Ukraine-Russia news – live: Xi meets ‘dear friend’ Putin, who ‘will certainly discuss’ peace plan

Vladimir Putin has greeted China’s Xi Jinping at the Kremlin, with the two presidents calling each other “dear friend” as they shook hands at the outset of the latter’s first state visit to Moscow in four years.

Mr Putin claimed he would “certainly discuss” China’s 12-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine and treat it “with respect”, insisting that Moscow was “always open to negotiations” in the war it launched one year ago.

The visit comes just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Mr Putin’s arrest over war crimes in Ukraine.

In a largely symbolic retort, issued as Mr Xi touched down in Moscow, Russia’s investigative committee announced that it had launched a criminal investigation into the ICC prosecutor and judges who had issued the arrest warrant.

The committee echoed a claim made hours earlier by China’s foreign ministry that the ICC should avoid “double standards” with its arrest warrant – which relates to the illegal deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine – and respect immunity for heads of state under international law.

Key points

• Vladimir Putin says he will ‘certainly discuss’ China’s peace plan for Ukraine ...

• ... as Xi Jinping arrives for first state visit to Moscow in four years

• China warns ICC to avoid ‘double standards’ over Vladimir Putin arrest warrant

• Justice ministers meet in London to build support for ICC after Putin warrant

• ‘Criminal’ Putin visits destroyed Mariupol

Xi and Putin greet one another as “dear friend”

Monday 20 March 2023 14:26 , Sam Rkaina

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow.

Mr Xi was the first leader to meet the Russian president since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on Friday over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia during its year-old invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow said the charge was one of several “clearly hostile displays” and opened a criminal case against the ICC prosecutor and judges. Beijing said the warrant reflected double standards.

Russia is presenting Mr Xi’s trip, his first since securing an unprecedented third term this month, as evidence that it has a powerful friend in its standoff with a hostile West.

The two men greeted one another as “dear friend” when they met in the Kremlin on Monday afternoon before a dinner, to be followed by formal talks on Tuesday.

Mr Putin told Mr Xi he viewed China’s proposals for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict with respect and was also “slightly envious” of China’s rapid development in recent decades.

“China has created a very effective system for developing the economy and strengthening the state. It is much more effective than in many other countries,” he said.

Is Putin desperate enough to let Xi get his way over Ukraine?

04:20 , Arpan Rai

Every day that goes by gets worse for Russia, with little or no route to victory in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes Timothy Ash.

Russia and China are now aligned, but no deal is possible without the agreement of Ukraine; and Ukraine still feels it can win this war. But China’s 12-point peace plan did include some elements that Kyiv appreciated, including talk of “territorial integrity”.

A sticking point could well be Ukraine giving up on ambitions for Nato membership, but that might well be assuaged by US-Israel style security guarantees from senior Nato states. The problem here is that Putin invaded Ukraine not because of its Nato aspirations, but simply because he wants Ukraine.

Agreement over Nato member security guarantees for Ukraine would mean, in effect, Russia has lost Ukraine forever. Is Putin so desperate to save his own skin as to accept that? We might soon find out.

Read the full story here:

Is Putin desperate enough to let Xi get his way over Ukraine? | Timothy Ash

Fumio Kishida raises Ukraine war with Modi: ‘Japan strongly condemns Russia’s aggression’

04:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said he raised the issue of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine during his meeting with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi – who stopped short of mentioning the war in his own remarks.

Mr Kishida, who began a two-day visit to India on Monday, has an expansive new plan set out for an open and free Indo-Pacific region. This includes cooperation between the two Quad partners as witnessed in Tokyo’s efforts to forge stronger partnerships with south Asian countries to counter China’s growing assertiveness.

The Japanese leader was expected to convince Delhi to forge a broader and stronger coalition to call out Russia for its invasion of Ukraine during his meeting with Mr Modi and referred to his Indian counterpart’s earlier rebuke of Mr Putin.

“I reiterate that Japan strongly condemns Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and will never recognise it,” Mr Kishida said while delivering the 41st Sapru House lecture. “Prime minister Modi too expressed to president Putin that today is not the era of war. Japan opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by force anywhere in the world.”

He delivered the lecture in the presence of a gathering of top diplomats, envoys and experts hours after he held bilateral talks with Mr Modi for the strengthening of India and Japan’s “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.

Read more:

Kishida raises Ukraine war with Modi: ‘Japan strongly condemns Russia’s aggression’

Russia to hold own UN meeting on Ukrainian child abductions

03:52 , Arpan Rai

Russia is looking to hold an informal meeting of the UN Security Council in early April on what it calls “the real situation” of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, officials said.

This comes in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for war crimes related to the abduction of children.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed in a news conference that Moscow planned the council meeting long before Friday’s announcement by the ICC.

From April, Russia also holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.

The arrest warrant for Mr Putin has been issued as he “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation,” the ICC said.

Russia to hold UN meeting on Ukraine kids taken to Russia

Ukraine firing thousands of artillery shells in Bakhmut, burning through its munition stock – report

03:37 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian forces are fast burning through their ammunition piles to retain Bakhmut and are firing thousands of artillery shells in a day across the 600-mile frontline in their bid to stop Russia from snatching the mining city, two US officials have said.

The Pentagon raised concerns about this with Kyiv recently as the forces in the embattled city saw several days of nonstop artillery firing, the officials said, according to a report by The New York Times.

The US has warned Ukraine against wasting ammunition at a key time as the war-hit nation looks at a decisive spring offensive.

Officials from the Pentagon have highlighted the tension between Ukraine’s move to protect Bakhmut from Russia at all costs and its hopes for taking back some more territory in the spring, where the sludgy swathes of land from receding winter will make way for a dry battlefield.

The speed at which Ukraine is burning through its munition stockpiles is unsustainable and could imperil its springtime campaign, American and European officials have warned.

Japan PM Kishida leaves for Ukraine after meeting Modi in New Delhi

03:16 , Arpan Rai

Japan prime minister Fumio Kishida has left for Ukraine today where he will meet Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, reported Japanese broadcaster NHK News.

The Japanese leader has already departed from India where he met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi and is directly reaching Ukraine, the report said citing unnamed sources.

EU's top diplomat hails deal on artillery shells for Ukraine

03:00 , Eleanor Noyce

European Union countries have endorsed a fast-track procedure aimed at providing Ukraine with sorely needed artillery shells to repel Russia’s invasion forces, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, as Moscow maintains its focus on attacking the industrial east of the war-ravaged country.

As he chaired a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers in Brussels, Borrell took to Twitter to hail what he described as “a historic decision” for the 27-nation bloc and Norway to send Ukraine 1 million 155-millimetre artillery shells within 12 months.

“We are taking a key step towards delivering on our promises to provide Ukraine with more artillery ammunition,” he said, and noted that 18 countries had signed up to a European Defense Agency, or EDA, project to place joint orders for ammunition with the defence industry.

Borrell said that he had won approval for his proposal to provide 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to encourage member nations to provide artillery shells from their stocks and any orders for new rounds that they might have placed with industry.

A further 1 billion euros would also be used to fast-track new orders and encourage countries to work together on those purchases through the EDA or in groups of at least three nations. Germany has already called for countries to join its own effort, which Berlin believes will go faster.

Read more:

EU's top diplomat hails deal on artillery shells for Ukraine

UK to ‘consider’ backing tribunal to look into potential war crimes in Ukraine

02:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The UK will “consider” backing a special tribunal to look into potential war crimes in Ukraine, after the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky urged nations to support the idea.

It comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest, accusing him of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Speaking during a conference at Lancaster House in central London, where justice ministers from around the world were gathered, Karim Khan KC demanded Russia “return” children to Ukraine as alleged war crimes were detailed.

Concluding the meeting, Mr Zelensky, appearing in a pre-recorded message, urged delegates to back a tribunal to look into Russian “aggression”.

Ted Hennessey reports:

UK to ‘consider’ backing tribunal to look into potential war crimes in Ukraine

How US secretary of state Antony Blinken became a major player in the Ukraine war

01:00 , Eleanor Noyce

When secretary of state Antony Blinken made a personal appeal to Volodymyr Zelensky, hoping to convince him that a Russian invasion was imminent, Ukraine’s president didn’t believe him.

The warning lacked specificity, Zelensky recalled in an interview after the invasion. Moreover, if the Americans truly believed the situation was as dire as Blinken intimated, why hadn’t they begun to send more powerful weapons months sooner?

This discreet meeting, occurring on the sidelines of a climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021, revealed the limitations of Blinken’s influence over the Ukrainian leader and Zelensky’s innate scepticism of US intelligence. But in the time since, Blinken’s rapport with Zelensky and his top aides has evolved substantially, and the top US diplomat has become one of Kyiv’s most trusted champions and interlocutors.

The diplomat is ‘completely synchronised with us in terms of vision’, say Zelensky’s advisers, while detractors say he must be bolder in brokering negotiations. John Hudson profiles one of Joe Biden’s most influential allies:

How US secretary of state Antony Blinken became a major player in the Ukraine War

Putin appears to be heckled during Mariupol visit

Monday 20 March 2023 23:59 , Eleanor Noyce

Vladimir Putin appeared to be heckled by a Mariupol resident during his visit to the annexed city on Sunday (19 March).

According to The Telegraph, as the president of Russia met with supposedly grateful Ukrainians, a woman can be heard shouting: “It’s all lies, it’s all just for show.”

In the footage, which was broadcast on television, Mr Putin’s security team appear to begin frantically looking around to try and locate the disturbance.

The president was meeting residents of a reconstructed apartment block, with one of those he spoke to describing Mariupol as “paradise”.

Watch:

Putin appears to be heckled during Mariupol visit

Putin warns Russia could drop grain deal after 60 days

Monday 20 March 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed on Monday that Moscow has agreed to extend a deal allowing the exports of Ukrainian grain to global markets only for 60 days and could drop it altogether if its conditions aren’t met.

Speaking at a parliamentary meeting in Moscow attended by lawmakers from African countries, Putin emphasized that Russia expects the facilitation of exports of its own agricultural products as part of a package agreement.

“A fair and comprehensive implementation of the Black Sea grain deal can only be ensured if our position is taken into account, and depending on that we will deal with the issue of our further participation in it,” Putin said.

The U.N. and Turkey brokered July’s agreement that allowing Ukraine — one of the world’s key breadbaskets — to ship food and fertilizer from three of its Black Sea ports. The 120-day agreement was renewed last November. Russia agreed to extend it again when it expired Saturday, but noted that it has only accepted a 60-day extension.

Ukraine has charged that the 60-day extension contradicts the deal, but the agreement allows the parties to roll it over or “modify” it — as Russia did. The United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the extension, but neither said how long it would last, reflecting their inability to force Russia’s hand.

Read more:

Putin warns Russia could drop grain deal after 60 days

Putin welcomes ‘dear friend’ Xi for hours of talks at Kremlin

Monday 20 March 2023 22:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Vladimir Putin held more than four hours of talks with ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping of China at the Kremlin on Monday, showing off the relationship with his most powerful ally just days after an arrest warrant was issued over his war in Ukraine.

It was the first trip abroad for Xi since he obtained an unprecedented third term last month. He has been trying to portray Beijing as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine.

The two major powers have described Xi’s three-day visit as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.”

Putin and Xi greeted one another as “dear friend” and shook hands as they met in front of the cameras. More than four hours later, they were said to be still in discussion. “The conversation is still going on,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

My colleague Alistair Jamieson reports:

10-Putin flaunts alliance with Xi as ‘dear friends’ meet in Kremlin

Zelenksy thanks Ireland for support in phone call with Taoiseach

Monday 20 March 2023 21:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Ireland for its support for his country.

Mr Zelensky spoke to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar by telephone on Monday.

A government spokesman said Mr Varadkar pledged continued support and solidarity with Ukraine.

Mr Varadkar told Mr Zelensky that Ireland is backing Ukraine‘s application for European Union membership, and is examining how additional help can be provided to help Ukraine rebuild its civilian and energy infrastructure.

He also briefed Mr Zelensky about discussions he held with US President Joe Biden and others regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during his recent visit to the US, where he thanked them for their steadfast support and encouraged them to continue it for as long as it takes.

Mr Zelensky extended his wishes for a happy St Patrick’s Day to Ireland, and wished peace and good luck to Ireland and Irish people.

Watch as Dominic Raab and Dutch justice minister speak after Ukraine war crimes conference

Monday 20 March 2023 21:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Watch as Dominic Raab and Dutch justice minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius hold a joint address after an international conference on accountability for war crimes in Ukraine.

Last Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s arrest, accusing him of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children from the war-torn nation.

Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister, said that the decision represented a “historic moment” in the conflict as he spoke at the conference earlier on Monday (20 March).

“On Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, over the alleged abduction of hundreds of Ukrainian children taken forcibly from their parents and deported to Russia,” he said.

“It sends a much stronger and far-reaching message right around the world to despots and dictators everywhere - that they will be brought to justice and they will be held to account.”

Read more:

Watch: Raab and Dutch justice minister speak after Ukraine war crimes conference

Russia on the “wrong side of history”, says Canada following Putin’s meeting with China

Monday 20 March 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Following President Putin’s meeting with President Xi on Monday, Canada has warned that Russia is on the “wrong side of history.”

Urging China to be mindful of the “stakes” in the Ukraine War, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland made the comments on Monday evening.

“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is the strongest challenge in a generation to the rules-based international order...I’m not going to anticipate what President Xi will say or do in Moscow, but China and China’s leadership needs to understand the stakes here,” Ms Freeland told reporters in Oshawa, Ontario.

Is Putin desperate enough to let Xi get his way over Ukraine?

Monday 20 March 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Outwardly the summit in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is an attempt to send a strong signal to the West that the “partnership without limits” agreement – signed between the two men at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – is still just that.

However, Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine hangs over the summit, and will likely dominate proceedings.

Russia is losing badly in Ukraine. It has already suffered a colossal loss of manpower, military equipment and prestige for Putin. It has also caused a sizeable economic hit to the Russian economy as sanctions have pushed it into recession, forced a brain drain and capital flight and seen close to $400bn in its assets frozen in the West.

Every day that goes by gets worse for Russia, with little or no route to victory. Putin hoped his autumn mass mobilisation and winter offensive would allow him to seize the initiative again, but these hopes have gotten stuck in the mud of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and dogged resistance from Kyiv’s forces. An expected Ukrainian counter-offensive planned for the spring could turn the war in favour of Ukraine. Putin desperately wants an off-ramp; an escape route.

Timothy Ash reports:

Is Putin desperate enough to let Xi get his way over Ukraine? | Timothy Ash

Countries urged to rally behind court probes in Ukraine

Monday 20 March 2023 19:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s justice officials and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court appealed Monday to countries around the world to boost funding and support for the global court’s investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine to ensure Russia is held accountable.

Justice ministers from over 40 countries travelled to London for the war crimes conference, jointly hosted by Britain and the Netherlands, aimed at rallying extra support for the International Criminal Court’s probes into atrocities allegedly committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

The conference came days after the global court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility in the abduction of children from Ukraine. Friday’s move was the first time the court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

“We share the belief that President Putin and the wider leadership must be held to account,” Britain’s Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said as he opened the meeting. “Let’s make sure that we back up our words with deeds, that we back up our moral support with practical means to effectively investigate these awful crimes.”

Britain pledged an additional 395,000 pounds ($484,000) in support for the ICC, bringing its funding for the court to 1 million pounds. The U.K. government said other countries were also expected to pledge funding for the court’s investigations.

Read more:

Countries urged to rally behind court probes in Ukraine

EU's top diplomat hails deal on artillery shells for Ukraine

Monday 20 March 2023 19:00 , Eleanor Noyce

European Union countries have endorsed a fast-track procedure aimed at providing Ukraine with sorely needed artillery shells to repel Russia’s invasion forces, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, as Moscow maintains its focus on attacking the industrial east of the war-ravaged country.

As he chaired a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers in Brussels, Borrell took to Twitter to hail what he described as “a historic decision” for the 27-nation bloc and Norway to send Ukraine 1 million 155-millimetre artillery shells within 12 months.

“We are taking a key step towards delivering on our promises to provide Ukraine with more artillery ammunition,” he said, and noted that 18 countries had signed up to a European Defense Agency, or EDA, project to place joint orders for ammunition with the defence industry.

Borrell said that he had won approval for his proposal to provide 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to encourage member nations to provide artillery shells from their stocks and any orders for new rounds that they might have placed with industry.

A further 1 billion euros would also be used to fast-track new orders and encourage countries to work together on those purchases through the EDA or in groups of at least three nations. Germany has already called for countries to join its own effort, which Berlin believes will go faster.

Lorne Cook reports:

EU's top diplomat hails deal on artillery shells for Ukraine

Russia says it will end grain export deal if sanctions are not lifted

Monday 20 March 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia will end its Black Sea grain export deal if the sanctions against it are not lifted by the West, the foreign ministry has confirmed.

It wants farm machinery supplies, foreign assets and accounts held by agricultural companies unblocked. Furthermore, the foreign ministry has demanded that access to the financial messaging system, SWIFT, be restored for the state-owned agriculture bank Rosselkhozbank.

The current deal, which sees grain exported via the Black Sea, is set to expire on 18 May.

Notably, some Middle Eastern and African nations rely on grain imports from Ukraine, threatening already worsening food security.

Putin has previously said that this Black Sea deal unjustly prioritises “well-fed European markets” over “especially needy African countries.”

ICC demands Russia ‘return’ children to Ukraine as justice ministers meet in UK

Monday 20 March 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has demanded Russia “return” children to Ukraine as alleged war crimes were detailed at a meeting in London.

It comes after the ICC issued a warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s arrest, accusing him of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Speaking during a conference at Lancaster House, where justice ministers from around the world were gathered, Karim Khan KC said the move marked “a really sombre occasion”.

Read the full story:

ICC demands Russia ‘return’ children to Ukraine as justice ministers meet in UK

How US secretary of state Antony Blinken became a major player in the Ukraine war

Monday 20 March 2023 17:30 , Eleanor Noyce

When secretary of state Antony Blinken made a personal appeal to Volodymyr Zelensky, hoping to convince him that a Russian invasion was imminent, Ukraine’s president didn’t believe him.

The warning lacked specificity, Zelensky recalled in an interview after the invasion. Moreover, if the Americans truly believed the situation was as dire as Blinken intimated, why hadn’t they begun to send more powerful weapons months sooner?

This discreet meeting, occurring on the sidelines of a climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021, revealed the limitations of Blinken’s influence over the Ukrainian leader and Zelensky’s innate scepticism of US intelligence. But in the time since, Blinken’s rapport with Zelensky and his top aides has evolved substantially, and the top US diplomat has become one of Kyiv’s most trusted champions and interlocutors.

The diplomat is ‘completely synchronised with us in terms of vision’, say Zelensky’s advisers, while detractors say he must be bolder in brokering negotiations. John Hudson profiles one of Joe Biden’s most influential allies:

How US secretary of state Antony Blinken became a major player in the Ukraine War

Officials: US to send ammunition, tanker trucks to Ukraine

Monday 20 March 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The U.S. is poised to announce that it will send Ukraine $350 million in weapons and equipment, U.S. officials said Monday, as fierce battles with Russian forces continue for control of the city of Bakhmut, and troops prepare for an expected spring offensive.

The latest package of aid includes a large amount of various types of ammunition, such as rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and an undisclosed number of fuel tanker trucks and riverine boats, according to the officials. Officials said it will be announced later Monday.

It comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday, giving a political lift to Russian President Vladimir Putin against the West just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine.

Officials said the American aid will be taken from Pentagon stocks through the presidential drawdown authority, so it will be able to be delivered quickly to the warfront. The U.S. has provided more than $32.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid package has not yet been publicly announced.

Read more:

Officials: US to send ammunition, tanker trucks to Ukraine

US envoy hails 'historic' EU-brokered Serbia-Kosovo deal

Monday 20 March 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States envoy for the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue on Monday welcomed the European Union-facilitated deal on normalising relations between neighbouring Kosovo and Serbia as an “important and historic agreement.”

Gabriel Escobar said the weekend deal between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Ohrid, North Macedonia “sets the conditions for normalisation between Serbia and Kosovo on European terms.

On Saturday EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Vucic and Kurti agreed on an 11-point EU plan to normalise relations following their 1998-1999 war and Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.

The plan calls for them to maintain good neighbourly relations and recognise each other’s official documents and national symbols. If implemented, it would prevent Belgrade from blocking Kosovo’s attempts to seek membership in the United Nations and other international organizations. But it doesn’t explicitly call for mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

“This agreement is a legally binding obligation on both parties … (and) will continue to be the basis of our policy for the United States going forward and the basis for European engagement in the region,” Escobar said in an online briefing.

Read more:

US envoy hails 'historic' EU-brokered Serbia-Kosovo deal

Putin claims he will ‘certainly discuss’ China’s peace proposals with ‘dear friend’ Xi

Monday 20 March 2023 16:04 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin claimed he would “certainly discuss” China’s peace proposals for the Ukraine war with “dear friend” Xi Jinping, as he sought to put on a show of close ties with Beijing.

"We are always open to negotiations," Mr Putin told Mr Xi as he greeted him at the Kremlin, adding: “We will certainly discuss all these issues, including your initiatives which we treat with respect, of course.”

Seeking to heap praise on his guest, the Russian president added that was also “slightly envious” of China’s rapid development in recent decades.

“China has created a very effective system for developing the economy and strengthening the state. It is much more effective than in many other countries,” he said.

EU member states agree on ammunition deal for Ukraine

Monday 20 March 2023 15:24 , Andy Gregory

European Union member states have reached an agreement on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, German defence minister Boris Pistorius has said.

“Today, we will sign the respective documents,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels, adding that Germany would also open its national framework contracts with the defence industry to other partners as speed was of the essence in supplying Kyiv.

“Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year,” Mr Pistorius said.

Xi’s arrival in Moscow

Monday 20 March 2023 14:30 , Sam Rkaina

Xi should use Moscow trip to urge Putin to halt ‘atrocities’ in Ukraine, says No 10

Monday 20 March 2023 13:48 , Andy Gregory

China’s president Xi Jinping should use his visit to Moscow to urge Vladimir Putin to halt its bombings and other “atrocities” in Ukraine, Downing Street has said.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson 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.”

Putin vows to provide free grain to African nations if Black Sea deal not extended in May

Monday 20 March 2023 13:24 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin has said that Russia would provide grain to African countries for free if the Black Sea grain deal is not extended in May.

Speaking by video link to delegates at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, the Russian president said that only a small amount of grain exports unblocked under the deal had reached Africa, and that the fulfilment of Russian conditions for the deal’s renewal was in Africa’s interest.

Russia launches criminal case against ICC judges who issued Putin arrest warrant

Monday 20 March 2023 12:58 , Andy Gregory

Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against the International Criminal Court prosecutor and judges who have issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges.

The committee, responsible for investigating serious crimes, said heads of state enjoyed absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign states, and insisted there were no grounds for criminal liability on Mr Putin’s part.

The ICC prosecutor’s actions showed signs of being crimes under Russian law, the committee claimed – knowingly accusing an innocent person of a crime, and “preparing an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection, in order to complicate international relations”.

Voices | Putin’s disaster in Ukraine has fundamentally altered his relationship with Xi

Monday 20 March 2023 12:34 , Andy Gregory

Writing for Independent Voices, Timothy Ash of Chatham House suggests that Xi Jinping likely assumed that any war between Russia and Ukraine would be short, provide a swift kick in the face for the US and its Nato allies, and – As the war dragged on – sap the strengths of both Russia and Nato.

He adds: “Something seems to have changed. China’s foreign minister has unveiled a 12-point peace plan on the one-year anniversary of the invasion on 24 February. Xi’s plans for a trip to Moscow next week were then unveiled, and a call reportedly lined up with President Zelensky of Ukraine after his meeting with Putin. China now seems to want peace, and is willing to try and broker that.

“What has changed? Likely Xi has concluded from Putin’s failed offensive in Bakhmut that Russia cannot win – and may now fear that a devastating defeat for Putin in Ukraine could threaten regime change in Moscow.

“It is extremely unlikely, but would be a nightmare scenario for Beijing as the emergence of a pro-Western administration in Moscow would leave China encircled. As such, Xi would want a peace in Ukraine which can save Putin’s skin.”

You can read his thinking in full here:

Putin’s disaster in Ukraine has altered his relationship with Xi | Timothy Ash

Putin appears to be heckled during Mariupol visit

Monday 20 March 2023 12:01 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin appeared to be heckled by a person warning his carefully choreographed visit to Mariupol was “all lies”.

State media said Mr Putin drove around the occupied port city in a car on Saturday, stopping in several districts to speak with locals in what appears to be an attempt by the president to project an image of control after he was indicted on war crimes charges. It is the first time he has visited the city.

Ukraine has said 20,000 people have been killed in the city, which has seen 90 per cent of its buildings damaged during Russia’s indiscriminate bombing campaign at the start of the war. Some 350,000 Mariupol’s 500,000 residents were forced to flee in the face of the bloody assault.

When will Xi and Putin meet?

Monday 20 March 2023 11:46 , Andy Gregory

Videos of Xi Jinping’s arrival in Moscow’s Vnukovo showed the Chinese leader being welcomed by a military band orchestra after setting foot out of the plane, reports my colleague Shweta Sharma.

The two leaders are scheduled to have lunch before holding an informal one-to-one meeting on Monday afternoon and are set to hold a round of formal delegation talks on Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said Mr Putin’s first meeting with Mr Xi will begin around 4.30pm Moscow time and will be “informal but very important”.

Mr Xi and Mr Putin will “of course” discuss China’s 12-point peace proposal to end the Ukraine war, which was published by Beijing several weeks ago, he said, adding: “President Putin will give exhaustive explanations so that President Xi can understand the Russian position at the current moment.”

The three-day visit – dubbed by the Chinese government a “trip for peace” – will be closely watched by Ukraine and the rest of the international community.

France urges immediate help for Ukraine as EU ministers meet

Monday 20 March 2023 11:42 , Andy Gregory

France’s foreign minister has warned that Ukraine needs to be helped straight away, as European Union foreign ministers gather to debate arms supplies for Kyiv.

“We need to help Ukraine quickly and straight away,” Catherine Colonna said 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.

Watch: Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow

Monday 20 March 2023 11:12 , Andy Gregory

Kremlin tells election officials to stop using iPhones

Monday 20 March 2023 11:03 , Andy Gregory

The Kremlin has reportedly told officials involved in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election to stop using Apple iPhones because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to Western intelligence agencies.

At a Kremlin-organised seminar for officials involved in domestic politics, first deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko, told officials to change their phones by 1 April, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

“It’s all over for the iPhone: either throw it away or give it to the children,” Kommersant quoted one of the participants of the meeting as saying. “Everyone will have to do it in March.”

Asked by reporters on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not confirm the report, adding: “Smartphones should not be used for official business. Any smartphone has a fairly transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system it has – Android or iOS.”

The Kremlin may provide other devices with different operating systems to replace the iPhones, Kommersant reported, adding that the order to cease using iPhones had been directed at those involved in domestic politics – for which Kiriyenko is responsible.

Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin

Monday 20 March 2023 10:41 , Andy Gregory

China’s Xi Jinping has arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin in his first state visit to Russia for four years.

My colleague Shweta Sharma has the breaking story, which you can refresh for updates:

China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow to meet Putin for state visit

China urges ICC to avoid ‘double standards’ over Putin arrest warrant

Monday 20 March 2023 09:38 , Andy Gregory

China has warned that the International Criminal Court should avoid “double standards” and respect immunity for heads of state after it issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

As president Xi Jinping travelled to Moscow, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters that the court should “uphold an objective and impartial stance” and “respect the immunity of heads of state from jurisdiction under international law”, Agence France-Presse reported.

The spokesperson also urged the court to “avoid politicisation”, and said the solution to the Ukraine war remained “dialogue and negotiation”.

‘Shambolic withdrawal’ from Afghanistan likely encouraged Ukraine invasion, ex-civil service chief says

Monday 20 March 2023 09:26 , Andy Gregory

A former head of the civil service has resisted suggestions of a direct link between the Iraq war and Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, pointing instead to the “shambolic” withdrawal from Iraq.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, 20 years on from the invasion of Iraq, Sir Mark Sedwill – who has also previously worked for the UN and Nato in Baghdad – suggested that it was not correct to “draw a straight line from the operation in Iraq to the invasion of Ukraine”.

“I think the rather shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan probably encouraged Putin to think that the West was going to be divided and weak in our response to an invasion of Ukraine,” he said.

Sir Mark also stressed Mr Putin’s belief that Ukraine is part of a “greater Russia”, something he suggested would mean the Russian leader would have tried to drag “Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit, whether through military action or other means, whatever had happened elsewhere in the world”.

Speaking as China’s Xi Jinping visits Moscow, Sir Mark stressed the significance of such an in-person encounter and said for China it was “really about the relationship with the United States”, calling any decision to supply weapons to Russia a “decisive move”.

Putin hails ‘good old friend’ Xi Jinping ahead of first Moscow meeting since Ukraine invasion

Monday 20 March 2023 08:56 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin has said he will welcome his “good old friend” Xi Jinping later as the Chinese president visits Moscow to highlighted China’s “willingness to play a constructive role” in Ukraine, my colleague Stuti Mishra reports.

The leaders will meet one-on-one on Monday and have an informal lunch later. Mr Putin said Russia has high hopes over the Chinese leader’s visit.

“We are grateful for the balanced line of [China] in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes,” he wrote in an article for a Chinese newspaper on Sunday. “We welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis.”

Putin hails ‘good old friend’ Xi Jinping ahead of Moscow meeting

EU ministers meet to finalise plan for artillery for Ukraine

Monday 20 March 2023 08:29 , Andy Gregory

European Union ministers are meeting today to try to finalise a plan to supply Ukraine with sorely needed 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, at which Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba is due to set out his country’s needs. The EU’s aim is to provide Ukraine with one million 155-millimeter artillery shells this year.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is chairing the meeting, is seeking approval for a proposal to provide €1bn to encourage member nations to provide artillery shells from their stocks and any orders for new rounds that they might have placed with industry.

A further €1bn would then be used to fast-track new orders and encourage member countries to work together on those purchases through the European Defence Agency or in groups of at least three nations. Germany has already called for countries to join its effort.

The third track of the scheme involves support to Europe’s defense industry so that it can ramp up production in the longer term. EU officials have said that new joint orders could be placed by May if the plan is endorsed.

War crimes arrest warrant will ‘absolutely’ stay with Putin forever, says ICC prosecutor

Monday 20 March 2023 07:37 , Andy Gregory

The arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin will not expire if and when the war in Ukraine ends, a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has said.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Karim 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.”

Asked if the arrest warrant would stay with Mr Putin or Ms Lvova-Belova for the rest of their lives, Mr Khan said “absolutely yes”.

“Unless they present themselves to the independent judges of the court and the judges, on the merits, decide to dismiss a case but otherwise, absolutely, yes.”

‘ICC's decision on Putin will have horrible consequences for law,’ warns former Russian president

Monday 20 March 2023 07:15 , Namita Singh

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said today that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin will have horrible consequences for international law.

“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,” Mr Medvedev wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

“The consequences for international law will be monstrous.”

In video: Putin visits Crimea to mark anniversary of Russia’s annexation

Monday 20 March 2023 07:00 , Namita Singh

Putin visits Crimea to mark anniversary of Russia’s annexation

UK and Ukraine agree deal on ‘new era of modern trade’

Monday 20 March 2023 06:30 , Namita Singh

The UK says it has signed a digital trade deal with Ukraine which will help support the country’s economy during the war with Russia and as it rebuilds in the future.

Under the deal, Ukrainian businesses will be able to trade more efficiently and cheaply with the UK through electronic transactions, e-signatures, and e-contracts.

It will also give Ukrainian firms access to UK financial services through provisions on cross-border data flows.

Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “The historic digital trade deal signed today paves the way for a new era of modern trade between our two countries.

“We are also extending tariff-free trade on imports from Ukraine to early 2024, providing much needed support to Ukrainian businesses.

“These initiatives will help protect jobs, livelihoods and families now and in Ukraine’s postwar future.”

Ukraine’s economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said: “This digital trade agreement illustrates that Ukrainian IT companies operating in Ukraine are in demand around the world despite all the challenges of war.”

The deal signed virtually on Monday was agreed in principle in November.

ICYMI: ‘Criminal’ Vladimir Putin visits destroyed Mariupol after ICC issues arrest warrant

Monday 20 March 2023 06:00 , Namita Singh

Kyiv officials described Vladimir Putin as a “criminal” returning to a “crime scene” after the Russian president visited Mariupol in the second of two appearances in Ukraine after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court.

State media said Mr Putin drove around the occupied port city in a car on Saturday, stopping in several districts to speak with locals in what appears to be an attempt by the president to project an image of control after he was indicted on war crimes charges. It is the first time he has visited the city.

Mariupol, in Ukraine’s south, was captured by Russia 10 months ago after an indiscriminate bombing campaign by Kremlin troops at the outset of Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year.

My colleague Matt Mathers reports:

‘Criminal’ Vladimir Putin visits destroyed Mariupol after ICC issues arrest warrant

Xi Jinping acknowledges solution to Ukraine war not ‘easy’

Monday 20 March 2023 05:30 , Namita Singh

China’s president Xi Jinping said that Beijing’s 12-point proposal to solve the Ukraine crisis reflects global views, but acknowledged that the solutions are not easy.

“The document serves as a constructive factor in neutralising the consequences of the crisis and promoting a political settlement,” Mr Xi wrote in an article in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, according to Reuters’ translation from Russian.

“Complex problems do not have simple solutions,” said Mr Xi.

Ukraine and its Western backers would be likely to dismiss any attempt to secure a ceasefire as little more than a ploy to buy Vladimir Putin time to reinforce, and delay a widely expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.

And Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has previously made clear he will accept nothing short of Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.

China’s proposal contains only general statements and no concrete proposal on how to end the year-long war which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee.

In an article for a Chinese newspaper, published on the Kremlin website late on Sunday, Mr Putin said he had high hopes for the visit by his “good old friend” Mr Xi, with whom he signed a “no limits” strategic partnership last year. He also welcomed China’s willingness to mediate in the conflict.

“We are grateful for the balanced line of (China) in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes. We welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis,” Mr Putin said.

Putin to welcome Xi to Moscow under shadow of Ukraine war

Monday 20 March 2023 05:00 , Namita Singh

Russian president Vladimir Putin will expect Chinese president Xi Jinping to show solidarity against Western hegemony when he arrives in Moscow today, while Mr Xi will present China as a global peacemaker intent on brokering an end to the Ukraine war.

The Chinese president will be the first world leader to shake Mr Putin’s hand since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on Friday over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war. Moscow rejects the charge.

Russia will present Mr Xi’s trip – his first since securing an unprecedented third term this month – as evidence that it has a powerful friend prepared to stand with it against a hostile West that it says is trying in vain to isolate and defeat it.

For Mr Xi the visit will be a diplomatic tightrope, with China recently releasing a 12-point proposal to solve the Ukraine crisis, but at the same time strengthening ties with its closest ally.

Justice ministers meet in London to build support for ICC after Putin warrant

Monday 20 March 2023 05:19 , Namita Singh

Justice ministers from around the world will meet in London today to discuss scaling up support for the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant last week for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The ICC accused Mr Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Moscow rejects the charges, calling the move unacceptable and saying it has no legal force in Russia which is not an ICC member.

“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,” British deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said.

“The UK, alongside the international community, will continue to provide the International Criminal Court with the funding, people and expertise to ensure justice is served.”

Britain has pledged £1m to the ICC this year and the justice ministry said other countries were expected to pledge financial support during the conference in London, which will be co-hosted by Britain and the Netherlands.

The funding will go towards training for investigators to examine alleged war crimes, as well as psychological and practical support for victims, the ministry said.

UK to extend zero tariffs on Ukrainian products to March 2024

Monday 20 March 2023 04:00 , Namita Singh

Britain said it would extend its zero-tariff arrangement on products from Ukraine until March 2024 as part of its measures to support the economy there after the Russian invasion last year.

Britain initially cut tariffs on all goods from Ukraine to zero last May, and agreed in principle a digital trade deal with Ukraine last November.

Today, Britain and Ukraine will sign that digital trade deal as the government hosts Ukrainian ministers and UK businesses at an event in London.

“The historic digital trade deal signed today paves the way for a new era of modern trade between our two countries,” British business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch said.

“We are also extending tariff free trade on imports from Ukraine to early 2024, providing much needed support to Ukrainian businesses.”

New Zealand minister to raise Ukraine invasion in Beijing meeting

Monday 20 March 2023 03:30 , Namita Singh

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, will travel to Beijing on Tuesday to meet her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the first such visit by a New Zealand minister since 2019.

Ms Mahuta said she would raise New Zealand’s concerns about key security challenges at the meeting with Qin Gang in Beijing, such as the “illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine”, and advocate for outcomes reflecting its values on issues such as human rights.

“New Zealand’s relationship with China is one of our most important, complex and wide ranging,” she said in a statement. “I intend to discuss areas where we co-operate, such as on trade, people-to-people and climate and environmental issues.”

China speaking for the world in Ukraine, says Xi

Monday 20 March 2023 03:00 , Liam James

Chinese president Xi Jinping said Beijing’s proposal on how to end the Ukraine war reflects global views and seeks to neutralise consequences, but acknowledged that the solutions are not easy.

In an article published at the start of his visit to Moscow – the first by a world leader since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president Vladimir Putin – Mr Xi also called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.

A peaceful resolution to the situation in Ukraine, Mr Xi wrote, would also “ensure the stability of global production and supply chains.”

He called for a “rational way” out of the crisis, which would be “found if everyone is guided by the concept of common, comprehensive, joint and sustainable security, and continue dialogue and consultations in an equal, prudent and pragmatic manner.”

Mr Xi said that his trip to Russia is aimed at strengthening the friendship between the two countries, “an all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction,” in a world threatened by “acts of hegemony, despotism and bullying.”

“There is no universal model of government and there is no world order where the decisive word belongs to a single country,” Xi wrote. “Global solidarity and peace without splits and upheavals is in the common interests of all mankind.”

London to host justice ministers in support of war crimes probe

Monday 20 March 2023 02:00 , Liam James

Justice ministers from around the world will gather in London to support the International Criminal Court’s investigations into war crimes in Ukraine.

The move comes after the ICC issued a warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s arrest, accusing him of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children from Ukraine.

More than 40 nations will be represented at the meeting hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, and Dutch justice minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, at Lancaster House.

UK and Ukraine sign digital trade deal to support country’s economy

Monday 20 March 2023 01:00 , Natalie Crockett

The UK has signed a digital trade deal with Ukraine to help it rebuild its economy.

Ukrainian businesses will be able to trade more efficiently and cheaply with the UK through online transactions, e-signatures, and e-contracts. Under the deal, companies in the war-torn country will be able to access UK financial services through cross-border data flows.

UK business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “The historic digital trade deal signed today paves the way for a new era of modern trade between our two countries.

“We are also extending tariff-free trade on imports from Ukraine to early 2024, providing much-needed support to Ukrainian businesses.

“These initiatives will help protect jobs, livelihoods and families now and in Ukraine’s postwar future.”

Ukraine’s economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the agreement illustrates that Ukrainian IT companies are in demand around the world “despite all the challenges of war”.

The deal signed virtually on Monday was agreed in principle in November.

Egypt's Sisi discusses nuclear plant, grains trade with Russian officials

Monday 20 March 2023 00:00 , Reuters

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks with high-ranking Russian officials on Sunday to discuss a Russian-built nuclear plant under construction on Egypt’s north coast as well as grains supply and food security, Egypt’s presidency said.

The meeting with officials including Russia’s trade minister and a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin also addressed the establishment of a Russian industrial zone inside the Suez Canal’s Economic Zone, among other investments, it added.

Construction by Russia’s state-owned energy corporation Rosatom of Egypt’s first nuclear plant at El Dabaa began in July of last year, and is expected to take until at least 2030.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Egypt has been trying to balance long-standing ties with both Russia and Western powers.

Putin and Xi might have a bromance but it’s clear who holds the power

Sunday 19 March 2023 23:00 , Liam James

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have met around 40 times since China’s leader assumed the presidency in 2012. In many ways, the camaraderie between the pair has come to define the diplomatic relations between Moscow and Beijing across the last decade.

Xi made Moscow his first overseas visit as president in 2013 and this latest visit comes next week in the wake of him being handed an unprecedented third term as president. During that time, the greetings between Xi and Putin have evolved from “dear president” to “dear friend” and later to “my old friend”. Last year, just a few weeks before Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine the leaders met and announced a “no limits” partnership between their two nations.

Historically, relations between China and Russia have been fraught with distrust and confrontation, particularly at the height of their Cold War schism in the late 1960s, but Putin and Xi have changed the dynamic. On his last visit to Moscow, in 2019, Xi spoke of his “deep personal friendship” with his Russian counterpart. “In the past six years, we have met nearly 30 times. Russia is the country that I have visited the most times, and President Putin is my best friend and colleague,” Xi said. Both leaders share an objective of altering the world order, and they will continue to pursue that.

Chris Stevenson reviews an unbalanced relationship:

It is clear who holds the power in the Xi-Putin bromance | Chris Stevenson

Putin says ‘good, old friend’ Xi Jinping has ‘constructive role’ in Ukraine

Sunday 19 March 2023 22:02 , Liam James

Russian president Vladimir Putin said China had shown a “willingness to play a constructive role” in Ukraine, ahead of a visit by Chinese premier Xi Jinping heads to Moscow.

In an essay published Monday in the People's Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, Mr Putin said: “We are grateful for the balanced line (of China) in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes. We welcome China's willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis.”

He referred to Mr Xi as his “good, old friend”, as the Chinese leader prepared for his first trip to Russia since Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year.

China in February released a position paper calling for an end to fighting in Ukraine and for upholding all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity. It did not address how to resolve Russia's illegal claim to have annexed four regions of Ukraine.

‘Criminal’ Vladimir Putin visits destroyed Mariupol after ICC issues arrest warrant

Sunday 19 March 2023 22:00 , Liam James

Kyiv officials described Vladimir Putin as a “criminal” returning to a “crime scene” after the Russian president visited Mariupol in the second of two appearances in Ukraine after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court (Matt Mathers writes).

State media said Mr Putin drove around the occupied port city in a car on Saturday, stopping in several districts to speak with locals in what appears to be an attempt by the president to project an image of control after he was indicted on war crimes charges. It is the first time he has visited the city.

Mariupol, in Ukraine’s south, was captured by Russia 10 months ago after an indiscriminate bombing campaign by Kremlin troops at the outset of Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year.

‘Criminal’ Vladimir Putin visits destroyed Mariupol after ICC issues arrest warrant

Frontline medical volunteers brave Russian assault

Sunday 19 March 2023 21:00 , Liam James

Medical volunteers are at work in Donetsk, the area of heaviest fighting in Ukraine, as the Russian assault continues.

Watch: Putin on wallkabout in occupied-Mariupol

Sunday 19 March 2023 20:00 , Liam James

Vladimir Putin was today seen on the streets of the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in his first trip to occupied territory since the Russian invasion.

Mariupol was subject to a brutal siege by Russian forces in the early weeks of the invasion as Moscow sought to secure a land route from Russia’s border to Crimea.

The Russian president yesterday travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine.

Russia ‘highly unlikely’ to seize major objectives in near future – MoD

Sunday 19 March 2023 19:00 , Liam James

Russian forces fighting in Ukraine are “highly unlikely” to capture Moscow’s previously planned major objectives in the coming months of grinding war, the British defence ministry said today.

It pointed to a decree published on 3 March where authorities in the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast declared occupied Melitopol as the regional capital.

“The Russian-installed head of the oblast, Evgeny Balitsky, said that this was a temporary measure until the city of Zaporizhzhia was controlled by Russia,” the ministry noted.

It added: “The quiet declaration of an alternative capital is likely tacit acknowledgement within the Russian system that its forces are highly unlikely to seize previously planned major objectives in the near future.”

Three people dead in Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia

Sunday 19 March 2023 18:00 , Natalie Crockett

Three people have died and two were injured in a Russian shelling attack on a residential building in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia on Sunday.

The region’s military administration said Russian troops fired grad rockets at the village of Kamyanske where some 2,600 people lived before the war broke out.

The authorities urged people to evacuate warning that the threat of shelling was constant near the front lines.

ICYMI: Biden says Putin has ‘clearly committed war crimes’ and ICC charges are justified

Sunday 19 March 2023 17:15 , Matt Mathers

US president Joe Biden said on Friday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “clearly committed” war crimes during the course of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since the conflict erupted in the former Soviet nation in February last year.

“He’s clearly committed war crimes,” the US president said on Friday referring to the Russian leader.

Arpan Rai has more:

Biden says Putin has ‘clearly committed war crimes’ and ICC charges are justified

Watch: Putin visits Crimea to mark anniversary of Russia’s annexation

Sunday 19 March 2023 16:30 , Matt Mathers

Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea on Saturday, 18 March, on an unannounced visit to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia‘s annexation of the territory from Ukraine.

The Russian president met with the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, and visited to see a new children’s centre and art school.

The surprise visit came a day after the International Criminal Court said it had issued an arrest warrant against Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Watch the video here:

Putin visits Crimea to mark anniversary of Russia’s annexation

Who are the Ukrainian children at the heart of Putin arrest warrant?

Sunday 19 March 2023 15:38 , Matt Mathers

Daria Herasymchuk, advisor-commissioner of the President of Ukraine’s Office for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, described in an interview with Reuters on 17 March five main ways she said Russia has used to illegally transfer Ukrainian children.

They include:

• offering families living in occupied areas to take children for holidays in Russian children’s camps and not returning them during an agreed timeframe;

• taking Ukrainian children away from care institutions in occupied areas;

• separating children from parents at filtration checkpoints - the places where Ukrainian citizens from regions under Russian occupation are checked and processed before being allowed to enter Russia;

• taking away parental rights through laws enforced on occupied territories;

• taking children away in cases where they were staying with other adults after their parents were killed in the war

• Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on March 17 the prosecutors were investigating cases of deportation of over 16,000 children from Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. "But the real figure can be much higher," Kostin said on his Facebook page.

• Ukraine has so far managed to return 308 children, officials said.

• Iryna Vereshchuk, minister for reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, issued a public appeal on Saturday to Russian officials asking for lists of all Ukrainian orphans and all Ukrainian children whose parents were stripped of parental rights who are currently in occupied Ukrainian areas or were illegally transferred to Russia.

• A report published in February by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health as part of the Conflict Observatory said Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children - likely many more - in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow.

Putin arrest warrant will prolong war - Serbian president

Sunday 19 March 2023 15:00 , Matt Mathers

Issuing an international arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin will have negative consequences and will only prolong the war in Ukraine, Serbia’s president has said.

"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" in Ukraine, Alexsandar Vucic told reporters in Belgrade.

"My question is now that you have accused him of the biggest war crimes, who are you going to talk to now?" Mr Vucic said.

"Do you really think that it is possible to defeat Russia in a month, three months or a year?" he asked, adding: "There is no doubt that the goal of those who did this is to make it difficult for Putin to communicate, so that everyone who talks to him is aware that he is accused of war crimes."

Asked if Mr Putin would be arrested if he comes to Serbia, Mr Vucic said that it is "a pointless question, because it is clear that as long as the conflict (in Ukraine) continues, Putin has nowhere to go."

ICYMI: Putin to meet Xi in Moscow

Sunday 19 March 2023 14:24 , Matt Mathers

President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from Monday to Wednesday in an apparent show of support for Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin on Friday also announced the visit, saying it will take place “at the invitation of Vladimir Putin.” Xi and Putin will discuss “issues of further development of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China,” as well as exchange views “in the context of deepening Russian-Chinese cooperation in the international arena,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two leaders will also sign “important bilateral documents,” the statement read.

Russian attacks continue in wake of Putin arrest warrant

Sunday 19 March 2023 14:15 , Matt Mathers

Widespread Russian attacks continued in Ukraine following the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights.

Full report:

Russian attacks continue in wake of Putin arrest warrant

ICYMI: Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate

Sunday 19 March 2023 13:45 , Matt Mathers

Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk‘s new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility.

David Klepper reports:

Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate

Black Sea drones show US involvement in conflict against Russia - Kremlin

Sunday 19 March 2023 13:10 , Matt Mathers

US drone flights over the Baltic Sea are a sign of direct US involvement in conflict with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Last week, a US  drone crashed into the sea after being intercepted by Russian Su-27 fighter planes in the first known direct military encounter between the two sides since Russia launched its war in Ukraine last year.

"It is quite obvious what these drones are doing, and their mission is not at all a peaceful mission to ensure the safety of shipping in international waters," Interfax news agency quoted Mr Peskov as saying in a TV interview.

"And in fact, we are talking about the direct involvement of the operators of these drones in the conflict, and against us."

US said the Russian planes harassed the drone in Tuesday’s incident and sprayed fuel on it before one of them clipped its propeller and caused it to crash while on a reconnaissance mission in international airspace.

South Africa aware of legal obligations regarding Putin visit

Sunday 19 March 2023 12:40 , Matt Mathers

South Africa is aware of its legal obligation, a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday, referring to a proposed visit by Vladimir Putin after an international court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian leader.

Russian President Putin was expected to visit South Africa in August to attend a BRICS summit.

"We are, as the government, cognisant of our legal obligation. However, between now and the summit we will remain engaged with various relevant stakeholders," spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.

While there has been no official confirmation of Putin’s visit, he has been expected to attend the 15th BRICS summit, as he did in 2013.

But such a visit would place Ramaphosa’s government, which has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in a precarious position after the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday.

"We note the report on the warrant of arrest that the ICC has issued," Magwenya said.

"It remains South Africa’s commitment and very strong desire that the conflict in Ukraine is resolved peacefully through negotiations."

Why China is trying to mediate in the Ukraine invasion

Sunday 19 March 2023 12:00 , Matt Mathers

The war has handed Beijing opportunities that it might once have considered to be quite a lot further down the line, writes Mary Dejevsky.

Read Mary’s full piece here:

Why China is trying to mediate in the Ukraine invasion | Mary Dejevsky