- Russia's ex-president met China's leader on the same day Zelenskyy is due to address Congress.
- China's reaction to the Ukraine war differs from the strong retaliation from the US and the West.
Russia's former president met China's leader just before Ukraine's president flew to the US to address Congress, in a sign of the global split that has taken place with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, and said they discussed "bilateral cooperation," including with their economies, and the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Medvedev, who was formerly Russia's president and prime minister, is now the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was traveling to the US on Wednesday, where he was due to address Congress, the White House said.
Much of the West and other powerful nations have condemned the war. They have sought to punish and isolate Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which started in February. These measures included sanctions that froze trade and hurt its economy.
Though China has not expressed support for Russia's invasion nor given the country any weapons, its reaction has been different from that of many other countries.
China has continued to buy Russian oil, which helps Russia's economy. On top of this, Xi ordered Chinese officials to create closer economic ties with Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.
Putin conceded in September, however, that China had concerns about the Ukraine war, telling Xi: "We understand your questions and concerns in this regard."
Zelenskyy's visit to the US shows how close the US and Ukraine are, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Reuters.
He said the visit disproved Russian statements that the US-Ukraine relationship was becoming less strong.
"This finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side ... to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations," Podolyak told Reuters.
The White House said the US president, Joe Biden, invited Zelenskyy "to underscore the United States' enduring commitment to Ukraine."
And it said that Zelenskyy would address a joint session of Congress, "demonstrating the strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine."
The White House said Biden would announce a "significant" new weapons package for Ukraine. In addition, a US official told Reuters that Biden would announce an almost $2 billion package that included a Patriot missile battery.
Russia has repeatedly threatened that Western help for Ukraine could widen the conflict, but this has not so far proved to be the case.