Closing summary
It’s just past 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow in his first visit to Russia for four years. The state visit makes him the first world leader to meet Vladimir Putin since the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president. The pair held informal talks on Monday that lasted more than four hours, Russian state media reported, with formal negotiations to follow. The leaders are expected to sign joint declarations.
Russia and China “share the same, or some similar goals”, Xi told Putin during informal talks at the Kremlin on Monday. Upon his arrival, the state-owned news agency Tass reported that Xi had said: “China and Russia are good neighbours and reliable partners”. Xi also told him he was sure the Russian people would support Putin in the 2024 presidential election, although he has not publicly declared that he will seek another term.
Putin told Xi he welcomed Beijing’s proposal to end the “acute crisis” in Ukraine and he viewed the plan with respect. “You know that we are always ready for negotiating and we will discuss all those questions, including your suggestions,” the Russian leader told his Chinese counterpart at the Kremlin.
Ahead of the trip, Putin praised Xi as a “good old friend” in a newspaper article published in China, while Xi wrote in a Russian daily that his trip to Russia aimed to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
Any future peace plan must require Russia to withdraw its troops from all Ukrainian territory, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, has reiterated. The formula for the successful implementation of China’s “peace plan” must include the restoration of Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”, Danilov posted on Twitter.
The US secretary of state has voiced scepticism over China’s “peace” proposals to end the Ukraine conflict, warning they could be a “stalling tactic” to help Russian troops on the ground in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, has written to Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, to warn that the Ukrainian army is planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. In the letter published by his press service today, Prigozhin said the “large-scale attack” was planned for late March or the start of April. Separately, Prigozhin also intensified his attack on Shoigu, calling the minister’s son-in-law a “scumbag blogger”.
The prosecutor for the international criminal court (ICC) has said the world needs to “have the stamina” to enforce international law by trying those accused of war crimes in Ukraine, four days after the court took action against Vladimir Putin. Karim Khan also challenged the Kremlin to allow Ukrainian children abducted to Russia to return home, after his court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, on the grounds that they had overseen the forcible transfer of thousands of children.
EU ministers have reached a deal to supply Ukraine with 1m rounds of shells to bolster its defences against Russia’s invasion. EU foreign and defence ministers are still fine-tuning a €1bn plan for the joint procurement of ammunition by the Brussels-based European Defence Agency. Such an agreement would be a significant moment for the EU, which has limited experience of the joint purchase of military supplies. So far, about 15 countries are expected to take part in the voluntary initiative.
The US will send Ukraine $350m in weapons and equipment, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has announced. The latest aid package includes a large amount of various types of ammunition, such as rockets for the high-mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), Blinken said in a statement.
Norway has delivered eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a spokesperson for its armed forces has said. Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, said it would also send four special-purpose tanks from its armoured engineering and bridge layer category, the exact selection depending on what Ukraine needs the most.
Putin, speaking today before meeting China’s President Xi, said deepening ties between Moscow and African countries was a key goal for the Kremlin. In a televised address to delegates at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, Putin also said Russia would provide grain to African countries for free should the Black Sea grain deal not be extended in May.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow.
Updated
The US is “concerned” that China will reiterate calls for a ceasefire that would leave Russian troops inside Ukrainian sovereign territory, the White House’s spokesperson, John Kirby, said.
Any ceasefire that does not address the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory “would effectively ratify Russia’s illegal conquests” and enable it to entrench its positions “and then to restart the war at a more advantageous time for them”, he warned.
The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, aided by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its terms without any viable pathway to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Updated
The White House’s spokesperson, John Kirby, has been speaking at a news conference where he urged China’s president, Xi Jinping, to call on Vladimir Putin to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The “entire world would like to see this war end”, Kirby said, adding that the war “could actually end right now” if the Russian leader ordered his troops to withdraw from Ukrainian territory.
China’s “peace” proposal to end the Ukraine conflict includes “an essential point, and that’s respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries”, Kirby said.
We encourage President Xi to advocate for this exact essential key point, which must include the withdrawal of Russian forces from sovereign Ukrainian territory consistent with the UN charter.
The US hopes Xi will “press President Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals and schools, war crimes and atrocities”, he said.
Updated
Talks between Putin and Xi end after more than four hours - reports
Talks between Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and China’s Xi Jinping have concluded, Russian state media reported.
The talks lasted for four and a half hours, state-run Ria news agency reported.
Updated
Updated
Talks between Putin and Xi ‘still going on after four hours’ – reports
The Kremlin has said talks between China’s president, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin were still continuing after almost four hours, Russian news agencies reported.
State-run Ria news agency quoted the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, as saying:
The conversation is still going on.
Updated
Norway has delivered eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a spokesperson for its armed forces has said.
The donation of the Leopard tanks to Kyiv “will be decisive to their ability to conduct offensive operations and retake the lands occupied by Russia”, Lt Col Lars Jensen, the commander of Norway’s armoured battalion, was quoted saying in a statement.
🇳🇴#Norway has handed 8 #Leopard 2A4 tanks, 4 armored repair and recovery vehicles and one mobile counter-battery radar to #Ukraine, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense reported. pic.twitter.com/YP2vx0PwNB
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 20, 2023
The country’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, announced in February that Norway would send eight Leopard 2 tanks and other equipment to Ukraine.
Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, said at the time that it would also send four special purpose tanks from its armoured engineering and bridge layer category, with the exact selection depending on what Ukraine needed the most.
Updated
EU ministers have reached a deal to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of shells to bolster its defences against Russia’s invasion.
EU foreign and defence ministers are still fine-tuning a €1bn plan for the joint procurement of ammunition by the Brussels-based European Defence Agency. First proposed by Estonia and inspired by the bloc’s joint purchase of Covid vaccines, such an agreement would be a significant moment for the EU, which has limited experience of the joint purchase of military supplies. So far, about 15 countries are expected to take part in the voluntary initiative.
Ministers are also discussing a separate €1bn proposal to reimburse member states that supply Ukraine with ammunition, via the EU’s European Peace Facility (EPF). Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the EU has pledged €3.6bn to fund arms and non-lethal aid for Ukraine via the EPF, a fund created in 2021 to strengthen security. Under the latest plan, €1bn from the EPF would be earmarked to fund ammunition for Ukraine.
An EU source said the agreement covered both the €1bn joint procurement plan and €1bn EPF funding for ammunition, although final details are still being ironed out.
Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin intensified his attack on Russia’s defence chief Sergei Shoigu, calling the minister’s son-in-law a “scumbag blogger”.
In an audio message published on his social media channels, Prigozhin compared Aik Gasparyan, a Wagner fighter and convicted armed robber who he called a “hero” with Shoigu’s son-in-law, the fitness blogger Alexei Stolaryov.
Which one is better - Hayk, who committed a crime, came out and became a real hero, or a scumbag blogger who remains a vile creature.
Stolaryov is the husband of Ksenia Shoigu, the daughter of the Russian defence minister who is believed to be close with her father.
Prigozhin has previously feuded with Russia’s top brass over military tactics and the right to recruit convicts from Russian prisons for the war in Ukraine. He has also accused the country’s top military leaders of “high treason.”
In a separate letter published on Monday, Prigozhin told Shoigu that the Ukrainian army was planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his Wagner forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
The letter was the first time Prigozhin has published such correspondence with the defence minister.
Updated
The European Defence Agency has said 17 EU countries plus Norway agreed today to jointly procure ammunition to help Ukraine and to replenish their own stockpiles.
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Norway have signed the so-called project arrangement.
In a statement, the Brussels-based agency said:
The project opens the way for EU member states and Norway to proceed along two paths: a two-year, fast-track procedure for 155mm artillery rounds and a seven-year project to acquire multiple ammunition types.
More EU member states have “already expressed their intent to join the initiative soon following national procedures”, it added.
Updated
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner group, has written to Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, to warn that the Ukrainian army is planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
In the letter published by his press service today, Prigozhin said the “large-scale attack” was planned for late March or the start of April.
He asked Shoigu to “take all necessary measures to prevent the Wagner private military company being cut off from the main forces of the Russian army, which will lead to negative consequences” for Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The letter marks the first time Prigozhin has published such correspondence with the defence minister, whom he has frequently criticised over the conduct of the war, Reuters reports.
Prigozhin, who did not say how he knew of Ukraine’s plan, said he would also provide his own proposals to counter the Ukrainian offensive.
Updated
Blinken warns world ‘should not be fooled’ by Xi’s ‘peace’ proposal
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has voiced scepticism over China’s “peace” proposals to end the Ukraine conflict, warning that they could be a “stalling tactic” to help Russian troops on the ground in Ukraine.
Blinken, speaking to reporters at a briefing, said:
The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms.
Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia this week after the international criminal court’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin suggested Beijing did not think the Kremlin should be held accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine, Blinken added.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow in his first visit to Russia for four years. The state visit makes the Chinese leader the first world leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president. The pair held informal talks on Monday, with formal negotiations to follow. The two leaders are expected to sign joint declarations.
Ahead of the trip, Putin praised Xi as a “good old friend” in a newspaper article published in China, while Xi wrote in a Russian daily that his trip to Russia aimed to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
Russia and China “share the same, or some similar goals”, Xi told Putin during informal talks at the Kremlin on Monday. Upon his arrival, the state-owned news agency Tass reported that Xi had said “China and Russia are good neighbours and reliable partners”. Xi also told Putin that he was sure that the Russian people would support Putin in the 2024 presidential election, although he has not publicly declared that he will seek another term.
Putin told Xi he welcomed Beijing’s proposal to end the “acute crisis” in Ukraine and that he viewed the plan with respect. “You know that we are always ready for negotiating, and we will discuss all those questions including your suggestions,” the Russian leader told his Chinese counterpart at the Kremlin.
Any future peace plan must require Russia to withdraw its troops from all Ukrainian territory, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, has reiterated. The formula for the successful implementation of China’s “peace plan” must include the restoration of Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”, Danilov posted to Twitter.
The prosecutor for the international criminal court (ICC) has said the world needs to “have the stamina” to enforce international law by trying those accused of war crimes in Ukraine, four days after the court took action against Vladimir Putin. Karim Khan also challenged the Kremlin to allow Ukrainian children abducted to Russia to return home, after his court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, on the grounds that they had overseen the forcible transfer of thousands of children.
EU countries have agreed on a plan to give 1m artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year by digging into their own stockpiles and teaming up to buy more. Not all the details were immediately available but the plan approved by the ministers was based on a proposal from EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to spend €1bn on shells from stockpiles and €1bn more on joint procurement.
The US will send Ukraine $350m in weapons and equipment, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has announced. The latest aid package includes a large amount of various types of ammunition, such as rockets for the high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), Blinken said in a statement.
Putin, speaking today before meeting with China’s President Xi, said deepening ties between Moscow and African countries was a key goal for the Kremlin. In a televised address to delegates at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, Putin also said Russia would provide grain to African countries for free should the Black Sea grain deal not be extended in May.
Leaders of Ukraine’s Moscow-Patriarch-affiliated Orthodox Church arrived near Ukraine’s presidential administration on Monday in an attempt to meet Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The church has been under pressure since November after Ukraine’s security services began a number of investigations into the church, saying they suspected the church of spreading pro-Kremlin narratives. The church leaders say they want to clarify their pro-Ukrainian position with Zelenskiy.
Kremlin staff involved in Vladimir Putin’s 2024 presidential re-election campaign have been banned from using their iPhones because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to western intelligence agencies, according to a report.
Updated
Russia and China ‘share similar goals’, Xi tells Putin
China’s president Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that Moscow and Beijing “share similar goals” and called the Russian leader his “dear friend” during an informal meeting at the Kremlin.
Xi told Putin:
It is true that both of our countries share the same, or some similar goals. We have exerted efforts for the prosperity of our respective countries … we can cooperate and work together to achieve our goals.
Xi also said he was sure that the Russian people would support Putin in the 2024 presidential election, although he has not publicly declared that he will seek another term.
As Xi’s words were translated into Russian, Putin looked his Chinese counterpart in the eye and smiled briefly. Putin also used the term “dear friend” to his guest during the meeting.
The pair are scheduled to have dinner tonight and hold formal talks tomorrow. The menu includes blini with quail and mushrooms; sterlet sturgeon soup; pomegranate sorbet, nelma – an Arctic fish – with vegetables; venison with cherry sauce; pavlova; and wines from Russia’s southern Krasnodar region.
Updated
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has described an agreement by the bloc’s member states on a plan to give 1m artillery shells to Ukraine as a “historic decision”.
EU foreign and defence ministers, meeting today in Brussels, approved the plan based on Borrell’s proposal to spend €1bn on shells from stockpiles and €1bn more on joint procurement.
A historic decision.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) March 20, 2023
Following my proposal, Member States agreed to deliver 1 mio rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months.
We have a 3 track approach:
1) €1 bn for immediate delivery
2) €1 bn for joint procurement
3) commission to ramp up production capacity pic.twitter.com/CCNOaxE4bk
Ministers discussed a plan for the joint procurement of 155mm ammunition by the Brussels-based European Defence Agency. Such a move marks a significant moment for the EU, which has limited experience of the joint purchase of military supplies.
Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said his country would be among those joining the joint procurement initiative, describing it as “new territory” for the EU. He said:
Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year.
Updated
US announces $350m in additional military aid to Ukraine
The US will send Ukraine $350m in weapons and equipment, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has announced.
The latest aid package includes a large amount of various types of ammunition, such as rockets for the high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), Blinken said in a statement.
Updated
Here are some images we have received from the news wires of President Vladimir Putin meeting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the Kremlin this afternoon.
Updated
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, speaking earlier today, said the arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin would not expire if and when the war in Ukraine ends.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Khan said:
There’s no statute of limitations for war crimes. That’s one of the principles of Nuremberg, and individuals – wherever they are in the world – need to realise the law is present and there are responsibilities that come with authority.
The arrest warrant for Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, would stay for the rest of their lives “unless they present themselves to the independent judges of the court and the judges, on the merits, decide to dismiss a case”, he said.
Updated
The international criminal court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim Khan, has said that the arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes was a “sombre” occasion and not one for “triumphalism” or “backslapping”.
Khan was addressing a meeting of international justice ministers in London to ask for extra cash to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including the potential prosecution of Putin for overseeing the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia. He said:
It is really a very sad occasion and a very sombre occasion, that for the first time ever, judges of the international criminal court, of any court, have felt it necessary to issue warrants against a leader and senior state officials from a permanent member of the (UN) security council.
In granting the request for warrants by Khan, a panel of judges agreed on Friday that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, bore responsibility for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
In a statement on Friday, Khan said incidents identified by his office included “the deportation of at least hundreds of children taken from orphanages and children’s care homes.”
Many of the children had been put up for adoption in Russia, he said, adding that Putin had issued a decree expediting the conferral of Russian citizenship on the children, making them easier to adopt.
Speaking today, Khan said:
I say repatriate the children, return the children, reunite the children. If there is any semblance of truth to the utterances that this is for the sake of children, instead of giving them a foreign passport, return them to the countries of their nationality.
Updated
Vladimir Putin will provide Xi Jinping with “clarifications” on Russia’s point of view on the Ukraine conflict during the Chinese leader’s state visit to Russia, the Kremlin has said.
During a call with reporters, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the two presidents would discuss themes in the peace plan for Ukraine proposed by China.
President Xi, in remarks at the Kremlin, said he was “sure” the Russian people would support Putin in next year’s presidential election.
Speaking at the start of informal talks, Xi told Putin:
I know that next year there will be another presidential election in your country. Thanks to your strong leadership, Russia has made significant progress in achieving the prosperity of the country in recent years. I am sure that the Russian people will strongly support you in your good endeavours.
Reuters notes that Xi called Putin his “dear friend”, and that the Russian leader used the same term to his guest.
Putin welcomes China’s plan to settle ‘acute crisis’
In remarks at the Kremlin, Putin told Xi he welcomed Beijing’s proposal to end the “acute crisis” in Ukraine and that he viewed the plan with respect.
The Russian leader told his Chinese counterpart:
You know that we are always ready for negotiating, and we will discuss all those questions including your suggestions.
He also said that Russia was “slightly envious” of China’s rapid development in recent decades.
Updated
Putin and Xi meet in Moscow
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has arrived at the Kremlin for an informal meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to Chinese and Russian state media.
Formal talks are scheduled for tomorrow.
From France Télévisions’ Lionel Feuerstein:
A l’instant, image de la première rencontre entre Xi Jingping et Vladimir Poutine au Kremlin pic.twitter.com/5F0I7cRAOY
— Lionel Feuerstein (@olesmains) March 20, 2023
Updated
President Vladimir Putin has been speaking at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference in Moscow, where he said deepening ties between Moscow and African countries was a key goal for the Kremlin.
The Russian leader, in a televised address to delegates, said:
Let me emphasise that our country has always given – and will continue to give – priority to cooperation with African states.
Putin also said Russia would provide grain to African countries for free should the Black Sea grain deal not be extended in May.
The deal, brokered last July by the UN and Turkey, allows the safe export of grain from Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea ports. The agreement was renewed on Saturday for 60 days – half the intended period – after Moscow said any further extension would depend on the removal of some western sanctions.
Speaking today, Putin claimed grain exports under the deal had unfairly prioritised “well-fed European markets” rather than African countries, and that the renewal of the deal on Russia’s terms was in the continent’s interests.
He said that if the deal were not renewed, Moscow could supply free grain to “especially needy African countries”, without elaborating.
Updated
EU agrees to supply 1m rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine
EU member states have agreed to supply 1m rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, Estonia’s defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, has confirmed.
Pevkur, on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels, told reporters:
We have reached a political consensus to send to Ukraine 1m rounds of 155mm calibre ammunition.
The shells will be sent within 12 months, he said, adding that there were “many, many” details to be solved but that “it is most important that we conclude these negotiations and it shows me one thing: if there is a will, there is a way.”
Updated
Leaders of Ukraine’s Moscow-Patriarch-affiliated Orthodox Church arrived near Ukraine’s presidential administration on Monday in an attempt to meet Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The church leaders say they want to clarify their pro-Ukrainian position with Zelenskiy. The church has been under pressure since November after Ukraine’s security services began a number of investigations into the church, saying they suspected the church of spreading pro-Kremlin narratives.
Ukraine’s security services said they discovered pro-Russian literature and even arrested suspected Russian agents, though members of the church have denied the charges and claimed that the materials were planted. Zelenskiy has also put several key members of the church under domestic sanctions. Though the church has not been outlawed, Zelenskiy said that any religious organisation judged to be working for Russia would be banned.
There has been internal division in the Ukrainian church over whether to fully break with Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill, who has blessed Russian soldiers and equipment. Though they insist they are independent, many in the church see themselves as part of the Russian sphere of influence. In 2019, part of the church broke and established a Ukrainian Orthodox Church which is recognised by the patriarch of Constantipole but not by Moscow.
In March, Ukraine’s authorities announced that the church’s agreement to hold services in Kyiv’s Pecherska Lavra, the home of Eastern Orthodoxy, would be terminated.
The leaders of the Moscow-Patriarch-affiliated Orthodox Church issued a statement as they gathered outside the presidential administration, requesting a meeting with the president. The synod described the media portrayal of their church as “distorted and false”.
Members of the holy synod wrote an appeal to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and want to personally explain to him the situation as it really is. We came to convey to the president the position not only of the members of the holy synod, but also of millions of believers of the [Ukrainian Orthodox Church]. We believe that the president is not being given true information about the [Ukrainian Orthodox Church].
A representative of Ukraine’s presidential administration came out to meet with them and offered to pass on their messages. The head of the church, Metropolitan Onufriy, said he hoped to do this in person at a meeting with Zelenskiy.
Updated
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, has reiterated Kyiv’s demands that any future peace plan must require Russia to withdraw its troops from all Ukrainian territory.
The formula for the successful implementation of China’s “peace plan” must include the restoration of Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”, Danilov writes.
🇨🇳🇷🇺visit. The formula for the successful implementation of China’s “Peace Plan”. The first and major point is the capitulation or withdrawal of the russian occupation troops from 🇺🇦 territory in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter.
— Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) March 20, 2023
In order to restore sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
— Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) March 20, 2023
Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, said Kyiv expects China to use its influence on Russia to put an end to the war.
Kyiv is “closely” following President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, Nikolenko said in a statement to Reuters shortly after the Chinese leader landed in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart.
The statement continued:
We expect Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to make it put an end to the aggressive war against Ukraine.
Ukraine stood “ready to engage in a closer dialogue with China in order to restore peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and the latest [UN general assembly] resolution on this matter”, it added.
Updated
EU foreign ministers have agreed a €2bn plan to raid their stockpiles and jointly buy desperately needed artillery shells for Ukraine, AFP reported, citing diplomats.
Foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels agreed on a multi-pronged initiative aimed at providing Ukraine with 1m shells in the next year and replenishing their own stocks, according to diplomats.
Ukraine has said its forces are rationing firepower as Russia’s invasion has turned into a grinding war of attrition. Kyiv has said it wants 350,000 shells a month to help its troops hold back Moscow’s onslaught and allow them to launch fresh counterattacks later in the year.
Updated
British government calls on Xi to urge Putin to stop 'bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals and schools'
Downing Street said the president of China, Xi Jinping, should use his state visit to Moscow to urge President Putin to “cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals, schools”.
A spokesperson for the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
China has spoken previously about the importance of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity in Ukraine.
We would like to see President Xi advocate for this point when he speaks to Putin.
This war and its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty could end today if Russia withdrew its troops from Ukraine.
So we hope President Xi uses this opportunity to press President Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals, schools, and to halt some of these atrocities that we are seeing on a daily basis.
Updated
Kremlin staff involved in Vladimir Putin’s 2024 presidential re-election campaign have been banned from using their iPhones because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to western intelligence agencies, according to a report.
Officials in the Russian presidential administration’s domestic policy, public projects, state council and IT department face a 1 April deadline to change their phones, the Kommersant daily reported, citing an unnamed source.
An official was quoted as saying:
The iPhone is over. Either throw it away or give it to children. Everyone will have to do it in March.
The Kremlin believes iPhones are more susceptible to hacking and espionage by western specialists than other smartphones, the paper writes.
Citing its source, the paper said officials were urged to replace their iPhones with Androids or their Chinese or Russian-made analogues.
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters:
Whatever they are, there is no difference. Any smartphone is quite a transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system, Android or iOS. Naturally, they are not used for official purposes.
Updated
Here’s a clip of China’s president, Xi Jinping, being greeted by Russia’s deputy prime minister, Dmitry Chernyshenko, on his arrival in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin.
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has called for more artillery ammunition for Kyiv “as fast as possible” as EU ministers meet in Brussels to try to finalise a plan to supply his country with much-needed artillery shells.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, is seeking approval for a proposal to provide €1bn to encourage member nations to provide artillery shells from their own stocks. The EU’s aim is to provide Ukraine with 1m 155mm artillery shells this year.
More artillery ammunition for Ukraine as fast as possible. This was the main focus of today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council. I anticipate the swift adoption of big decisions which will bolster Ukraine’s capabilities on the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/oQpIZDa3EJ
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 20, 2023
Updated
Russia’s investigative committee has said it has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges at the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague, who on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The committee said the ICC’s arrest warrant was “obviously illegal, as there are no grounds for criminal prosecution”.
Updated
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will “inevitably” discuss aspects of a peace plan proposed by China to end the conflict in Ukraine during Xi’s state visit to Russia, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian leader will provide his Chinese counterpart with “exhaustive clarifications” on Moscow’s perspective so that President Xi “can get a first-hand view of the current moment from the Russian side”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said:
One way or another, the topics that figured in this plan will inevitably be touched upon during the exchange of views on Ukraine.
Xi is due to hold one-on-one “informal” talks with Putin this afternoon, followed by dinner. Formal talks are scheduled for tomorrow.
China’s 12-point paper on the “political resolution of the Ukraine crisis” calls for both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation leading to a comprehensive ceasefire, but does not contain a roadmap for how to end the war. The plan has been largely dismissed by western leaders and received lukewarm welcomes in both Russia and Ukraine.
Asked if Beijing could become an intermediary between Moscow and Washington, Peskov declined to answer directly. He said:
For the time being, we see a continuing line on preventing any slowdown in hostilities. Washington, the state department and the US national security council are talking about this openly and officially.
Updated
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has been pictured arriving at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport for a state visit to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
A Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Chernyshenko, was seen greeting Xi on the tarmac before the pair walked past honour guards during a welcome ceremony for the Chinese leader.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here taking over the live blog from Martin Belam to bring you all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow on his first visit to Russia for four years. The state visit makes the Chinese leader the first world leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s president. The pair are scheduled to have informal talks on Monday, with more formal negotiations to follow. The two leaders are expected to sign joint declarations.
Upon his arrival, state owned news agency Tass reported Xi had said “China and Russia are good neighbours and reliable partners”. The Chinese president said he expects that the visit to Russia will give a new impetus to the development of Russian-Chinese relations and strategic cooperation.
Ahead of the trip, Putin praised Xi as a “good old friend” in a newspaper article published in China while Xi wrote in a Russian daily that his trip to Russia aimed to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday the international criminal court (ICC) should take a just position. China will continue to take an objective and just role in the Ukraine crisis, and play a constructive role in peace talks, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told the media at a regular news briefing.
The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin will have serious consequences for international law.
Justice ministers from over 40 countries the are meeting in London today to discuss raising funds for the ICC to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The conference is being co-hosted by the UK and the Dutch government
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has spoken ahead of a meeting today on arms procurement for Ukraine. He told the media: “Together, foreign affairs and defence (ministers) will, I hope, finish the agreement on providing ammunition to Ukraine”. French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said “We need to help Ukraine quickly and straight away.”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called the international criminal court’s arrest warrant against Putin a “turning point” in the conflict. In Zelensky’s nightly address, he said the warrant marked a “truly significant international legal result for Ukraine, for justice … The moment after which it becomes undeniable that the end of this aggression for Russia will be the full range of its responsibility.”
The British Ministry of Defence claims in its daily intelligence briefing that “Over the past three weeks, Russian forces have made creeping gains around the Ukrainian-held Donbas town of Avdiivka”. It assesses the situation to be “Tactically … similar to that in the larger town of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces continue organised defence, but their supply lines to the west are increasingly threatened by the Russian envelopment operation.”
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces says the military has repelled 69 Russian assaults in five areas over the past 24 hours.
A Russian court on Monday froze all Volkswagen assets in Russia, court documents seen by Reuters showed.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for today. Léonie Chao-Fong will be here shortly to take you through the next few hours of our live coverage.
Updated
Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency, has tweeted to say that Russia will not evade justice. Referring to the meeting today in London about investigating war crimes committed within the borders of Ukraine, he posted:
On this day a year ago, six European countries began investigating Russian war crimes. Today, the legal machine is gaining momentum. Nothing can stop justice. No matter what criminals try to do, they can’t escape punishment.
French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said Ukraine needed to be helped straight away, as EU foreign ministers gathered to debate arms supplies for Kyiv.
“We need to help Ukraine quickly and straight away,” Reuters reports Colonna as saying in Brussels.
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, had earlier said he hoped for a deal on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine at the meeting, warning of problems should ministers fail to agree
Updated
Xi says Russia and China are 'good neighbours and reliable partners' as he arrives in Moscow
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow in his first visit to Russia for four years. The state visit makes the Chinese leader the first world leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s president.
The pair are scheduled to have informal talks on Monday, with more formal negotiations to follow. The two leaders are expected to sign joint declarations.
Upon his arrival, state-owned news agency Tass reports:
China and Russia are good neighbours and reliable partners, Xi Jinping said upon his arrival in Moscow on a state visit.
He noted that China is ready, together with Russia, to guard the world order based on international law.
The Chinese President expects that the visit to Russia will give a new impetus to the development of Russian-Chinese relations and strategic cooperation.
Putin previously praised “good old friend” Xi in a newspaper article published in China on the eve of the visit. In an article published on Sunday, Putin welcomed China’s willingness to play what he characterised as a “constructive role” in solving the Ukraine “crisis”.
Xi had in turn published an article in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, in which he called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine. He said China’s proposal, a 12-point paper released last month and largely dismissed by the west, represents “as much as possible the unity of the world community’s views”.
Updated
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has chosen to post to Telegram just as Xi Jinping arrives to visit Vladimir Putin. Zelenskiy writes:
When the Ukrainian people defend themselves, when the force of the UN Charter and the force of justice are restored on our land, this will guarantee peace for many other parts of the world as well.
Updated
Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow, Reuters reports, citing Chinese state media CCTV.
Tass reports that the Chinese leader’s plane landed at the capital’s Vnukovo airport at 12.59 Moscow time.
Updated
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has spoken ahead of a meeting today on arms procurement for Ukraine. Reuters reports that he told the media: “Together, foreign affairs and defence (ministers) will, I hope, finish the agreement on providing ammunition to Ukraine.”
Without a deal, the EU will find itself in difficulties to keep on supplying arms to Kyiv, Borrell warned.
Updated
A Russian court on Monday froze all Volkswagen assets in Russia, court documents seen by Reuters showed.
Volkswagen was one of a string of foreign carmakers that suspended operations in Russia after western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian auto manufacturer GAZ, which was contracted to produce Volkswagen vehicles at its factory in Nizhny Novgorod, had sued the German carmaker for breach of contract after Volkswagen terminated the agreement in August.
Here are some of the latest images to be sent to us over the news wires from Ukraine.
Associated Press reports that European Union ministers will meet today to try to finalise a plan to supply Ukraine with artillery shells, replenish their own national stocks and ramp up Europe’s defence industry.
The 27-nation bloc’s foreign and defence ministers will discuss the plan at a joint session in Brussels. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba is due to provide an update of the latest developments in the war and set out his country’s military needs.
The EU’s aim is to provide Ukraine with 1m 155-mm artillery shells this year. EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, who is chairing the meeting, is seeking approval for a proposal to provide €1bn euros (£870m GBP / $1.1bn USD)
Updated
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday the international criminal court (ICC) should take a just position, in response to a question on ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China will continue to take an objective and just role in the Ukraine crisis, and play a constructive role in peace talks, Reuters reports spokesperson Wang Wenbin told the media at a regular news briefing.
President Xi Jinping is due in Moscow later today, the first world leader to meet directly with Putin since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president.
The British Ministry of Defence has issued its daily intelligence briefing on the situation in Ukraine. It says:
Over the past three weeks, Russian forces have made creeping gains around the Ukrainian-held Donbas town of Avdiivka, immediately north of Donetsk city. Avdiivka has been on the frontline of the Donbas conflict since 2014; the city is now largely destroyed. Tactically, the situation is similar to that in the larger town of Bakhmut, further north. Ukrainian forces continue organised defence, but their supply lines to the west are increasingly threatened by the Russian envelopment operation.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 20 March 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 20, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/RUOZvpV91Q
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ahiysSYYdz
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that in the past 24 hours “Russian military shelled civilian infrastructure in the area of 17 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region”. The claim has not been independently verified.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
The weekly report from US-based policy research organisation, the Institute for the Study of War, says the prospective Ukrainian counteroffensive near Bakhmut or in southern Ukraine is of growing concern for Russia.
The report goes on to say
The tempo of Russian offensive operations across the theater has slowed in recent weeks, suggesting that the Russian spring offensive in Donbas may be nearing culmination.
Ukrainian officials have indicated that significant Russian losses near Vuhledar are severely inhibiting Russian forces’ capacity to conduct further offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his first visit to recently-occupied Ukraine to portray himself as an involved wartime leader amid exaggerated responses in the Russian nationalist information space over fears of a possible future Ukrainian counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.
The Institute also analyses the comments of former Russian officer Igor Girkin who has indicated there are likely deepening fractures within the top levels of Russian military leadership.
NEW: Tonight's report discusses growing Russian concern about a prospective Ukrainian counteroffensive near Bakhmut or in southern Ukraine and Russian efforts to prepare mitigations for these claimed efforts. https://t.co/e84fWxvjV3 pic.twitter.com/9KgsqplPZo
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 20, 2023
Former #Russian officer, convicted war criminal, and prominent critical nationalist milblogger Igor #Girkin indicated that there are likely deepening fractures within the top levels of Russian military leadership. https://t.co/e84fWxvjV3 https://t.co/jxGv4KcwKY
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 20, 2023
2/ #Girkin’s comments may indicate that there are considerable tensions between the Russian military command and the FSB, as well as within the FSB itself. Girkin’s acerbic commentary continues to provide insight into growing inner circle frictions. https://t.co/e84fWxvjV3
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 20, 2023
Ukraine 'repels 69 Russian assaults in 24 hours', says military
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces says the military has repelled 69 Russian assaults in five areas over the past 24 hours.
Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on conducting offensives toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mariinka, and Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk according to the military’s morning update, posted on facebook.
The general staff claims Russia launched six missiles, 13 airstrikes and 56 rocket systems attacks against Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Bakhmut remains the epicenter of the fighting, according to the military.
If you missed this feature which came out over the weekend, it tells the story of the Shulik family’s experience defending their hometown of Bakhmut:
Updated
The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin will have serious consequences for international law.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Medvedev wrote:
They decided to try a president of ... a nuclear power that does not participate in the ICC on the same grounds as the United States and other countries.
The consequences for international law will be monstrous.
ICC asks for money to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine
Justice ministers from over 40 countries the are meeting in London today to discuss raising funds for the International Criminal Court to pursue Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The conference is being co-hosted by the UK and the Dutch government and comes after the ICC on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Putin for overseeing the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia.
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the international criminal court, will be pleading for more cash as the ICC’s budget has not been increased even though it has 40 investigators working inside Ukraine.
British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday:
We are gathering in London today united by one cause: to hold war criminals to account for the atrocities committed in Ukraine during this unjust, unprovoked and unlawful invasion.
You can read more from our diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, here:
Updated
Chinese president to arrive in Moscow today
The Chinese president Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, which comes as a a political boost for the Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes on Friday.
The Russian government says Xi is due to arrive at midday Monday and later meet with Putin in an informal one-on-one meeting followed by dinner. Negotiations will then take place on Tuesday.
Xi will be attempting to present himself as a peacemaker without compromising his stance as a “good old friend” to Putin – as the Russian leader put it in a newspaper article published in China.
Xi has published his own article in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, in which he called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
He said China’s proposal, a 12-point paper released last month and largely dismissed by the west, reflects global views and seeks to neutralise consequences.
However, he acknowledged that the solutions are not easy. According to Reuters’ translation from Russian, Xi writes:
The document serves as a constructive factor in neutralizing the consequences of the crisis and promoting a political settlement.
Complex problems do not have simple solutions.
You can read this preview on the visit from my colleagues Pjotr Sauer and Amy Hawkins:
Updated
Opening summary
Hello and welcome back to our continuing live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. This is Natasha May with the latest developments.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be touching down in Moscow today as he begins a three day visit, which will make him the first global leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president.
Putin praised Xi as a “good old friend” in a newspaper article published in China while Xi wrote in a Russian daily that his trip to Russia aimed to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
Beijing has touted the trip as a “visit for peace” meaning Xi will be walking a tightrope wanting to play the role of peacemaker while using the meeting to strengthen ties with his ally. Xi and Putin will have an informal one-on-one meeting and dinner on Monday before negotiations take place on Tuesday.
The visit from Xi comes as justice ministers from more than 40 countries are meeting in London to discuss scaling up support for the International Criminal Court after it issued that arrest warrant for Putin.
We’ll have more details on those meetings in Moscow and London shortly. In the meantime, here are the other key recent developments:
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called the international criminal court’s arrest warrant against Putin a “turning point” in the conflict. In Zelensky’s nightly address, he said the warrant marked a “truly significant international legal result for Ukraine, for justice … The moment after which it becomes undeniable that the end of this aggression for Russia will be the full range of its responsibility.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence accused Putin of visiting Mariupol on Saturday “under the cover of night” in order to avoid showing destruction of city. In a Twitter post the ministry said “darkness allows him to highlight what he wants to show, and keeps … its few surviving inhabitants away from prying eyes.”
Britain and Ukraine have signed a digital trade deal, which will give Ukraine access to electronic financial services to aid reconstruction efforts. The UK department of business and trade said trading digitally was particularly important in the conflict, because damage to Ukrainian infrastructure and warfare had made it much harder to trade physically.
Ukraine’s armed forces have released their latest estimate for war casualties, although the Guardian cannot verify them. The country’s army now claims to have killed 164,910 Russian troops since the start of the war. Of these, they say 710 were killed in the 24 hours to Sunday morning. They also report having destroyed eight Russian artillery systems since Saturday.
A shortage of explosives is hampering the efforts of European countries to provide Ukraine with arms, according to a report. Industry insiders told the Financial Times that gunpowder, plastic explosives and TNT are in short supply and could delay a planned ramping up of shell production by as much as three years. It means Europe’s defence industry may be unable to meet expected EU orders for Ukraine.
Serbia’s president attacked the decision to issue an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, saying it will only prolong the war in Ukraine. Aleksandar Vučić, who has previously boasted of his personal relationship with the Russian leader, told reporters in Belgrade: “I think issuing an arrest warrant for Putin, not to go into legal matters, will have bad political consequences and it says that there is a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce.”
