[HIGHLIGHTS] Putin weakened by the Ukraine war: Is China reaching for Russia's east?

Putin weakened by the Ukraine war: Is China reaching for Russia's east?. China and Russia share a border more than 4,000 kilometers long.

Trade between the two countries grew to a record high of more than $240 billion last year. Thanks to China's help, the Russian economy has so far been able to avert collapse. In the long term, however, the war and isolation by the West are likely to weaken Putin's empire. “Moscow is pledging its future to Beijing,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently said.