MOSCOW – Chinese leader Xi Jinping will pay an official visit to Russia from May 7–10, the Kremlin confirmed Sunday.

Xi was already among the leaders set to attend the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9.

The Kremlin said Xi was visiting at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and, as well as taking part in Victory Day celebrations, the leaders would discuss “further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction” and “issues on the international and regional agenda.”

Putin and Xi will sign a number of bilateral documents, it said.

Xi’s visit to Russia will be his third since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for weapons production.

Xi last visited Russia in September 2024 for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies. He also paid a state visit to Russia in March 2023 and Putin reciprocated with his own trip to China in October that year. The two leaders have since also met in Beijing in May 2024, where Putin took the first foreign trip of his fifth presidential term, and in Kazakhstan in July.

After launching what the Kremlin insists on calling a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russia has become increasingly dependent economically on China as Western sanctions cut its access to much of the international trading system. China’s increased trade with Russia has helped the country mitigate some of the worst blows from the sanctions.

Moscow has diverted the bulk of its energy exports to China and relied on Chinese companies to import high-tech components for Russian military industries to circumvent Western sanctions.

The leaders of Russia and China have developed strong personal ties that helped boost the relations between Moscow and Beijing.

Moscow accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday of threatening the safety of dignitaries attending Victory Day celebrations after he dismissed Russia’s unilateral 72-hour ceasefire. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine cannot provide security assurances to foreign officials planning to visit Russia around May 9, warning that Moscow could stage provocations and later attempt to blame Ukraine.