Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russia's relationship with superpower China came into the spotlight when President Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Relations between the two countries with the West became increasingly tense, while the alliance between them seemed to flourish.

Analysts say the relationship is complex, with interests and needs that bring them together, such as trade, investment and a shared hostility toward the West, and others that bring them further apart, such as Russia's unpredictability on the world stage and ongoing invasion. Ukraine.

Like it or not, the relationship between Russia and China is “inevitable,” Sam Green, director of the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told CNBC.

“It may be an exaggeration to call them strategic partners, but they are strategically aligned in many respects, perhaps not entirely of their own making and perhaps not entirely to their liking, but certainly as a result of the decisions they have made.” “There have been decisions made and decisions made by Western governments that have really pushed them together,” Green said on Wednesday.

“Neither Putin nor Xi can achieve what they want to achieve, both domestically and internationally, without the support of the other. However, it is not the same, and China has many, many options and much more flexibility than Russia does.” ” he added.

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– Holly Eliatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a two-day state visit to China.

After the two leaders and their delegations held talks that lasted about 45 minutes, Putin said in a press conference that the discussions were “warm and comradely” and demonstrated the importance of the relationship, in statements reported by Reuters.

He said that it was “logical” that his first foreign trip after being re-elected for a fifth term in office would be to China, Russia's most important ally in the world.

Putin thanked Xi for the warm welcome at the beginning of the trip. Earlier, the leaders held talks during which Putin said they discussed trade, investment, deepening energy cooperation and the thorny issue of Ukraine.

Putin said Russia was grateful to China for trying to resolve what Beijing calls the Ukrainian “crisis,” and said he would brief Xi on the situation in Ukraine, where Russian forces are making daily gains during a new offensive in the country's northeast.

The leaders earlier signed a joint statement on deepening the “strategic partnership of cooperation for a new era,” Xinhua News Agency reported. Other Russian and Chinese officials are reportedly scheduled to sign 10 more documents, although it is uncertain what those potential bilateral agreements relate to.

– Holly Eliatt

Sergei Shoigu, the new Secretary General of the Russian Security Council, said that Russian forces are advancing in all directions in Ukraine.

“As the Supreme Commander (Vladimir Putin) said, this is clear and clear, the attack is underway in all directions and is going well,” Shoigu said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, reported by RIA Novosti. .

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of two more settlements in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, benefiting from the daily gains they were making in the northeast of the country as momentum increased in a new attack.

Shoigu spoke with pro-Kremlin journalist Zarubin on Thursday as part of the Russian delegation to China, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a two-day state visit. Former Defense Minister Shoigu is part of the delegation visiting Beijing that also includes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Central Bank President Elvira Nabiullina.

Shoigu was replaced by Belousov after the government reshuffle carried out by President Vladimir Putin last week. The move to the Security Council was considered a demotion. Shoigu said on Thursday that his main focus in his new role remains the “special military operation.”

“It is difficult to pinpoint any one (mission), but the main task remains a special military operation – the production of ammunition, weapons and military equipment. I think this is the main task for all of us,” he commented.

– Holly Eliatt

On Wednesday, the Estonian Parliament approved a law allowing assets owned by Russia, which were frozen under international sanctions, to be used to compensate Ukraine for war damage.

Estonia's Constitutional Committee said in a statement that the country can play a leading role in creating a legal framework for using these assets for compensation.

Under this law, a foreign state that has suffered damage proven by international law – such as Ukraine – can file a claim for compensation in Estonia.

The terms of use of the assets as an “advance payment for damage compensation” will then be agreed with the claimant state. The relationship between the owner of the assets and the illegal acts must be proven.

“Russia is an aggressor state, and the burden of compensating for the war damage it has caused cannot be left to Ukraine and its allies,” said Hendrik Johannes Terras, head of Estonia’s Constitutional Committee. “Russia is responsible for causing the damage and must bear that responsibility.” A committee.

“Estonia is proposing a mechanism that would provide for the responsibility of persons and companies directly involved in or contributing to the aggression,” Terras added.

This comes after European Union ambassadors last week reached an agreement on using profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Details have not yet been published and the law has not been approved by European Union leaders.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington has the ability to seize Russian assets in the United States to use to help rebuild Ukraine, and that it plans to do so.

-Jenny Reed

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in a meeting with military leaders that Russian defense and security spending could reach 8.7% or more of gross domestic product this year, state media agency RIA Novosti reported.

“This is a huge resource, and we are obligated to use it very efficiently and effectively,” Putin said, according to a Google translation of quotes published by the state news agency.

Putin said social obligations to citizens such as education and health care should also continue despite the additional expenses.

The Russian President said that the increasing amount of funds used for defense was a major reason for appointing Andrei Belousov as the new Minister of Defense.

Belousov was appointed earlier this week to replace former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who in turn was appointed Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

-Sophie Kiderlein

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States will provide Ukraine with additional military funding worth $2 billion, adding that a security agreement between the United States and Ukraine may not be far away.

“We will provide an additional $2 billion in foreign military financing to Ukraine,” Blinken said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He added that money has been raised in a “first-of-its-kind defense fund” that aims to provide weapons soon, strengthen Ukraine's defense industrial base and help the country buy military equipment from elsewhere.

“We are rushing ammunition, armored vehicles, missiles and air defense to reach the front lines,” Blinken said.

He said a security agreement between the United States and Ukraine is expected to be signed within weeks after the “heavy work” is completed.

-Sophie Kiderlein

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued instructions to postpone all his scheduled foreign visits for several days, his spokesman announced on social media.

“Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed to postpone all international events scheduled for him in the coming days and to coordinate new dates. We are grateful to our partners for their understanding,” Serhiy Nikiforov said in a Facebook post.

Nikiforov noted that this came at a time when Zelensky was briefed on developments in the Kharkiv region, where Russia launched a new offensive in recent days.

Zelensky was scheduled to travel to Spain and Portugal later this week.

-Sophie Kiderlein

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its army had taken control of three other settlements in Ukraine.

The ministry said in several posts translated from Google on Telegram that two of these settlements, Lukyantsky and Hlebok, are located in the Kahirkiv region, and another in the Zaporizhia region.

In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces “also advanced deep into the enemy's defenses” and resisted several counterattacks, according to the ministry.

CNBC was unable to independently verify developments on the ground.

Fighting has escalated in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine in recent days, after Moscow launched an attack on the region earlier this month. Russia has made territorial gains and seized several settlements in the region since then.

-Sophie Kiderlein