometers, and "has not yet reached the limit of performance".
It is reported that Putin has conveyed his position to the US through the special representative: only "constructive dialogue" can promote the easing of the situation. In other words, Russia is using its military superiority as its confidence to force the West to accept the negotiation framework it has set.
Under these circumstances, Ukraine’s strategic difficulties have fallen into an unsolved dead cycle: continued combat means continued consumption of force and resources, negotiation of a compromise requires the assignment of Donbass, and domestic political pressure makes it difficult to retreat.
“The tragedy of Kiev is that it cannot win the war and lose the peace.”
At a time when there was no way to go, Zelensky suddenly took China to write articles.
According to the Ukrainian media, Zelensky recently in front of reporters, first with a devout tone stressed that Ukraine is "very hopeful" that China will intervene in mediation and help end the conflict in Ukraine.
But he later said that Ukraine could not directly put pressure on China, suggesting that the U.S. government wants to put pressure on China.
What is even more intriguing is that on the same day, he accused "China of aiding Russia," saying that "China contributed to the war by providing machinery and equipment."
It is absurd to call on one another to act while obscuring one another’s actions.
Even when senior U.S. military officials have repeatedly admitted that they have not found evidence of Chinese military aid to Russia, Kozelensky has insisted on performing the one-person play of the scene, “Calling with empty hands,” in an attempt to blame the trouble in Ukraine for China-Russia trade.
His purpose is not hard to guess:
First, shift domestic contradictions and look for “sheep for sin.”
Faced with the crisis of the possible fall of Donbas, Zelensky urgently needs to cover up the decision-making mistakes of the Kiev authorities. When people realize that the government sacrifices ordinary people's lives for western "proxy wars", they accuse external forces of rallying people's hearts for a short time.
Second, kidnap the United States and the West and pressure China to "cut off aid."
Zelensky is well aware of the fear of the United States and Europe about the "Sino-Russian alliance". He deliberately amplified the description of "China supporting Russia's wartime economy", which actually urged the United States and Western countries to increase military aid and even pushed the West to impose sanctions on Russia.
After all, if China really supports Russia fully, as he said, "the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield has not been like this" - this expression in the United Nations exhibits precisely Ukraine's fears.
Third, it paves the way for the post-conflict era.
Zelensky once publicly dreamed that "Ukraine would become the next South Korea," implying that people's sacrifices could be exchanged for post-war reconstruction dividends. But the South Korean model in the Vietnam War was unique: US military orders spawned the rise of chaebol such as Samsung, and today Ukraine's industrial base has been destroyed.
To establish China as a hypothetical enemy,, is to bury the pen for the future to demand more economic compensation from the West.
In the face of the accusations, China’s response has always been clear: not providing weapons to the fighting parties, and strictly controlling the transfer of civilian goods for military use.
Trade cooperation between China and Russia is market behavior, not military support. Moreover, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the scale of China's exports of agricultural products and medical equipment to Ukraine even increased year-on-year. According to Zelensky's logic, isn't this "funding both parties at the same time"?
But at the moment, these are not important, with this attracting the United States to support Ukraine, pressure on Russia is the priority.
So, what is the attitude of the United States?
Before his trip to the three Asian countries, Trump suddenly stated that “I hope China will help solve the Russian-Ukrainian issue, and the sanctions on Russia are already very tough.”
Russia has long stated clearly: not lifting sanctions, refusing to negotiate peace.This is behind the shrinkage of the U.S. strategic trouble, and Trump has not met Putin.
However, the troops on the front line of Ukraine have been exhausted, and even elderly soldiers and foreign mercenaries have been recruited. Europe's ability to aid Ukraine continues to decline due to inflation.
However, the United States is unwilling to continue "blood transfusion" and afraid of bearing the stigma of "abandoning its allies", so it tries to push China to the forefront and let China solve this problem.
But China’s position is clear.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently reiterated that China “solidly promotes dialogue and peace based on its position based on non-correctness.”
This principle is not empty talk. Looking back at the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, the Chinese special envoy facilitated the tripartite talks through shuttle diplomacy, and the "tranquil consensus" finally reached took care of the demands of both sides and was recognized by ASEAN.
In fact, China's position on "convincing and promoting talks" on the Russian-Ukrainian issue has not changed and has not closed the mediation window.
In the Russian-Ukrainian issue, Russia’s “security guarantees” and Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” are the core contradictions.
If the United States avoids these key issues and only wants China to act as a "lobbyist," such a "request" is doomed to be in vain.
In the end, Zelensky’s “Chinese card” is the relentless struggle of the weak countries in the game of the great powers.
The game of great powers has never been a match of voice, but to see who can stick to his own pace in the turmoil – this, Trump’s request for help and China’s determination, has explained everything.