Russia's war on Ukraine: the new, the old, and the immutable (opens in new tab)

At the Trump-Xi summit in May 2026 in Beijing, China's President allegedly told his American counterpart that Vladimir Putin "might end up regretting" his invasion of Ukraine. This revelation is both encouraging and disheartening. China's backing of Russia has been a major factor in sustaining the war, and a change of tune in Beijing, if it actually materializes, will have wide-ranging implications. The daunting part is that this is not the stated policy of Europe, where "might" should've been