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Chinese President Xi Jinping and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet at the Guandong province governor's residence, in Guangzhou, China, Friday, April 7, 2023. Image Credit: REUTERS

BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping said on Friday that a political settlement is the only “correct” way out of the Ukraine crisis, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

All parties should meet each other halfway to create conditions for a political settlement, Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron during a dinner in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday, the statement said.

China and France reaffirmed their commitment to promote non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, a joint statement reported by the official Xinhua News agency said on Friday.

The two countries support all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law, and principles of the UN Charter, and opposes armed attacks on nuclear power plants, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s leaders discussed ways to prevent leaks of military information after secret documents detailing US and Nato efforts to help the country plan a counter-offensive against Russia’s attacks reportedly appeared on social media.

The New York Times said on Thursday, citing senior US officials, that classified war documents were posted this week on Twitter and Telegram, which is widely used in Russia.

A Ukrainian official told Reuters the documents contained a “very large amount of fictitious information” and the posts looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about the offensive, which requires advanced Western weapons.

“These are just standard elements of operational games by Russian intelligence. And nothing more,” presidential official Mykhailo Podolyak said in a written statement. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The announcement by the presidential office of talks on Friday at the Ukrainian headquarters of the armed forces supreme command attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky made no mention of a leak having occurred.

“The participants of the meeting focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information regarding the plans of the defence forces of Ukraine,” it said.

It was not clear whether the discussions centred on preventing leaks from within Ukraine or from among the Western partners it now shares information with, after an initial reluctance in the immediate aftermath of war.

The Times said the documents did not reveal when or where the offensive would take place but that the leak could affect trust between the allies as it gave timetables for the delivery of weaponry and Ukrainian troops trained by the West.

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French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to attend a visit at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, April 7, 2023. Image Credit: Reuters

They appeared to have been modified in places, overstating American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and underestimating Russian military casualties, the paper said, adding that US officials were working to get the posts taken down.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was not immediately able to review the documents.

Asked to comment, a Pentagon spokesperson said by email: “We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter.”

BAKHMUT AT RISK

British intelligence said earlier that Russian forces were threatening a key supply route to Bakhmut, the focus of their assault for months which Ukraine has said it is defending to wear the invaders down before its counter-offensive.

The Ukrainian military said it was holding on in the city but the situation was difficult.

Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that if his troops came under risk of encirclement his troops would pull back from Bakhmut - one of the last urban centres in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province yet to fall to Russian forces.

Donetsk is one of four provinces in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia declared annexed last year and is seeking to fully occupy in what appears to be a shift in its war aims after failing to overrun the country early in the war.

Friday’s daily update from British military intelligence contrasted with the usual emphasis on Ukrainian successes.

“Ukraine’s key 0506 supply route to the west of the town is likely severely threatened,” it said. Ukrainian military expert Vladyslav Selezniov has said Ukraine will have to pull back if the route for getting supplies in and wounded out is threatened.

Eastern Military Command spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters Ukraine controlled the situation in Bakhmut and understood Russian intentions.

“The situation is difficult, the enemy is concentrating maximum efforts to capture Bakhmut. However it is suffering serious losses and not reaching strategic success,” Cherevatyi said by telephone, without elaborating.

Western analysts say both sides are losing large numbers of troops in the battle for Bakhmut, a regional transport and logistics hub now largely in ruins.