Putin, Zelenskyy court major allies as Ukraine makes gains

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy are each courting major allies on Thursday, seeking to prop up their efforts in a war whose fortunes have tilted toward Ukraine in recent days.

In Uzbekistan’s ancient Samarkand, Putin was hoping to break through his international isolation and further cement his ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a geopolitical alliance increasingly seen as potent counterweight to the Western powers.

Putin and Xi were due to meet one-on-one and discuss Ukraine, according to the Russian president’s foreign affairs adviser.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy was shrugging off a traffic collision the previous night that left him with no major injuries, officials said. On the agenda was a meeting with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, who once more showed full commitment to Ukraine’s cause.