Moscow and Beijing are testing the depth of the West's fear of war

Putin is preparing Russia for a continuation of the war. He continues to escalate belligerent moods, demonize the West and strengthen the military-industrial complex infrastructure. There is no turning back for him.

All of his so-called "truces" are simply a continuation of the war by other means.

Russia's ties with North Korea are strengthening, with a new road bridge across the Tumanna River and logistics infrastructure being built on the border with North Korea, which will significantly increase the supply of weapons from the DPRK to Russia and sanctioned goods in the opposite direction.

There are speculations that this bridge will be one of the issues to be discussed during Xi Jinping's four-day visit to Moscow during the May 9 celebrations. China seems to want to express its dissatisfaction with Russia's activities in China's zone of influence and demonstrate that China is for peace .

China's participation in the celebration looks grotesque, since it was not China, but the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek, which has now become Taiwan, that participated in the Allied Forces during World War II and thus received a seat in the UN Security Council, which it held until 1971.

It cannot be ruled out that China's strategy at a time of global decline in US influence is to improve its image as a potential aggressor.

However, it becomes unclear why in recent weeks the Chinese have attempted to plant a Chinese flag on a Philippine atoll in the South China Sea, as well as to intensify provocations with the use of Coast Guard ships and helicopters in Japanese territorial waters and airspace around the Senkaku Islands. These steps appear to be an escalation of previous provocations.