Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

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Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

****** heaps praise on Xi, China at start of state visit

Russian President Vladimir ****** heaped praise on his ******** counterpart Xi Jinping during a two-day state visit to China.

After the two leaders and their delegations held around 45 minutes of talks, ****** said at a press conference that discussions had been “warm and comradely” and had shown the importance of the relationship, in comments reported by Reuters.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir ****** and China’s President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on May 16, 2024. 

Sergei Bobylyov | Afp | Getty Images

He said it was “logical” that his first foreign trip after being re-elected to a fifth term in office was to China, Russia’s most important ally globally.

****** thanked Xi for the warm welcome at the start of the trip. Earlier, the leaders had held talks in which ****** said they had discussed trade and investment, deepening energy cooperation and the thorny subject of Ukraine.

****** said Russia was grateful to China for trying to solve what Beijing describes as the Ukraine “crisis,” and said he would brief Xi on the situation in Ukraine where Russian forces have been making daily gains during a new offensive in the northeast.

The leaders earlier signed a ****** statement on deepening their “strategic partnership of cooperation for a new era,” ********

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. Other Russian and ******** officials are reportedly set to sign 10 other documents, though it’s uncertain what those likely bilateral agreements pertain to.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian forces advancing in all directions in Ukraine, Shoigu says

Sergei Shoigu, the new secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said Russian forces are advancing in all directions in Ukraine.

“As the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Vladimir ******] said, this is visible and obvious, the offensive is underway in all directions and is going quite well,” Shoigu said in 

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 with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin,

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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had taken control of two more settlements in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, building on daily gains in the northeast as a new offensive builds momentum.

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

Russian President Vladimir ****** (L) and ******** President Xi Jinping (R) talk during a bilateral meeting on May 16, 2024, in Beijing, China. Russian President Vladimir ****** is in China for a two-day state visit. 

Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Shoigu was replaced by Belousov following a government reshuffle by President Vladimir ****** last week. The move to the Security Council was seen as a demotion. Shoigu said Thursday that his main focus in his new role ******** the “special military operation.”

“It’s difficult to single out any [one task], but the main task ******** a special military operation – the production of ammunition, weapons and military equipment. I think that for all of us this is the main task,” he commented.

— Holly Ellyatt

Estonia approves use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reparations

The Estonian parliament on Wednesday passed an act enabling Russian-owned assets which have been frozen under international sanctions to be used to compensate Ukraine for war damages.

In a statement, Estonia’s Constitutional Committee said the country could take a pioneering role in creating a legal framework for the use of such assets for reparations.

Under the act, a foreign state that has sustained damage which has been proven by international law — such as Ukraine — could submit a compensation claim in Estonia.

Conditions on the use of assets as an “advance payment for compensation for damage” would then be agreed with the state making the claim. The link between the owner of the assets to the ******** acts would have to be proven.

TALLINN, ESTONIA – MARCH 22: Estonia’s parliament building stands on Toompea hill in the historic city center at twilight on March 22, 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

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

“Estonia is proposing a mechanism that provides for the liability of the people and companies directly involved in or contributing to the aggression,” Terras added.

It comes after ********* Union ambassadors last week struck an agreement over using the profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Details have not yet been released and the law has not been approved by EU leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Washington has the power to seize Russian assets in the U.S. to use them to help rebuild Ukraine, and that it plans to do so.

— Jenni Reid

Russian defense spending could reach 8.7% of its GDP, ****** says

Russia’s defense and security spending could total as much as 8.7% or more of its ****** domestic product this year, President Vladimir ****** said Wednesday in a meeting with military commanders, state media agency RIA Novosti reported.

“This is a big resource, and we are obliged to use it very efficiently and effectively,” ****** said, according to a

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-translation of quotes published by the state news agency.

Social obligations to citizens such as education and healthcare must also continue despite the added expenses, ****** said.

Russia’s president said the increasing amount of funds used for defense was a key reason for appointing Andrei Belousov as new defense minister.

Belousov was appointed earlier this week, replacing former defense minister Sergei Shoigu, who has in turn been made Secretary of Russia’s security council.

— Sophie Kiderlin

U.S. to provide additional military funding worth $2 billion to Ukraine, Blinken says

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to their talks in Kyiv, on May 15, 2024. 

Brendan Smialowski | Via Reuters

The U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional $2 billion worth of military funding, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday, adding that a security agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine may not be far off.

“We will provide an additional $2 billion of foreign military financing for Ukraine,” Blinken said in a ******

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with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The funds have been put together in a “first of it’s kind defense-enterprise fund,” which aims to provide weapons imminently, boost Ukraine’s defense-industrial base and help the country buy military equipment from elsewhere, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a ****** press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, amid Russia’s ******* on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 15, 2024. 

Alina Smutko | Reuters

“We’re rushing ammunition, armored vehicles, missiles, air defense, rushing them to get to the front lines,” Blinken said.

A security agreement between the U.S. and the Ukraine is expected to be signed within weeks as the “heavy lifting” has been done, he said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Zelenskyy postpones foreign visits

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday instructed to postpone all of his scheduled foreign visits for several days, a spokesperson announced on social media.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky waits to greet US Secretary of State prior to their meeting in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. 

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed that all international events involving him scheduled for the coming days be postponed and new dates coordinated. We are grateful to our partners for their understanding,” Serhii Nikiforov said in a

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on

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.

Nikiforov indicated that this came as Zelenskyy was updated on the developments in the Kharkiv region, where Russia launched a fresh offensive in recent days.

Zelenskyy was due to travel Spain and Portugal later this week.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Russia says it has taken control of three further settlements in Ukraine

The Russian defense ministry on Wednesday said its army had taken control of three further settlements in Ukraine.

Two of these settlements,  Lukyantski and Hlyboke are in the Kahrkiv region, and another is in the Zaporizhzhia area, the ministry said in several

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-translated

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on

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.

In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces “also advanced into the depths of the ******’s defense” and resisted several counterattacks, according to the ministry.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

Fighting in the Kharkiv region in the north-east of Ukraine has intensified in recent days, after Moscow launched an offensive in the area earlier this month. Russia has made territorial gains and seized several settlements in the region since.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:

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Breaking News: Europe,Breaking news,War,Foreign policy,Russia,Russia-Ukraine Crisis,Politics,Ukraine,Government and politics,Kharkiv,Vladimir ******,Sergei Shoigu,Xi Jinping,China,business news
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