Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

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Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

EU leaders respond to Russia’s comments on Western involvement in the war

********* Union leaders on Friday responded to comments from Russia saying it considered itself to be at war due to the Western intervention in Ukraine.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, said that Russia’s comments show that the Kremlin has betrayed Russians by not admitting to the war and spreading disinformation, Reuters reported.

Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron said it would be wrong to believe Russian aggression would end in regions such as Donbass and Crimea, which are either partially or fully occupied by Russia. The comments also raised uncertainty about Russia’s military goals, he added according to Reuters.

********* Union Council President Charles Michel said that Russia’s comments proved the importance of expanding Europe’s defense sector.

“We must tell to our citizens all across the EU that if we want peace, if we want security and stability, it is extremely important to improve our defense capabilities and to build a true ********* Union in defense,” he said according to Reuters.

Michel also said that the EU was “not intimidated” by Russia saying it would retaliate if the EU used the profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

Russia building up 100,000 troops for possible summer offensive, Ukraine commander says

Russia is building up a group of over 100,000 troops who could be deployed for a possible new offensive in Ukraine this summer, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said Friday

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Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Pavliuk said it was not certain what the new troops would be used for, noting that they could also be amassed to replenish depleted units, as Russia’s military faces heavy losses two years into its offensive.

“We do not fully know Russia’s plans. We only know the data they have, what they are creating. They are building up a group of more than 100,000 troops,” Pavliuk was reported as saying on Ukrainian TV.

“It won’t necessarily be an offensive. Perhaps they will replenish their units that are losing combat effectiveness. But there is a possibility that by the beginning of summer they may have certain forces to carry out offensive operations in one of the axes,” he added.

— Karen Gilchrist

EU moves towards giving profits from frozen assets to Ukraine

President of the ********* Commission Ursula von der Leyen is speaking during a ****** media conference with Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 24, 2024, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ********* officials and Canada’s Prime Minister are visiting the capital Kyiv on the second anniversary of the start of the Russian full-scale invasion in Ukraine. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

STR | Nurphoto | Getty Images

********* Union leaders on Thursday agreed in principle to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

The proposals, which would include buying arms for Ukraine, could come into effect within a few months, according to leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels.

********* Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the first 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) from the scheme could be disbursed as soon as July 1. The Commission estimates that profits on the assets could be worth up to 3 billion euros per year.

The proposals are different from the idea of issuing bonds, put forward by the U.S. and Brussels.

The Kremlin said Thursday, ahead of the announcement, that it would retaliate if such measures were taken.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukraine could step back on sponsors of war list: reports

Ukraine may step back on its “sponsors of war” blacklist in the coming days, Reuters

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on Friday.

The blacklist campaign could be scrapped as soon as Friday, after facing backlash from countries including China and France, Reuters said, citing sources familiar with the plans. A website providing information on individuals under Western sanctions and the origin of Russian weapons parts could also be scrapped.

CNBC could not independently verify the information. Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The campaign, which has no legal standing, is intended to expose companies seen as propping up the Russian economy, for instance by paying taxes for operating within the country.

It comes as Kyiv seeks to maintain support from global allies more than two years into Russia’s full-fledged invasion.

— Karen Gilchrist

Russian Central Bank holds rates steady at 16%

A man walks past the Russian Central Bank headquarters in downtown Moscow on September 6, 2023.

Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images

The Russian Central Bank

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interest rates steady at 16% Friday, marking the second consecutive hold after a series of hikes aimed at dampening high inflation.

The decision, which was in line with analyst expectations, comes as the bank forecasts inflation to fall to 4%-4.5% this year, down from 7.4% in 2023.

— Karen Gilchrist

Russia at war due to Western intervention in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir ****** and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. 

Sergei Bobylev | Via Reuters

The Kremlin said Friday that Russia is at war because of Western intervention in Ukraine, Reuters cited the Tass news agency as saying.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said that Moscow needed to “liberate” Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia — Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in 2022.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukraine’s energy grid receiving assistance from abroad after Russian *******; Zaporizhzhia power line restored

Ukraine’s energy grid began receiving urgent assistance from abroad after a series of Russia air strikes damaged energy facilities, national grid operator Ukrenergo said Friday.

Poland, Romania and Slovakia were providing support after the attacks left more than 1 million people without power, the company said in a

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on Telegram.

Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the largest in Europe — was on the verge of ********* Friday morning after Russia struck a nearby hydroelectric dam.

Russian-controlled management said shortly afterward that the plant’s main power line was up again after a high-voltage line supplying it with electricity was repaired.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukraine’s Kharkiv hit by power outages after Russian missile strikes

Firefighters extinguish a ***** at an electrical substation after a missile ******* in Kharkiv, on March 22, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. 

Sergey Bobok | AFP | Getty Images

Kharkiv faced several of power outages Friday after Russian missile strikes appeared to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

In a series of

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on Telegram, Terekhov said there were around 15 blasts overnight, which also caused disruption to water supplies and transport systems. He did not report any casualties.

— Karen Gilchrist

IMF approves $880 million loan payment for Ukraine

In this photo International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen in Washington D.C., ******* States on April 11, 2023.

Celal Gunes | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday

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a third review of Ukraine’s $15.6 billion loan program, allowing the embattled country to draw budget support of $880 million and bringing total disbursements to $5.4 billion.

The global lender said Ukraine’s economy showed “remarkable resilience” in 2023 but noted that risks remain from Russia’s ongoing onslaught. However, Ukraine mission chief Gavin Gray told reporters the fund still expected the war in Ukraine to wind down by the end of 2024,

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to Reuters.

The IMF funding, which is due to arrive in the coming days, follows a tranche on EU funding received Wednesday. It comes as a U.S. funding bill ******** held up in Congress.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.S. reportedly urges Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries

Washington has reportedly urged Kyiv to cease drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, cautioning that the attacks risk driving up global oil prices, sources familiar with the discussions told

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One source said the White House had grown increasingly irritated with brazen Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, terminals and storage facilities.

The warnings were delivered to Ukraine’s state security service and its military intelligence directorate, according to the reports — both of which have ramped up their drone strikes on Russian targets on land, sea and air.

Despite Western sanctions, Russia ******** one of the world’s most important energy exporters, and U.S. officials expressed concerns that such strikes could result in retaliatory attacks on Western energy infrastructure.

— Karen Gilchrist

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban congratulates ****** on reelection, state media reports

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Russian President Vladimir ****** on his reelection, state news agency MTI reported on Thursday.

According to the agency, Orban wrote in a letter that cooperation between Hungary and Russia was “based on mutual respect, allowing the discussion of important issues even in the current very difficult geopolitical situation.”

— Reuters

Russian production of artillery and weapons surges significantly, defense ministry says

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects implementation of the state defence order at a military-industrial complex facility in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, in this picture released April 6, 2023.

Vadim Savitsky | Russian Defence Ministry | Via Reuters

Russia’s production of artillery and weapons has grown substantially, the defense ministry said on Thursday following an inspection of several factories by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

In a Telegram

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translated by CNBC via

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Translate, Shoigu was quoted as having said that artillery production has grown by nearly two and a half times since existing factories were expanded and new ones were opened.

The production of components for ammunition has increased close to 22 times, Shoigu further said, while one factory he visited produced five times more artillery and aviation weapons now than they did previously, according to the ministry.

Russian President Vladimir ****** and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu tour a military gear exhibition after an expanded meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry Board at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow on December 19, 2023.

Mikhail Klimentyev | Afp | Getty Images

Russian defense spending has soared since the war began, boosting the country’s economy which has fared far better than many observers previously expected. This may however not last, Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s minister of foreign affairs, told CNBC Tuesday.

“If you put your economy on a crisis or war footing, your GDP rises because you are producing more shells and tanks and all the things that are going to get destroyed, but you’re also wasting the resources and the wealth of your country, and this has limits,” he said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:

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