Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone Wednesday, in their first known conversation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Beijing ramps up efforts to position itself as a potential peacemaker in the grinding conflict. The call between Xi and Zelensky comes weeks after Xi made a state visit to Russia and met Vladimir Putin in March, when the Chinese and Russian leaders made a sweeping affirmation of their alignment across a host of issues — including their shared mistrust of the United States. In this case, this could mean Putin indicated to Xi that he was willing to talk to Kyiv, Menon added