The US ambassador to NATO said China needed to be “called out for their subsidizing” of Russia’s war in Ukraine as the Trump administration ratchets up its threat to impose tariffs if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China,

"Cooperation among China, Russia, and India not only aligns with the respective interests of the three countries, but also contributes to regional and global peace, security, stability, and progress," the spokesperson, Lin Jian, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

The flow of goods in Manzhouli, China’s main border crossing with Russia, underscores increasingly close ties between the two countries, complicating China’s relationship with Europe.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Thursday that China's ties with Russia were now the "determining" factor in its relations with the European Union, as she wrapped up a tense summit in Beijing that also saw China agree to speed up exports of rare earth minerals to the bloc.

Russia’s gas output declined in the first half of the year as higher exports to China and increased domestic demand failed to make up for lost flows to Europe via Ukraine.

The Soviet-era turboprop, a model with a poor safety record, crashed in a mountainous region in Russia’s far east.

Iran schedules diplomatic meetings with Russia, China and European nations as the deadline approaches for a new nuclear deal to avoid the reimposition of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

EU leaders have asked China to put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine as stunning new evidence of Beijing's cooperation with Moscow has emerged