Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she has warned Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, that any arms shipments to Russia would “significantly harm” relations with the EU. Von der Leyen, who is in Beijing, said she encouraged Xi to reach out to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. China is willing to enhance strategic mutual trust with the EU, President Xi said.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has urged China’s Xi Jinping to bring Russia “back to reason” over the war in Ukraine, as the two held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing. However, a few hours later in Moscow, a government spokesperson said he saw no prospect for China to mediate in the Ukraine conflict and that Russia had “no other way” than to press on with its offensive.
Macron said he and Xi had agreed that nuclear weapons should be excluded from the conflict in Ukraine. Macron, at a joint news conference in Bejing, said Europe’s security architecture was not possible as long as Ukraine is occupied. China is ready to work with France to “push hard” for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a French diplomat source who spoke after the meeting.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in Moscow to discuss expanding economic cooperation and bolstering defence ties between the two countries. The talks held at the Kremlin on Thursday involved senior Russian and Belarusian officials and followed the leaders’ one-on-one meeting on Wednesday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the pair did not discuss the placement of tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory in talks today.
The Kremlin has said Russia is taking steps to “ensure our safety” and defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Finland formally became Nato’s 31st member on Tuesday, doubling the length of the transatlantic defensive alliance’s land border with Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would keep an eye on any Nato military deployments to Finland and respond accordingly.
The head of Russia’s private Wagner militia group has said there are no signs of Ukrainian forces leaving Bakhmut, and that fighting continues to rage on in the western part of Ukraine’s eastern city. In a Telegram post, Prigozhin, who has been critical of Russia’s military top brass, made clear he was not satisfied with the support he was receiving from the country’s mainstream forces.
Ukraine may be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested. Andriy Sybiha, the deputy head of the president’s office, expressed Kyiv’s interest in negotiations should Ukrainian forces reach the region’s administrative border as a result of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive many expect will begin in the coming months.
But Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymr Zelenskiy, ruled out peace talks until Russian forces have left all of Ukraine, including the Russian-occupied Crimea. Posting to Twitter on Thursday, Podolyak said there was “no question of any territorial concessions or bargaining of our sovereign rights”. Crimea has been under Russian occupation since February 2014 and was illegally annexed by Moscow the following month after a sham referendum.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has arrived in Greece for a visit where he was promised more artillery and small arms ammunition shipments, access to Greek hospitals for wounded military personnel and additional Soviet-era BMP infantry fighting vehicles. The Greek defence minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, said Athens “will provide every support to Ukraine at this very important, crucial stage of the war” during a joint news conference with Reznikov.
A top Ukrainian air commander has said Kyiv is in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he said were “four or five times” more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by his forces. Poland and Slovakia have recently begun to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, but Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in Ukraine’s air force, said the Soviet-era warplanes would not be able to fully counteract Russia’s vast air force.
Residents of Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia have been asked to avoid mass gatherings on Easter this Sunday. Zaporizhzhia regional head, Yuriy Malashko, was cited urging residents in the region, which remains partially occupied by Russian forces, to pay attention to air raid sirens and to remain cautious during the Easter holidays.
A Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother, the Kremlin children’s rights commissioner has said. In a case that drew international outrage, the father of 13-year-old Maria Moskalyova was convicted of discrediting the Russian military and handed a two-year prison term, and his daughter was sent to the orphanage.
A Moscow court will consider an appeal by lawyers for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent arrested on espionage charges in Russia, to lift his pre-trial detention. The hearing on 18 April will be held behind closed doors since Russia considers information related to the charges as classified, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the court’s press service.
Sweden’s prosecution authority has said it remains unclear who was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany which spewed gas into the Baltic last year. Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Reuters that “the clear main scenario” was that a state-sponsored group was behind the sabotage, but that an independent group was still “theoretically possible”.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. Thank you for following along.
F-16s ‘four or five times better’ than current Soviet-era planes, says Ukrainian commander
A top Ukrainian air commander has said Kyiv is in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he said were “four or five times” more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by his forces.
Poland and Slovakia have recently begun to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, but Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in Ukraine’s air force, said the Soviet-era warplanes would not be able to fully counteract Russia’s vast air force.
Holubtsov, appearing on Ukrainian television, said:
The F-16 is a fighter that has become a multirole aircraft which can fulfil the entire spectrum of airborne tasks. The MiG-29 unfortunately, is from the last century.
The US has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now. The White House’s position is critical because the US has control over the jets’ re-export, and no nation will want to be out of step with Washington, given concerns about any possible Russian retaliation.
At least seven civilians have been killed in two separate Ukrainian artillery strikes, Russian state news agencies reported, citing authorities in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
Four civilians died in Donetsk when shells hit a car park, and another six people were injured, the state-owned Tass news agency said.
In a separate report, the state-run Ria news agency said three people died in blasts at a bus stop in Lysychansk, some 120km (75 miles) to the north-east of Donetsk.
The reports have not been independently verified.
US President Joe Biden discussed his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China in a phone call earlier this week, US state department spokesperson Vedant Patel has said.
Patel said:
The United States and France share concerns regarding the challenge [China] poses to the rules-based international order, including through Beijing’s ongoing support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ukraine has launched an app to help find children who have disappeared during the war and reconnect families separated in the conflict, the country’s police have said.
An estimated 19,544 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the invasion in February last year, according to Ukrainian authorities. Russia has denied abducting children and says they were taken for their safety.
The mobile app Reunite Ukraine is free to download and easy to operate, said the deputy head of Ukraine’s national police, Oleksandr Fatsevych.
Police will check and confirm personal profiles and act as an intermediary to enable communication via the app, he added.
At an online briefing, Fatsevych said:
If we find even one child in such a way or reunite one family, it will be already a victory, a small one, but with every step we will be able to return children home.
Updated
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, will visit China from 13 to 15 April, a Brussels spokesperson has confirmed.
Borrell’s visit will follow trips to Beijing by senior European officials, including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who are both currently in China. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited Beijing last week.
Updated
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned that China risks significantly harming its relationship with the EU.
Von der Leyen, after attending talks with Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron in Beijing, said:
Arming the aggressor is a clear violation of international law.
Updated
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymr Zelenskiy, has ruled out peace talks until Russian forces have left all of Ukraine, including the Russian-occupied Crimea.
Posting to Twitter, Podolyak said there was “no question of any territorial concessions or bargaining of our sovereign rights”.
About basics. The basis for real negotiations with RF is the complete withdrawal of Russian armed groups beyond the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine in 1991. Including #Crimea. There is no question of any territorial concessions or bargaining of our sovereign rights.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 6, 2023
His tweet came after another Zelenskiy adviser, Andriy Sybiha, said Kyiv may be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula.
Crimea has been under Russian occupation since February 2014 and was illegally annexed by Moscow the following month after a sham referendum.
Updated
Putin and Belarusian president Lukashenko hold talks in Moscow
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in Moscow to discuss expanding economic cooperation and bolstering defence ties between the two countries.
The talks held at the Kremlin today involved senior Russian and Belarusian officials and followed the leaders’ one-on-one meeting yesterday.
The Russian leader announced last month that Moscow would station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, which he said followed negotiations with Lukashenko who had “long raised the question” of a nuclear deployment on his country’s territory.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the pair did not discuss the placement of such strategic nuclear weapons in talks today, Interfax news agency reported.
In opening remarks at Thursday’s talks, Lukashenko warned that “if necessary, we will use all we have to protect our countries and peoples”. He added:
We aren’t blackmailing anyone. It will be so.
Putin said there would be “close work” on boosting cooperating under an agreement that envisions close political, economic and military ties between Belarus and Russia.
There was no mention of the war in Ukraine in Putin and Lukashenko’s public statements at the summit.
Updated
China is ready to work with France to “push hard” for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a French diplomat source who spoke after President Xi Jinping and President Emmanuel Macron held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing.
Macron and Xi “agreed to ‘work hard’ in order to accelerate the end of the war and to obtain that a negotiation opens in the full respect of international law”, Reuters is citing the source as saying.
The source did not give specific details on whether Beijing had indicated a change in position, but said the two sides had agreed to hold further talks.
Xi had also indicated that he was ready to call Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his own time, the source said.
Macron urged Beijing not to deliver anything that Russia could use “in its war in Ukraine”, the source said.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she has warned Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, that any arms shipments to Russia would “significantly harm” relations with the EU. Von der Leyen, who is in Beijing, said she encouraged Xi to reach out to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. China is willing to enhance strategic mutual trust with the EU, President Xi said.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has urged China’s Xi Jinping to bring Russia “back to reason” over the war in Ukraine, as the two held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing. However, a few hours later in Moscow, a government spokesperson said he saw no prospect for China to mediate in the Ukraine conflict and that Russia had “no other way” than to press on with its offensive.
Macron said he and Xi had agreed that nuclear weapons should be excluded from the conflict in Ukraine. Macron, at a joint news conference in Bejing, said Europe’s security architecture was not possible as long as Ukraine is occupied.
The head of Russia’s private Wagner militia group has said there are no signs of Ukrainian forces leaving Bakhmut, and that fighting continues to rage on in the western part of Ukraine’s eastern city. In a Telegram post, Prigozhin, who has been critical of Russia’s military top brass, made clear he was not satisfied with the support he was receiving from the country’s mainstream forces.
Ukraine may be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested. Andriy Sybiha, the deputy head of the president’s office, expressed Kyiv’s interest in negotiations should Ukrainian forces reach the region’s administrative border as a result of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive many expect will begin in the coming months.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has arrived in Greece for a visit where he was promised more artillery and small arms ammunition shipments, access to Greek hospitals for wounded military personnel and additional Soviet-era BMP infantry fighting vehicles. The Greek defence minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, said Athens “will provide every support to Ukraine at this very important, crucial stage of the war” during a joint news conference with Reznikov.
The Kremlin has said Russia is taking steps to “ensure our safety” and defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Finland formally became Nato’s 31st member on Tuesday, doubling the length of the transatlantic defensive alliance’s land border with Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would keep an eye on any Nato military deployments to Finland and respond accordingly.
Residents of Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia have been asked to avoid mass gatherings on Easter this Sunday. Zaporizhzhia regional head, Yuriy Malashko, was cited urging residents in the region, which remains partially occupied by Russian forces, to pay attention to air raid sirens and to remain cautious during the Easter holidays.
The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has claimed that Russian armed forces have prevented an attempt to break into the territory of the region by a group of saboteurs. The claims by Alexander Bogomaz have not been independently verified.
Ukraine’s state arms producer has said it would launch joint production of 125mm rounds for Soviet-era tanks with Polish arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ). Ukroboronprom said Poland would become the second Nato member state to help Ukraine produce ammunition. Ukroboronprom’s officials have said Russia has constantly attacked arms facilities, forcing it to move production to safer areas.
A Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother, the Kremlin children’s rights commissioner has said. In a case that drew international outrage, the father of 13-year-old Maria Moskalyova was convicted of discrediting the Russian military and handed a two-year prison term, and his daughter was sent to the orphanage.
A Moscow court will consider an appeal by lawyers for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent arrested on espionage charges in Russia, to lift his pre-trial detention. The hearing on 18 April will be held behind closed doors since Russia considers information related to the charges as classified, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the court’s press service.
Sweden’s prosecution authority has said it remains unclear who was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany which spewed gas into the Baltic last year. Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Reuters that “the clear main scenario” was that a state-sponsored group was behind the sabotage, but that an independent group was still “theoretically possible”.
Updated
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has arrived in Greece for a visit where he was promised more artillery and small arms ammunition shipments, access to Greek hospitals for wounded military personnel and additional Soviet-era BMP infantry fighting vehicles.
The Greek defence minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, said Athens “will provide every support to Ukraine at this very important, crucial stage of the war” during a joint news conference with Reznikov.
Panagiotopoulos added:
We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes – that’s a very clear position that we have taken from the outset.
Updated
Poland in deal to assist Ukraine in producing Soviet-era ammunition
Ukraine’s state arms producer said on Thursday it would launch joint production of 125mm rounds for Soviet-era tanks with Polish arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).
Ukroboronprom said Poland would become the second Nato member state to help Ukraine produce ammunition.
“In line with the agreement, new production lines to produce large numbers of ammunition for 125mm tank guns are planned,” the company said in a statement. The agreement was signed during President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Poland on Wednesday.
Ukraine will provide the technology and send its specialists to Polish cities where production facilities will be located given high security risks. Ukroboronprom’s officials have said Russia has constantly attacked arms facilities, forcing it to move production to safer areas.
Updated
Bryansk governor claims Ukrainian attempt to cross into Russian territory foiled
Russia’s Interfax news agency is reporting that the governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has claimed that Russian armed forces have prevented an attempt to break into the territory of the region by a group of saboteurs.
It cites Alexander Bogomaz posting on his Telegram channel:
Today, the border department of the FSB of Russia in the Bryansk region thwarted an attempt to penetrate the territory of the Russian Federation near the village of Sluchovsk, Pogarsky district, by a Ukrainian DRG in the amount of 20 people.
Subdivisions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, together with subdivisions of the border troops, inflicted a fire defeat on the enemy.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
EU warns China not to send arms to Russia
China is willing to enhance strategic mutual trust with the EU, president Xi Jinping said on Thursday.
China and the EU should establish correct mutual understanding and avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment, Xi said while meeting the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in Beijing, Reuters reports, citing CCTV.
For her part, AFP reports Von der Leyen says she warned China that any arms shipments to Russia would “significantly harm” relations.
#BREAKING EU's von der Leyen says warned China any arms shipments to Russia would 'significantly harm' relations pic.twitter.com/MthV0qE2o6
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 6, 2023
Updated
Von der Leyen says she encouraged Xi to reach out to Zelenskiy during meeting
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that she had encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping during her visit to Beijing to reach out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Reuters reports Von der Leyen was responding to a question at a press conference on whether it was realistic that China might pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
She also said that discussed imbalances in trade between the EU and China, raised the EU’s deep concern about nuclear threats being located in Belarus, and said that China’s position on the UN security council gave it a responsibility to use its influence in a friendship with Russia built on decades.
AFP reports that Von der Leyen said in a Thursday meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang that relations between the EU and China had grown “complex in recent years”.
“It is important that we discuss all aspects of this relationship together today,” she said, especially in the current “volatile geopolitical environment”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has urged China’s Xi Jinping to bring Russia “back to reason” over the war in Ukraine, as the two held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing.
Updated
Residents of Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia have been asked to avoid mass gatherings on Easter this Sunday, according to a report.
Zaporizhzhia regional head, Yuriy Malashko, was cited by RBC Ukraine as saying:
We should not hope for a lull [in fighting] during the holidays because the possibility of enemy attacks is not out of the question.
He urged residents in the region, which remains partially occupied by Russian forces, to pay attention to air raid sirens and to remain cautious during the Easter holidays.
Updated
Russia ‘taking measures’ in response to Nato expansion, says Kremlin
The Kremlin has said Russia is taking steps to “ensure our safety” and defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, speaking to journalists, was responding to comments by the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, who on Wednesday said a joint statement by Russia and China declaring countries should not deploy nuclear weapons outside their borders amounted to “empty promises”.
Peskov said:
It is Nato that is expanding towards Russia, not Russia that is taking its military infrastructure towards the borders of Nato.
Finland formally became Nato’s 31st member on Tuesday, doubling the length of the transatlantic defensive alliance’s land border with Russia. Sweden is also set to join the alliance.
Peskov said Russia would keep an eye on any Nato military deployments to Finland and respond accordingly. He said:
This movement adds to our concerns and worries for our safety ... and we are taking measures to ensure our security. And so it will be every time Nato approaches our borders, in order to rebalance the security architecture on the continent.
Updated
Updated
Here’s more from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s private Wagner group leading the battle for Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut.
In a Telegram post, Prigozhin, who has been critical of Russia’s military top brass, made clear he was not satisfied with the support he was receiving from the country’s mainstream forces. He said:
The first question is to make sure that our flanks are well protected. The second is to make sure that our command is properly organised.
“And third, it’s ammunition,” he added, having previously accused Moscow several times of starving his forces of ammunition.
My colleague Luke Harding, who is in Odesa in southern Ukraine, has spotted a signboard thanking Kyiv’s celebrity supporters.
Signboard in #Odesa with Ukraine’s A-list supporters including .. pic.twitter.com/vE1q47NBbN
— Luke Harding (@lukeharding1968) April 6, 2023
Updated
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has said he wants to avoid an escalation in Ukraine, as he and his French counterpart, Emmannuel Macron, held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing.
China has been keen to carve out ties with Europe that are independent of Beijing’s souring relationship with the US. The visit to Beijing by Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, comes against a backdrop of the Ukraine war and a global economic crunch.
After the meeting between Macron and Xi, the French president said his Chinese counterpart had “important words” on Ukraine. He said France and China agreed nuclear weapons should be excluded from the conflict.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that there were “no prospects” for a political settlement in Ukraine, mediated by China or by anyone else.
Updated
A Moscow court will consider an appeal by lawyers for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent arrested on espionage charges in Russia, to lift his pre-trial detention, according to a report.
The hearing on 18 April will be held behind closed doors since Russia considers information related to the charges as classified, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the court’s press service.
Gershkovich was arrested last week in the city of Ekaterinburg and flown to Moscow, where a court ruled he should be held in detention until at least 29 May. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, in a case that has been widely condemned as tantamount to hostage-taking.
The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the suggestion that Gershkovich could have been involved in espionage, and the US president, Joe Biden, has urged Moscow to “let him go”.
Updated
China agrees ‘nuclear weapons should be excluded’ from Ukraine conflict, says Macron
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said he and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, had discussed the war in Ukraine and had agreed that nuclear weapons should be excluded from the conflict.
Macron, at a joint news conference in Bejing, said Europe’s security architecture was not possible as long as Ukraine is occupied.
The French presidency’s office described the meeting between Macron and Xi, which last an hour and a half, as “frank and constructive”.
Updated
Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut ‘not going anywhere’, says Wagner boss
The head of Russia’s private Wagner militia group has said there are no signs of Ukrainian forces leaving the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia’s war.
Fighting continued to rage on in the western part of the city, Yevgeny Prigozhin posted to his Telegram account today. He wrote:
It must be said clearly that the enemy is not going anywhere.
Prigozhin’s remarks came a day after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, hinted at the potential for a withdrawal of forces from eastern Ukraine’s devastated “fortress” city.
Ukrainian troops face a difficult situation in Bakhmut, Zelenskiy said at a Wednesday news conference in Poland, but Kyiv would take the “corresponding” decisions to protect them if they risk being encircled by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian leader said his country’s troops in Bakhmut sometimes advanced a little only to be pushed back by Russian forces, but that they remained inside the city.
Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here taking over the Russia-Ukraine war live blog from Martin Belam. If you’d like to contact me directly, click the “send us a message” button under our bylines.
Updated
Ukraine may be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has suggested.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Andriy Sybiha, the deputy head of the president’s office, expressed Kyiv’s interest in negotiations should Ukrainian forces reach the region’s administrative border as a result of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive many expect will begin in the coming months.
“If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open a diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” Sybiha said. He added:
It doesn’t mean that we exclude the way of liberation [of Crimea] by our army.
It was unclear how serious Sybiha’s remarks were or whether they may represent disinformation to lead Moscow to believe Kyiv’s coming offensive will focus on the south in the direction of Crimea after previous successful military deception efforts by Kyiv last year.
With Ukraine under continuing Russian pressure in the eastern city of Bakhmut, and Zelenskiy once again hinting at the potential for a withdrawal there, the remarks may also be aimed at bolstering Ukrainian public morale by projecting confidence over any counteroffensive’s likelihood for success.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
President Emmanuel Macron met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, and told Xi: “I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason.” The French president, who arrived on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, shook hands with Xi outside the Great Hall of the People, the heart of power in China’s capital. Reuters quotes the French president saying: “The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to stability. I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table.” Macron has said during his trip that Beijing can play a “major role” in finding a path to peace in the conflict and welcomed China’s “willingness to commit to a resolution”.
Ukraine has made what the Financial Times calls its “most explicit statement of Ukraine’s interest in negotiations” since cutting off peace talks last year in April, saying that it is willing to discuss the future of Crimea. In an interview with the Financial Times, Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, said: “If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open a diplomatic page to discuss this issue. It doesn’t mean that we exclude the liberation of Crimea by our army.”
It remains unclear who was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany which spewed gas into the Baltic last year, Sweden’s prosecution authority, which is investigating the incident, said on Thursday. “We are working unconditionally and turning over every stone and leaving nothing to chance,” prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement. Ljungqvist told Reuters that “the clear main scenario” was that a state sponsored group was behind the sabotage, but that an independent group was still “theoretically possible”. He also said that the type of explosive used in the bombings ruled out “a large portion of actors”.
The Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother. Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, said: “Masha did not want to go to her mother at first, and her opinion is legally required to be taken into account. Now her position has changed – she told me this herself on the phone. Olga has already taken Masha from the social rehabilitation centre. Let’s hope that everything will work out for mum and daughter.” Lvova-Belova published a picture on her official Telegram which she claimed showed the reunited child and mother. The Hague-based international criminal court (ICC) last month issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting children from Ukraine and the unlawful transfer of people to Russia from Ukraine.
Bilateral relations between Sweden and Hungary are at a low point, prime minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, told a media briefing on Thursday, calling on Stockholm to take steps to boost confidence. Hungary is one of two countries holding up Sweden’s accession to Nato.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later. Léonie Chao-Fong will be here shortly to take you through the next few hours of our live coverage. Don’t forget if you are on mobile web or desktop web you can message us directly using the new feature under our bylines.
Updated
Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist has added to his earlier comments about the investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. [See 8.33 BST]
Ljungqvist told Reuters that “the clear main scenario” was that a state sponsored group was behind the sabotage, but that an independent group was still “theoretically possible”.
He also said that the type of explosive used in the bombings ruled out “a large portion of actors”.
Updated
Bilateral relations between Hungary and Sweden are at a low point, prime minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, told a media briefing on Thursday, calling on Stockholm to take steps to boost confidence, Reuters reports.
Finland and its neighbour Sweden applied together last year to join Nato, but Sweden’s application has been held up by Nato members Turkey and Hungary. Hungary cites grievances over Swedish criticism of Orbán’s record on democracy and rule of law.
Updated
Macron tells Xi: 'I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason'
President Emmanuel Macron met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Thursday, and told Xi: “I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason.”
The French president, who arrived on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, shook hands with Xi outside the Great Hall of the People, the heart of power in China’s capital.
Xi greeted his guest on a huge red carpet lined by Chinese and French flags as the countries’ national anthems played, an AFP journalist said.
Reuters quotes the French president saying:
The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to stability. I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table.
Macron has said during his trip that Beijing can play a “major role” in finding a path to peace in the conflict and welcomed China’s “willingness to commit to a resolution”.
He is accompanied on his visit by the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and said he wants to “be a voice that unites Europe” over Ukraine, and that coming to China with her serves to “underline the consistency of this approach”.
Updated
Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, one of the partly occupied regions which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed, has posted a status update to Telegram.
Pavlo Kyrylenko writes that in Bakhumt, “two civilians were killed and two wounded – the damage to a kindergarten, two private houses and three high-rise buildings was added to the total destruction in the city”.
He also reported that: “There was a massive shelling of Zvanivka in the Lysychansk direction – a school, a cultural centre, a shop and more than 20 private houses were damaged.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
Swedish prosecutor: remains unclear who carried out Nord Stream sabotage
It remains unclear who was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany which spewed gas into the Baltic last year, Sweden’s prosecution authority, which is investigating the incident, said on Thursday.
“We are working unconditionally and turning over every stone and leaving nothing to chance,” Reuters reports prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.
“Our hope is to be able to confirm who has committed this crime, but it should be noted that it likely will be difficult given the circumstances.”
Swedish news site Aftonbladet reported that Ljungqvis also said that the incident had become a focus for political speculation, but that “these speculations are nothing that affects the preliminary investigation, which is based on the facts and information that emerged from analyses, crime scene investigations and cooperation with authorities in Sweden and in other countries”.
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, includes this in its daily roundup of news on its official Telegram channel:
At night, Russian troops fired mortars at Bilopillya in Sumy oblast, people in the community were left without electricity.
As a result of Russian shelling yesterday in Donetsk region, five people were killed and nine others were injured. A man who was injured in yesterday’s shelling of Beryslav in the Kherson region died in the hospital.
Updated
Overnight news broke that the Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother.
Reuters is carrying quotes from Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova about the situation. It quotes her saying:
Masha did not want to go to her mother at first, and her opinion is legally required to be taken into account. Now her position has changed – she told me this herself on the phone.
Olga has already taken Masha from the social rehabilitation centre. Let’s hope that everything will work out for mum and daughter. I am glad about the beginning of the reunion of daughter and mother.
Lvova-Belova published a picture on her official Telegram which she claimed showed the reunited child and mother.
Associated Press reminds us that, in a case that drew international outrage, the father of 13-year-old Maria Moskalyova was convicted of discrediting the Russian military and handed a two-year prison term, and his daughter was sent to the orphanage.
The father, Alexei Moskalyov, fled house arrest just before his sentencing hearing last week in the town of Yefremov south of Moscow. He was detained in Belarus two days later. His whereabouts are unclear.
Russia introduced severe punishments for discrediting the armed forces after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on 24 February 2022, laws that have subsequently snared dissidents, journalists, actors, musicians and comedians.
The Hague-based international criminal court (ICC) last month issued an arrest warrant against Putin and Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting children from Ukraine and the unlawful transfer of people to Russia from Ukraine.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has issued its daily intelligence briefing on the situation in Ukraine as it sees it. Today the focus has been the reported dismissal of Lt Gen Rustam Muradov. It writes:
As claimed on Russian social media, the Russian MoD has highly likely dismissed Colonel-General Rustam Muradov as commander of the Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) in Ukraine.
The EGF under Muradov has suffered exceptionally heavy casualties in recent months as its poorly conceived assaults repeatedly failed to capture the Donetsk Oblast town of Vuhledar.
The operations attracted intense public criticism from across the spectrum of Russian commentators - including Muradov’s own troops.
Muradov took over the EGF after its disastrous attempt to assault Kyiv from the north-west during the initial full-scale invasion.
He is the most senior Russian military dismissal of 2023 so far, but more are likely as Russia continues to fail to achieve its objectives in the Donbas.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 6 April 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 6, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/gX1G4bGxl4
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/v19F58d2Xw
My colleague Pjotr Sauer reported on Monday 27 March:
In a further sign that Moscow was unhappy with the state of the fighting, Russian media on Sunday reported the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, had sacked the commander of its eastern military district, Lt Gen Rustam Muradov.
His dismissal represents the latest reshuffle of top brass amid a string of battlefield setbacks. Pro-war bloggers close to the Kremlin linked Muradov’s dismissal with his unsuccessful attempts to capture the town of Vuhledar in Donetsk.
Under Muradov’s command, Russia is believed to have lost more than 100 tanks and armoured personnel carriers in a three-week battle in Vuhledar last month.
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Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports on its official Telegram channel that “during the past day, 5 April, the Russian military shelled civilian infrastructure in the area of 15 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
The resilience of Russia’s economy over the past year has surprised many observers as Moscow adjusts to unprecedented western sanctions over its assault on Ukraine, AFP reports.
But late last month in a rare public admission, Putin warned of possible economic troubles ahead and urged the government to act quickly.
“The sanctions imposed against the Russian economy in the medium term could really have a negative impact,” Putin said at a televised meeting.
It was a major change of tone after Putin earlier said the worst was over, praising the benefits of “economic sovereignty” and insisting that the west’s sanctions strategy had backfired.
“Mr Putin’s observation is quite simply realistic,” said Arnaud Dubien, director of the Franco-Russian Observatory thinktank in Moscow.
Dubien, a veteran Russia expert, said Putin was seeking to further mobilise companies and government officials as Russia cut ties with the west.
“The situation is better than expected, but do not relax, continue to find alternatives,” he said, describing the Kremlin chief’s logic.
Alexandra Prokopenko, a former Russian central bank official, suggested that Putin’s message primarily targeted companies that have been hit hard by sanctions.
“It’s a message to businesses,” said Prokopenko, who worked at the central bank between 2017 and 2022 and quit after the start of Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
“You’re only safe in Russia under my charge, there’s no way back,” she said, referring to his possible thinking.
Updated
Ukraine willing to discuss future of Crimea if its forces reach border – FT
Ukraine has made what the Financial Times calls its “most explicit statement of Ukraine’s interest in negotiations” since cutting off peace talks last year in April, saying that it is willing to discuss the future of Crimea.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of Zelenskiy’s office, said: “If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue.” “It doesn’t mean that we exclude the way of liberation [of Crimea] by our army.”
The FT report continues:
Sybiha’s remarks may relieve western officials who are sceptical about Ukraine’s ability to reclaim the peninsula and worry that any attempt to do so militarily could lead Vladimir Putin to escalate his war, possibly with nuclear weapons. To date, Zelenskiy has ruled out peace talks until Russian forces leave all of Ukraine, including Crimea. Sybiha is a veteran diplomat who focuses on foreign policy in the president’s office and has been at Zelenskiy’s side at key moments in the war. He said the president and his aides were now talking specifically about Crimea, as Ukraine’s army gets closer to launching its counteroffensive to regain territory.
Updated
Zelenskiy says Poland may help form a coalition of western powers to supply warplanes to Kyiv.
During a visit to Warsaw on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said Poland had been instrumental in getting western allies to send battle tanks to Ukraine and he believed it could play the same role in a “planes coalition”.
The Polish government said it would send 10 more MiG fighter jets on top of four provided earlier, but so far there has been no agreement from the US or Ukraine’s other major military backers to send the F-16 fighters Kyiv has requested.
Updated
Von der Leyen and Macron to press Xi on ending war
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, are to make Europe’s case for bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine at meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The French and European leaders will be greeted in the late afternoon by the Chinese president at the Great Hall of the People, the heart of power in the capital.
Western pressure is mounting on China to take a more active role in the peace process in Ukraine. Though Beijing is officially neutral, Xi has never condemned the Russian invasion.
While he recently went to Moscow to reaffirm his alliance with Putin – framed as an anti-western front – Xi has not even spoken on the phone with Zelenskiy.
On Wednesday, Macron said Beijing had a “major role” to play in finding a path to peace in Ukraine, welcoming what China called its “willingness to commit to a resolution” to the conflict.
Von der Leyen took a sterner tack last week in Brussels, saying: “How China continues to interact with Putin’s war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations.”
In a Thursday morning meeting at the Great Hall of the People with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, Macron stressed the importance of dialogue between China and France “in these troubled times”.
“The ability to share a common analysis and build a common path is essential,” he said.
Macron is set to meet the head of China’s top legislative body, Zhao Leji, before a one-on-one meeting with Xi in the afternoon.
The pair will give statements to the press before by a three-way meeting with Von der Leyen and, finally, a state dinner.
Updated
‘Powerful’ blasts heard overnight in occupied Melitopol
The exiled mayor of Melitopol, a Russian-occupied city in the Zaporizhzhia region, says that several explosions had been heard overnight.
“Several powerful explosions have just been recorded in the city,” Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram. That’s as much as we know so far, but we’ll bring you more news as it breaks.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan.
Coming up today: French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen make Europe’s case for bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping.
The French and European leaders will be greeted late afternoon by the Chinese president at the Great Hall of the People, the heart of power in the capital.
And early this morning, explosions were heard in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia region, the Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Here are the other key recent developments:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, were welcomed to Poland with military honours, tributes and praise on Monday. They were greeted in Warsaw by President Andrzej Duda, who awarded Zelenskiy Poland’s oldest and highest civilian distinction, The Order of the White Eagle.
Poland will send 14 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Duda said at a joint news conference with Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy thanked the Polish leader, government and people for standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and giving fleeing Ukrainians shelter. Poland has led the way in mobilising western military and political support for Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion 13 months ago.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron warned that anyone helping “aggressor” Russia in the Ukraine conflict would become an “accomplice”. The French leader arrived in Beijing for a three-day state visit during which he hopes to dissuade Xi Jinping from supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while also developing European trade ties with Beijing.
A Ukrainian drone crashed near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing a Russian officer. It comes as the chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog was expected in Russia for talks on the plant’s security.
The United States, Britain, Albania and Malta walked out on Russia’s envoy for children’s rights – whom the international criminal court wants to arrest on war crimes charges – as she spoke by video to UN security council members.
Zelenskiy has said Ukrainian troops face a difficult situation in the eastern city of Bakhmut, but that Kyiv will take the “corresponding” decisions to protect them if they risk being encircled by Russian forces. The Ukrainian president, at a news conference in Poland on Wednesday, said Kyiv’s troops in Bakhmut sometimes advanced a little only to be pushed back by Russian forces, but that they remained inside the city.
The president of Belarus and close ally of Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, arrived in Moscow for a meeting with the Russian leader, Belarus’s state-run Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko and Putin will hold a meeting on Wednesday evening, where the pair will “discuss a broad range of matters concerning Belarusian-Russian relations”, it said.
The United States is working through a formal process to determine whether a Wall Street Journal reporter’s detention by Russia is “wrongful”, secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus demonstrated that a Russia-China joint statement amounted to just “empty promises”. The Nato chief noted that Russia was becoming more and more dependent on China, partly as a result of international sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Any Chinese supply of lethal aid to Russia for the war in Ukraine would be a “historic mistake with profound implications”, Stoltenberg also said.
The six Leopard 2A4 tanks Spain has promised to send to Ukraine will leave the country in the second half of April, defence minister Margarita Robles told state broadcaster TVE on Wednesday, pushing back the estimated shipment date. The German-made battle tanks have not been used since the 1990s and had been mothballed in reserve, requiring refitting and battle readiness tests after initial doubts as to whether they could go into combat again.
