No path to peace: Five key takeaways from Xi and Putin’s talks in Moscow
From CNN's Simone McCarthy
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a sweeping affirmation of their alignment across a host of issues – and shared mistrust of the United States – in a lengthy statement following talks between the two leaders in Moscow this week.
Their meeting, which took place under the shadow of Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine, left no question about Beijing’s commitment to developing its rapport with Moscow, despite Putin’s growing isolation on the global stage as its devastating war continues into its second year.
It also failed to move the needle on bringing that conflict to resolution.
Instead, Xi’s three-day visit to the Russian capital, which concluded Wednesday, was an opportunity for the two self-described “friends” to showcase their close personal rapport amid the pomp of a state visit – and lay out how they could advance a world order that counters one they see as led by Washington and its democratic allies.
The meeting culminated in more than a dozen agreements bolstering cooperation in areas from trade and technology to state propaganda, according to a Kremlin list. The leaders’ central statement focused on how the two countries would “deepen” their relationship.
Ukrainian prosecutor general meets European Parliament president in Brussels
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio and Svitlana Vlasova
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin attends a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters on February 17, in Brussels, Belgium. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)During a meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin thanked European Parliament President Roberta Metsola for the institution’s support in assuring Russia is held accountable for crimes committed during its invasion.
Reiterating the Ukrainian demand for the establishment of a special tribunal to deal with Russian aggression, he called on the EU and the European parliament to support his proposal.
“We hope that the EU and the European Parliament will support our position as the most realistic and optimal way to restore justice and prevent possible armed conflicts in the future,” he said.
Ukraine expected to be on the agenda when Spanish prime minister visits China
From CNN's Al Goodman in Madrid
Pedro Sanchez attends the second session of the motion of censure, at the Congress of Deputies, in Madrid, Spain, on March 22. (Eduardo Parra/Europa Press/Getty Images)Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a state visit to China next week, a senior aide told CNN.
The senior aide said the US government has been informed about Sanchez's March 31 trip, which came at the invitation of Xi to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Madrid and Beijing.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said it has no information to provide regarding the matter.
Spain is among a number of NATO allies that have agreed to send modern tanks to Ukraine and has trained 800 Ukrainian troops in the Iberian country since the start of war.
Sánchez visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv last month on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.
China, meanwhile, has attempted to position itself as a peace broker in the conflict despite its growing relationship with Russia. Xi departed Moscow on Wednesday after pledging to deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin during a three-day state visit. Their talks failed to achieve a breakthrough on Ukraine.
Ukraine will be able to go on the offensive in Bakhmut "very soon," says top commander
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio and Svitlana Vlasova
Ukrainian soldiers ride atop a tank on the front line in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 22. (Libkos/AP)The ongoing depletion of Russian forces fighting for Bakhmut will allow Ukraine go on the counteroffensive in the eastern city "very soon," a top Ukrainian general said in a Telegram post on Thursday.
“Very soon, we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyin Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupyansk," he said, referring to instances where Russian troops have previously retreated in the face of Ukrainian counteroffensives.
Syrskyi said Russian forces — made up mostly of fighters from the Wagner private military company — continue to try and take Bakhmut “at any cost, despite losses in both manpower and equipment.”
The commander, who has paid frequent visits to soldiers close to the front line in and around Bakhmut, also paid tribute to Ukrainian soldiers defending the city.
“Under continuous fire from enemy artillery and aircraft, our soldiers at the front demonstrate superhuman resilience, courage and bravery,” he said. “In particular, the units of the 93rd, 10th, 57th and 5th Brigades who are now defending our homeland in the east of the country.”
Some context: In an update Wednesday, Ukraine's military said Russia's offensive capacity is diminishing in and around Bakhmut as Moscow's forces expend large numbers of troops trying to capture the city in fierce fighting.
Death toll rises to 9 after Kyiv drone attack
From CNN's Josh Pennington
A security personnel stands guard at a site of a building heavily damaged by Russian drone strikes in Kyiv region, on March 22. (Alina Yarysh/Reuters)At least nine people have now been confirmed dead as a result of a Russian drone attack on the Kyiv region on Tuesday night, Ukraine's state emergency service said in a statement Thursday.
The service said it has completed rescue and recovery efforts after recovering nine bodies from the destroyed building.
On Tuesday, a wave of Russian attacks with Iran-made Shahed drones hit a residential building in the town of Rzhyshchiv, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of the capital.
"We are not afraid": Zaporizhzhia missile strike survivor says his family won't be forced out of their home
From CNN's Helen Regan, Olga Voitovich and Svitlana Vlasova
Rescuers stand in front of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on March 22. (Stringer/Reuters)Kyrylo Chorine was inside an apartment block in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, just meters from where the blast struck from a Russian missile attack.
Using a torch to point out his apartment, the 20-year-old student told CNN outside the complex that he “heard an explosion and saw a fire.”
Inside, all the windows are blown out. Chorine said his father was standing by a window when the explosion happened and narrowly avoided being killed. Still, Chorine and his parents say they will not be forced out of their home.
“We are mostly angry. We are not afraid. Why would we be? It is our home,” he said. “I will sleep at my bed. My parents will sleep at their beds. It will be a little bit cold because we don’t have windows but we are not going anywhere.”
At least one person was killed and 34 others injured after Russian missiles hit two Zaporizhzhia apartment blocks on Wednesday, in what has been described as a “deliberate strike” to “kill civilians,” according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “bestial savagery” on social media app Telegram and later said the wave of Russian strikes Wednesday would be met with a reply from Ukraine.
Russia launches deadly strikes across Ukraine as China's Xi departs Moscow
From CNN's Helen Regan, Olga Voitovich and Svitlana Vlasova
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on March 22. (Stringer/Reuters)Russia unleashed a wave of deadly attacks on towns and cities across Ukraine on Wednesday as Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed from Moscow following talks with President Vladimir Putin.
Xi left Russia’s capital pledging to deepen ties with Putin but the meetings failed to achieve a breakthrough on Ukraine.
As Xi flew back to Beijing, Russia’s military launched a barrage of strikes with Iran-made Shahed drones on Ukraine’s Kyiv region, killing at least eight people, according to Ukrainian authorities. Andrii Niebytov, the Kyiv region’s police chief, said seven others were injured when a drone struck a dormitory building in the town of Rzhyshchiv.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, at least one person was killed and 34 injured — including two children — after Russian missiles hit apartment blocks, in what has been described as a “deliberate strike” to “kill civilians,” according to senior Ukrainian official and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
Video of the attack shows an explosion blasting through the side of two nine-story residential buildings.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said in a statement at least six missiles hit the city, causing extensive damage.
Xi’s trip fails to create path to peace: Wednesday’s wave of attacks in Ukraine came as Putin wrapped up hosting his Chinese counterpart in Moscow following a three-day state visit billed by Beijing as a peace mission, but which failed to achieve any breakthrough on resolving the conflict.
Both leaders called for the cessation of actions that “increase tensions” and “prolong” the war, according to their joint statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry. The statement did not acknowledge that Russia’s invasion and military assault were the cause of ongoing violence and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Read more here.
China's top diplomat praises Xi's trip to Russia, rejecting "unilateralism and hegemonism"
From CNN’s Shawn Deng and Radina Gigova
China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a news conference in Beijing on March 7. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Wednesday his country's relationship with Russia could be "even more precious in the face of rampant unilateralism and hegemonism" as he praised leader Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow.
Qin described the relations between China and Russia as representing “the correct direction of historical development” and having “world significance beyond the scope of the two sides,” according to a statement released after Xi's state visit.
China and Russia will continue to uphold “good-neighborliness and mutual trust,” as Xi’s decision to choose Russia as his first foreign visit in his new presidency was a political decision made after careful consideration, Qin said.
In addition to praising the cooperation and friendship with Russia, Qin reiterated China’s stance on what the statement describes as the "Ukrainian crisis."
“Certain countries deliberately obstruct peace talks for their own geopolitical interests, and even concocted all kinds of rumors and fallacies to attack and discredit China,” Qin said.
He added that China is “neither the maker nor the party” involved in the crisis but “an advocate” that supports a political settlement and promotes peace talks.
The statement did not name the country obstructing peace talks.
Some context: Meetings between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week yielded no breakthrough on resolving the Ukraine conflict. Both leaders called for the cessation of actions that “increase tensions” and “prolong” the war, according to their joint statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry. The statement did not acknowledge that Russia’s invasion and military assault were the cause of ongoing violence and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Risk of nuclear conflict at highest level in decades, Russian minister says
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov delivers a speech during a session of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland on March 2. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)The risk of a nuclear conflict is now at its highest level in decades, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday, according to state-run news agency Tass.
Ryabkov reiterated that Moscow is not departing "from the key provisions, doctrinal and political ones." He said non-nuclear states, especially those not aligned with the United States, should "more loudly to call to order politicians in the Western capitals, including Washington, who have absolutely lost their sense of reality."
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was suspending his country's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US during his much-delayed annual State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly.
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