It's worth keeping track of China's media these days to get the full measure of the moral and factual gulf that separates China from most of the rest of the world over the war in Ukraine. A few days ago, for example, when Russia was intensifying its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, the Global Times, the Communist Party's English-language mouthpiece, had this to say on the way the war is being waged by the Russians: “They are a little hesitant between realizing military goals and preventing civilian casualties. They are very cautious about using heavy weapons as they don't want to offer excuses for the West to accuse them of bombing civilian areas.” That Vladimir Putin is “hesitant” to use heavy weapons, and is exercising humanitarian restraint to avoid civilian casualties, will no doubt be news to Ukrainians whose homes, schools and hospitals have been bombed, even as Russia has blocked evacuation routes for civilians trying to escape these bombardments. Welcome