China 'asked Putin to delay invasion of Ukraine until after Winter Olympics'

China asked Vladimir Putin to delay any invasion of Ukraine until after the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to a Western intelligence report.

It suggests officials in China may have had some indication of Mr Putin's plans before he went ahead. Beijing denied the assertion as "baseless speculation" and an "attempt to smear China".

A Western official told the New York Times the report did not make clear if it was Putin and Xi Jinping who discussed the matter, or some of their officials.

The Olympic closing ceremony took place on Feb 20. On the following day Putin recognised two breakaway areas in Ukraine and sent troops in to help separatists.

Then, on Feb 24, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Earlier, at the start of the Olympics, Putin visited Mr Xi and they signed a strategic partnership aimed at countering US influence.

In a joint statement at the time Russia and China said there were "no 'forbidden' areas of cooperation".

China has taken an ambiguous stance on the conflict and government officials have refused to condemn Russia or call it an "invasion".

However, on Wednesday, there were hints that Beijing’s support for war in Ukraine was waning.

State media outlet China Daily used the word "invasion" for the first time. The word was later edited out of the story on China Daily's website, but left in a Twitter post.

Its foreign minister also expressed “concern” about Ukrainian civilian casualties. Wang Yi, the foreign minister, held a phone call late on Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Mr Wang acknowledged for the first time that the attack was a “war” rather than a “special military operation” as described by Russia and offered to “play a role in realising a ceasefire”.

Beijing has yet to condemn Russia’s attack and no government officials have directly called it an invasion. China initially tried to distance itself from the international backlash over Mr Putin's actions.

At a UN General Security meeting last week, China abstained on a resolution condemning the invasion. It did the same on Wednesday at a UN General Assembly, one of 35 countries that abstained on a resolution deploring Russia's "aggression against Ukraine."

It was passed by 141 of the assembly's 193 members in a rare emergency session called by the UN Security Council. Russia was supported by Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea.But as the conflict grows in severity, China appears to be hoping to position itself as a middleman rather than explicitly siding with Russia.

Mr Kuleba said Ukraine was willing to strengthen communication with Beijing and that it looked forward to "China’s mediation efforts for the ceasefire,” according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.

China’s calculation may also have shifted if it believes international outrage at the authoritarian takeover of a democratic nation could lead to more robust backing for Taiwan, which lies at the core of Beijing’s own territorial interests.

There has been growing speculation since the Ukraine invasion that Beijing could exploit the world’s distraction to make its own move on Taiwan.

However, analysts believe the crisis could actually have the opposite effect.

In recent days, Washington has made several overt signals of support for Taiwan.

Joe Biden dispatched a high-profile delegation of former defence officials, including Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Taiwan this week.

Mr Mullen said: "We come to Taiwan at a very difficult and critical moment in world history.

"As President Biden has said, democracy is facing sustained and alarming challenges, most recently in Ukraine. Now more than ever, democracy needs champions."