A land swap and security guarantees to end the Ukraine war have been “negotiated” and “agreed”, US President Donald Trump has said following talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Key Points and Summary – The upcoming Trump-Putin summit is unlikely to produce a lasting peace in Ukraine because the key to ending the war lies in Beijing, not Moscow. -China is the primary strategic beneficiary of the protracted conflict,

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said on Friday (Aug 15) he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks".

Most significantly, China’s influence has recently shifted from passive supply to active manipulation of the technological balance on the battlefield—the hallmark of a state engaged in proxy warfare. In May 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated bluntly, “Chinese Mavic [drones] are open for Russians but are closed for Ukrainians.”

Symbolic win for Moscow likely to leave Beijing wary of its impact on the US-China-Russia power triangle, observers say.

DA WEI is Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy and a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University.

From the dawn of Ukraine's first-person-view drone industry up to a year ago, producers purchased almost all of the parts they used in assembly from Chinese firms. Today, Ukrainian companies have started mass-producing the various electronics,

The China-Russia alliance has grown since 2019 with joint military exercises, weapons technology sharing and coordinated strategy that could potentially create a two-front crisis risk for America.

For a few years now, Western observers have breathlessly praised Ukraine’s successes in defense innovation, from AI to drones to decentralization and an

Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil.

China has imposed sanctions on two Lithuanian banks, in retaliation for recent EU curbs on two Chinese lenders as relations sour over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.