The Inside Story: Xi in Russia, War in Ukraine
Episode 84 – March 23, 2023
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Xi in Russia… war in Ukraine.
Fresh into his third term leading the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping visits his Russian counterpart in Moscow.
What does this mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine?
And is Ukraine making new friends in the west?
Plus, the International Criminal Court issues a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Will war crimes be punished?
Our reporters bring you the inside story… Xi in Russia, War in Ukraine.
The Inside Story:
ELIZABETH LEE, VOA Correspondent:
Hi, I’m Elizabeth Lee in Washington DC.
This week, Ukraine dominated the international news cycle. In Moscow, the leaders of Russia and China met to present a peace plan for Ukraine and display the strengthening alliance between the two nations.
Leaders in the U.S. and Europe are openly skeptical of China’s role as a neutral mediator and are promising more ammunition and money to Ukrainian fighters.
Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping focused on Beijing’s plan to end the war... as Moscow’s offensive stalls around the contested city of Bakhmut.
Because Russia’s war in Ukraine has dragged on for more than a year, a peace plan put forward by an ally could allow the Russian president a way out of the war.
But another key takeaway from the meeting between Putin and Xi: the image of Chinese and Russian leadership, clearly aligned and seemingly on a path to deepen their relationship.
VOA’S Patsy Widakuswara has our lead story this week.
PATSY WIDASKUSWARA, VOA White House Bureau Chief:
In Moscow, a red-carpet treatment and state dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Xi Jinping, Chinese President:
As permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia will continue to work with the international community to firmly safeguard the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter.
Xi called for a diplomatic solution in Ukraine that Putin says he supports.
Vladimir Putin, Russian President:
We believe that many points of China's peace plan are in sync with Russian approaches and could form a basis for a peaceful settlement, when the West and Kyiv are ready for it. However, we aren't seeing any such readiness on their part yet.
PATSY WIDASKUSWARA:
The White House rejected Putin’s claim.
John Kirby, National Security Council:
We haven't seen anything they've said, they put forward, that gives us hope that this war is going to end anytime soon.
PATSY WIDASKUSWARA:
Before the Putin-Xi meeting, the U.S. warned against a Chinese-brokered cease-fire, saying it would ratify Russia’s gains in Ukraine.
The Putin-Xi meeting did not yield a proposal for cease-fire negotiations. Kirby said the U.S. would only support Beijing-brokered talks
If President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believed they would lead to a just peace. For the Ukrainian leader, that means no concessions on territory annexed by Putin.
George Beebe, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft:
I doubt that the Russians would agree to that condition. They've already rejected it as something that they don't regard as any kind of starting point for negotiations.
PATSY WIDASKUSWARA:
Zelenskyy met Tuesday with Fumio Kishida. The Japanese prime minister was the latest leader in the Western alliance to make a surprise visit to Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President:
Given Japan's strength, its leadership in Asia in defending peace and the rules-based international order, and Japan's responsibility as the G-7 chair, our talks today can truly yield a global result.
PATSY WIDASKUSWARA:
After his meeting with Putin, a call between Xi and Zelenskyy may also take place, but that has not been confirmed.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.
ELIZABETH LEE:
Ukrainian authorities have called for a war crimes investigation after a video surfaced on social media that appeared to show Russian soldiers killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
But how would this alleged crime be prosecuted? Oleksii Kovalenko tried to find out.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO, Reporting for VOA:
On March 6, a graphic video appeared in social networks that seems to portray Russian forces killing an unarmed prisoner of war wearing a Ukrainian military uniform after he says quietly: “Slava Ukraini” or "Glory to Ukraine."
Ukrainian authorities are urging the International Criminal Court, or I-C-C, to investigate.
Later, Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said an investigation was launched by Ukraine regarding the killing of an unarmed POW.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces say the man who appeared to be executed was sniper Oleksandr Matsievskiy.
U.S. experts believe the video could serve as proof of a war crime committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
David Scheffer, Council on Foreign Relations:
Clearly suggested evidence of war crime being committed and clearly this film will make its way into the investigations underway not only by the International Criminal Court,but also by Ukrainian courts that will look at this crime,determine which military units were in that area at that time, who commanded them.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
British lawyer Wayne Jordash,head of the Mobile Justice Teams – a collective of international investigators supporting Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General, says the courts must determine whether the war crimes allegedly being committed can be legally classified as genocide.
Wayne Jordash, Lawyer:
It is almost certainly a crime against humanity. The only question that remains is whether it was genocidal, and that is going to take a bit of time to assess.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
Professor Jennifer Trahan with NYU’s Center for Global Affairs believes the video of the killing is yet another reminder of why an international tribunal is needed to investigate Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
Jennifer Trahan, NYU Professor:
If we didn't have the aggression, we would have none of the crimes against humanity or war crimes. We wouldn't have the crimes in this horrific video, and we would have none of the killing and the harm. So, it is a reminder why we need this tribunal.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
Experts may disagree about how the war crimes being committed should be investigated and prosecuted. Evidence like the execution video leaves little doubt that some kind of international investigation is called for.
For Oleksii Kovalenko, Arash Arabasadi, VOA News, Washington.
ELIZABETH LEE:
With the war in Ukraine and Chinese saber rattling near Taiwan.. what’s clear is that while the U.S. is still the world’s superpower, the combined might of a Russian-Chinese alliance could present significant worries for American military and political planners.
Over the two years, since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, thousands of civilians and military personnel have been captured and imprisoned.
Now released through a prisoner exchange program, some are taking refuge here in the United States.
VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko has the story of two former prisoners of war who are speaking out, to aid those still being held captive.
TATIANA VOROZHKO, Reporting for VOA:
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, over 2000 Ukrainians — both soldiers and civilians — have been captured and released as part of prisoner exchange programs.
Yet, two Ukrainian women — a volunteer and a combat medic — came to the U.S. to tell their story after they were released following a prisoner exchange with Russia.
Lyudmila Huseynova, Volunteer:
I spent almost the whole time with a bag on my head, even inside the cell. In the cell, windows are painted white, so you can’t see anything and don’t know what’s going on outside. Any rustle, any knock on the door, and I had to put the bag back on my head and turn to face the wall. I wasn’t allowed to sit or lie down from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. I had to pace or stand. Once, I got so tired, I climbed into bed a few minutes before 10. They threw me down and started beating [me]. There, I could always hear screams of men and women being tortured.
Lyudmila Huseynova was first detained in the Donetsk region in 2019 after her neighbors complained about her pro-Ukrainian stance. The next three years, she spent at a Donetsk detention center with criminals.
Lyudmila Huseynova, Volunteer:
I slept next to women I didn’t know. One had tuberculosis. The other was also sick. That’s where you sleep. There’s also a hole in the ground covered with a cloth — that’s the toilet. You bathe there, as well. Do dishes there, too.
TATIANA VOROZHKO:
In October 2022, Huseynova was released during a women prisoner exchange.
In April 2022, combat medic Anna Olsen was in Mariupol and had over 1,000 wounded in her care.
When her brigade surrendered, she spent months in prison in the Olenivka, Taganrog, Kursk and Belgorod regions in Russia.
Anna Olsen, Combat Medic, Ukraine’s Armed Forces:
In Taganrog, it was the worst. There, we suffered the most physical and emotional pressure. Pressure and torture.
TATIANA VOROZHKO:
Russia has repeatedly refused to directly address any incidents of mistreatment of prisoners, alleged war crimes or torture. Moscow has labeled them “fake news,” or even in some cases, staged attempts by the Ukrainians to discredit Russia.
But Olsen talks about the many violations of the Geneva Convention regarding the handling of prisoners of war committed by Russians: torture, refusal to provide medical assistance, psychological abuse and malnutrition.
Now, the two women are pushing to create a special mechanism that would free Ukrainian civilian women from Russian captivity.
Anna Olsen, Combat Medic, Ukraine’s Armed Forces:
The Geneva Convention ensures the possibility for the exchange of prisoners of war, but there’s no such mechanism for civilians that are also in captivity.
Lyudmila Huseynova, Volunteer:
Create such a mechanism, help us save men and women that are still there. There are prisoners who have been there for two, four, five years — many more since the start of Russia’s invasion.
TATIANA VOROZHKO:
According to Ukrainian authorities, in late 2022, some 3,400 Ukrainian citizens were in Russian captivity, 40% of them civilians.
Tatiana Vorozhko, for VOA News, Washington.
ELIZABETH LEE:
Recently VOA’S Misha Komadovsky sat down with the former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who served from 2014 until 2019.
We asked him about his pre-war criticism of president Volodymyr Zelensky, what Ukraine needs from the West and how China might play a role in ending the war.
Petro Poroshenko, Former Ukraine President:
On the first hours of the full-size invasion, I called President Zelensky and asked for an urgent meeting. And my message was: "Since this moment, I'm not the leader of the opposition anymore, and you are not anymore, my opponent." And if I'm talking about the great achievement since February 24. the great achievement is a unity.
And I think that unity goes together with the weapons, together with sanctions, together with justice against Putin, together with financial support, and together with a future membership of Ukraine in NATO. And for the moment of our victory, unity, global solidarity, and Global Partnership are the key factor for that. And now, the global unity, global solidarity with Ukraine, and total and complete isolation of Russia. This is also the key factor for the sustainable security situation on the continent. It is a key factor for our victory, a key factor for our peace.
I'm proud that my team and I created the Armed forces of Ukraine. And definitely, now we proved that this is one of the best or probably the best in the world. In 2014, we won the battle for creating the Armed forces. Today, my conclusion from the long-year negotiation experience with Russia consists of three points. Point number one is don't trust Putin.
Point number two, please do not be afraid of Putin. And this is a fact that Ukraine's armed forces of Ukraine demonstrated since the year 2014. Because Putin understands only one language, and this language is a language of strength.
And point number three, we already have a brilliant negotiator. Very efficient. We had a great negotiation while Putin tried to encircle Kyiv, while he fought for the Kharkiv region, during the operation in Kherson.
The best diplomat and the best negotiator is the Armed forces of Ukraine with the support of our partners, including our leading global role of the United States, the United States administration with the leadership of President Biden, the United States Congress, and, very important, the United States people.
Many of my team and many of my close friends are now in Bakhmut. And this is a direct message I want to deliver to you from them: we have a lack of ammunition. Any delay of ammunition supply, any delay of the personal arm carrier, air defense, long-range artillery, long-range missiles, or any suspension would not only affect the April counter-offensive operation. But this is the fact that Ukraine now pays a very high price on the whole front line.
Everybody should understand that the key to peace is definitely not in Washington, Kyiv, or even Beijing. The key to peace is in the hands of Putin in Moscow.
The role of China can be absolutely decisive. And if we can use the Chinese factor, we definitely need to do that as soon as possible.
At the same time, we shouldn't allow any attempt to supply weapons to the military criminal, Mr. Putin. And in this situation, I think the document that the Chinese present is not a peace plan. This is the 12 points. This is the call for the process. And I definitely recommend that China should be involved in the process.
It is vital that President Xi visits Kyiv, visits Ukraine. And that would have great not only symbolic but efficient importance. It would be highly efficient if the meeting with the Ukrainian president occurred. Let's together motivate China to follow this way.
ELIZABETH LEE:
Moldova is a country divided over concerns pertaining to freedom of speech and national security.
Government officials there, aware of the use of propaganda in the war between Russia and Ukraine, are looking to halt efforts by the Kremlin to do the same in their nation. VOA’s Ricardo Marquina has the details.
RICARDO MARQUINA, VOA Correspondent:
Moldovan President Maria Sandu takes on a serious tone as she addresses her nation. The government of this small country believes that Russia, a year after starting an expansionist war in Ukraine, has a plan to force a violent change in power here.
Maria Sandu, President of Moldova:
The purpose of actions are to overthrow the constitutional order, change the legitimate government in Chisinau to an illegal one, which would put our country at the service of Russia.
RICARDO MARQUINA:
Moldovan society is deeply divided between Romanian speakers, historically linked to Romania and Europe, and Russian speakers who maintain strong ties to Moscow.
This de facto 50-50 division is the perfect ground for Russian propaganda to promote the Kremlin's agenda here, much as it happened in Ukraine.
The cameras are off at RTR Moldova, a channel based in Chisinau. The Moldovan government has withdrawn its broadcast license, along with five other Russian-language channels.
The official justification is that these channels illegally broadcast programming produced in Russia, but the unspoken reason is different: they are accused of being the hand of the Kremlin in Moldova.
Employees at the channel criticize that decision and say it leaves a large part of the population without content that is impossible to create in Moldova because of a lack of advertising revenue.
Vasily Moyseenko, Journalist, RTR Moldova:
The content from Russia that we broadcast is traditional for many Moldovan viewers. There are many people here who are Russian-speaking, and they really like these programs that are impossible to produce here.
RICARDO MARQUINA:
The closure of these channels has reopened the debate over freedom of expression during wartime. The authorities responsible for this blackout have been blunt in stating their reasons.
Liliana Vitu, Audiovisual Council:
Freedom of speech does not mean the freedom to disinform. We (saw) how TV stations reported before the war. Prior to the war we noticed that a group of media stations prepared this attack on Ukraine. It was an informational preparation and justification for the aggression that was to come.
Mikhail Sirkeli is one of the best-known political news YouTubers in the country. In his opinion, the now suspended TV channels are Putin's loudspeakers in Moldova.
Mikhail Sirkeli, YouTuber:
You have to choose. There is a freedom of speech from one side and from another side – the security of the country, security of the nation. They are promoting the hatred against Ukraine. They are promoting Russian general line of politics.
RICARDO MARQUINA:
Others believe that the suspension of these Russian-speaking channels is an attack against press freedom. That is the view of GRT TV, a channel in the southern region of Gagauzia that broadcasts in Russian, Romanian and Gagauz, the local language and that has not been closed.
Vadim Anastasov, Director, GRT TV:
It is difficult to state that this is freedom of speech when certain people in power try through their influence to press somehow or dictate something. That is why I think that there is no freedom of speech.
RICARDO MARQUINA:
Moldova has joined countries in Europe in banning Russian propaganda channels, but having such a large Russian-speaking population, the debate in this country goes much deeper.
For Ricardo Marquina in Chisinau, Jonathan Spier, VOA News.
ELIZABETH LEE:
Fighting fake news and dispelling Russian false information has become something of a crusade for a group of social media activists across Lithuania and other Baltic countries.
We again have a report from VOA’s Oleksii Kovalenko.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO, Reporting for VOA:
In the epic battle against Russian disinformation, it seems only fitting that the citizens taking on Kremlin-backed trolls call themselves elves.
Thousands of people in Lithuania and the other Baltic states are working to dispel false narratives online, often working anonymously.
The founder of this unique civic movement is Ricardas Savukynas.
Ricardas Savukynas, Elves Movement Founder:
People started calling Russian propaganda trolls… And who fights against Russian propaganda? Of course, elves! So, this name started to be used, "elves.”
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
The group became especially active after 2014 and the revolution in Ukraine — when protesters demanded the country move closer to the European Union. But to this day, most of the organization members don’t know each other.
But the ‘elves’ movement isn’t just focused on Ukraine. Viktor Denisenko, a Vilnius University professor and expert on Russian propaganda, says the Kremlin is also trying to affect the Baltic countries’ media landscape.
Viktor Denisenko, Expert on Russian Propaganda:
From quite a small group of 10 to 20 people, it grew to a movement not just in Lithuania, but today elves also exist in Latvia, Estonia, Finland and other countries.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
Lithuanian parliament member Jurgita Sejonienė started working with the elves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The elves identify misinformation or fake accounts they can link to Russian Troll farms.
The elves then band together online and mass report the sites until moderators respond and remove the fake news.
A medical professional by training, Sejonienė started countering COVID-related propaganda — mostly around vaccinations. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, her focus changed.
She commonly takes on false narratives:
Jurgita Sejonienė, Lithuanian Parliament Member:
…Nazism in Ukraine, that Russia is freeing Ukraine and all those issues and topics, and also human rights.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
Savukynas says Russian disinformation in Lithuania ramped up in the second half of 2021 and was probably linked to Russia’s preparations to invade Ukraine. He says that today he finds fewer and fewer so-called Vatniks, people who believe the Kremlin’s disinformation.
Ricardas Savukynas, Elves Movement Founder:
When you see real things like mass killings, rapes, torturing of children, like in Bucha, you understand that Russia propaganda is lies.
OLEKSII KOVALENKO:
Experts estimate as many as 22,000 activists are part of the elves movement.
For Oleksii Kovalenko, Arash Arabasadi, VOA News, Washington.
ELIZABETH LEE:
Dive deeper into the situation in Ukraine on our website, VOA.News.Com.
That’s all for now.
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I’m Elizabeth Lee in Washington.
We’ll see you next week for The Inside Story.
