00:00one day before Vladimir Putin flew to Beijing to celebrate his alliance with Xi Jinping.
00:05A Russian drone struck a Chinese cargo ship in the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Zelensky
00:10confirmed the attack. The vessel, K.S.L. de Jong, a bulk carrier flying the Marshall Islands flag,
00:17owned by a Chinese company, crewed entirely by Chinese nationals. Russia hit its most important
00:23ally's ship. The timing could not be more awkward. Putin was scheduled to arrive in Beijing within
00:2924 hours, where he and Xi would tout their, quote, no-limits partnership and signed declarations
00:37of eternal friendship. The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented. China has not officially
00:43responded publicly. But privately, this incident lands in Beijing at an extraordinarily sensitive
00:49moment. Xi Jinping just finished hosting Trump, where China's continued economic support for Russia
00:55was a major point of American pressure. Now, the day before hosting Putin, a Russian weapons system
01:02just attacked a vessel owned by a Chinese company. Ukraine routinely reports Russian drone strikes
01:08near Odessa, a vital maritime hub for agricultural exports. But targeting a Chinese-owned vessel,
01:15even accidentally, is not a routine incident. It is the kind of mistake that tests the limits
01:20of even a so-called no-limits partnership.
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