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September 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam , Lauren Kent , Ed Upright, Joshua Berlinger, Aditi Sangal , Elise Hammond , Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell , CNN

NOW: Biden addresses world leaders at UN General Assembly 

From CNN's Betsy Klein

US President Joe Biden is delivering remarks before the 78th United Nations General Assembly Tuesday and is expected to make a forceful call for the intergovernmental organization to stand up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected?” the president is expected to say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released by the White House ahead of the speech. 

Biden will push back against those who say Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should give up on areas of Ukraine including Crimea and the Donbas. 

“If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?” he will ask.

“The answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Biden is expected to say, according to the prepared remarks.

Officials had said Ukraine would “feature prominently” in Biden’s remarks Tuesday, though he is also expected to address other issues including climate change and economic development.

Explosions and fierce battles reported across the southern front lines of Ukraine

From CNN's Tim Lister and Olga Voitoivych

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have indicated meaningful gains or losses over the past few days, with much of the front line — from Kharkiv in the north to Zaporizhzhia in the south — at a virtual stalemate, and gains measured in hundreds of meters rather than kilometers.

Here are some of the latest developments on the battlefield:

Melitopol: There are reports of explosions in the Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of the city, said that local residents reported more than five explosions. There's been no comment from Russian-appointed officials in the area, but the Russian military blogger Rybar said that four Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles were shot down by Russian air defense forces — one over the Henichesk district and three over Melitopol.

Molochansk: This southern town had also come under fire on Tuesday morning from Ukrainian missiles, said Vladimir Rogov, member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhzhia military-civilian administration. Several buildings had been damaged or destroyed, he said on Telegram.

Robotyne: Russian reconnaissance had uncovered the movement of Ukrainian units near this village on the southern front lines, and destroyed them, according to Yevgeniy Balitskiy, the Russian appointed acting governor of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia. Russian blogger War Gonzo said there was fierce counter fighting on the western outskirts of Robotyne village, where Russian forces were trying to cut the flank of Ukrainian units, "while the AFU [Ukrainian army] is trying to expand the bridgehead for an offensive to the south."

Novoprokopivka and Verbove: A unit of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic said the Russian Army was holding back Ukrainian forces near these two villages that have been fought over for several weeks. Russian military blogger Voenkor Lisitsin said Ukraine "is trying to probe the Russian defense in small groups with the support of armored vehicles, but our fighters neutralize all attempts of the enemy to break through with the help of artillery."

Bakhmut : Russian bloggers said that the situation had stabilized after Ukrainian gains in the south of the city. "Most of Klishchiivka and Andriivka are in the gray zone," he claimed. The Ukrainians say they now are in control of both settlements.

CNN cannot independently verify the battlefield claims made by either side. However, the Institute for the Study of War noted Monday that "Ukraine’s liberation of Klishchiivka and Andriivka south of Bakhmut may have degraded the Russian defense in the area south of Bakhmut and could have rendered combat ineffective as many as three Russian brigades, according to Ukrainian military officials."

Zelensky will attend the UNGA in person for the first time. Here are key things to know about the meeting

Analysis from CNN's Richard Roth

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) begins today and 140 heads of state and government are scheduled to attend. Six vice presidents, four deputy prime ministers and over 30 ministers of state and chiefs of delegations will also  stand at the rostrum to deliver remarks for their nations. 

This year the topics at the two-week summit appear more numerous, volatile and hard-to-solve than before any other UN General Assembly: Russia’s war in Ukraine, lethal floods in Libya, multiple coups on the African continent, North versus South economic funding, violent crisis in Haiti, and climate change, to name a few. 

Potentially weakening the impact of the event itself is the fact that  US President Joe Biden  is to be the only leader of the permanent five members of the UN Security Council to attend.

In a first for the annual summit,  Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky  will be attending in person as he continues to rally for support. Previously, he has appeared on video monitors in the General Assembly Hall.

Biden and Zelensky are set to address the assembly on Tuesday, and the leaders are expected to meet in Washington on Thursday. 

UN to tackle grain deal with Russia: At a special Ukraine meeting at the Security Council table on Wednesday, prepare for Zelensky to take on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, should he attend this ministerial meeting. There are also private one-on-one sessions between UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

The UN would like to get Russia back into the Black Sea grain deal. But Russia and Ukraine will not meet together here in New York.

“It is extremely important to fight those that are abusing their authority to limit democracy,” Guterres told reporters last week. But one Security Council diplomat has said Russia already trampled on the UN charter by invading neighboring Ukraine.

Read more about this year's UNGA.

Moscow City Court denies WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich's appeal, Russian state news agency says

From CNN's Anna Chernova and Niamh Kennedy

A Moscow court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his pre-trial detention on espionage charges, according to Russian state media.

Gershkovich will stay in detention till November 30, according to a previous court decision, TASS added.

In remarks from the Moscow City court session, the US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said Gershkovich "is fully aware of the gravity of his situation, yet he remains remarkably strong.”

“Evan is always eager to discuss the latest headlines. He knew that his parents had delivered a petition to the UN last week,” she added, saying the charges against Gershkovich are baseless. 

More on the case: Russia’s main security service, the FSB, has accused Gershkovich of trying to obtain state secrets. He has been behind bars since March and, if convicted, faces up to 20 years in prison.

The journalist and his employer have vehemently denied the allegations.

Ukraine is expected to be a key focus of Biden's remarks Tuesday before the United Nations General Assembly

From CNN's Kayla Tausche, Kevin Liptak and Betsy Klein

The White House is shrugging off concerns the United Nations General Assembly won’t pack a policy punch this year, with  President Joe Biden  set to deliver an address Tuesday morning to an  audience missing several key heads of state.

In remarks to the 78th UN General Assembly, Biden, a senior administration official told reporters, “will lay out for the world the steps that he and his administration have taken to work with others to solve the world’s most serious challenges.”

Biden is also expected to touch on “significant foreign policy successes” of his presidency, making a pitch for the US’ role in the world heading into the 2024 US presidential campaign. As the president seeks a second term, there is some unease from world leaders about what that role could looks like following next year’s election.

The annual UN talks are unfolding for the second year under the shadow of the war in Ukraine, and the conflict will remain a focus for leaders. While the UN has led on organizing humanitarian aid during the conflict, it hasn’t acted as a mediator in the war.

This year, the nations of the “global south” are also demanding attention from leaders. Many have watched with skepticism as the West rallies attention and funding for Ukraine while their crises go unnoticed.

Biden will meet Wednesday with Brazil’s President Lula da Silva to discuss labor issues and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Biden has clashed on the country’s controversial judicial reform plan.

Biden and Netanyahu, the senior official said, will “discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues focused on the shared democratic values between our two countries and a vision for a more stable and prosperous and integrated region, as well as compare notes on effectively countering and deterring Iran.”

But with high-level absences from Russia, China, France, and the UK – all permanent members of the UN Security Council – the Biden administration will be relegated to lower-level engagements with key allies and adversaries, all while hoping to elevate the United States’ views of global infrastructure, food security, democratic values, and territorial sovereignty.

One of the most high-profile meetings of the week won’t even be happening in New York. Biden will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Thursday, before Zelensky meets members of the US Congress on Capitol Hill.

Officials said Biden will seek to balance US commitment to Ukraine with other pressing global challenges during his Tuesday remarks.

“When we’re accused of focusing too much attention on Ukraine,” Thomas-Greenfield said, it’s important that the US can show it “can deal with Ukraine as well as the rest of the world at the same time.”

Ukraine will “feature prominently” in Biden’s remarks, the senior official said, but the president will “also speak to a lot of other things that are on our agenda and a lot of other issues that we’re making progress in.”

Biden, the official added, will speak to the US “commitment to the principles that are at play in some of the world’s most serious conflicts right now, preeminently Ukraine, and what we’re going to do to make sure that the UN Charter is upheld and to strengthen the coalition in favor of Russia’s independence in light of a brutal conflict and also reiterate our commitment to human rights worldwide.”

But there are areas where the administration acknowledges progress will remain elusive. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said he’s not optimistic UN leadership and partner countries can make progress reinstating the Black Sea grain initiative, despite UN Secretary General António Guterres holding meetings on it with Zelensky and other partners New York this week.

Read more about Biden's UNGA remarks .

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is meeting in Germany to discuss "urgent battlefield needs"  

From CNN's Radina Gigova

A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a bloc of 54 countries that is providing and coordinating military support to Kyiv, is currently underway at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday.

Defense leaders will discuss Ukraine's capabilities, IT needs and other "urgent battlefield needs," according to Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

In his opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that shipments of American M1 Abrams tanks will soon be arriving in Ukraine and said that Kyiv’s counteroffensive continues to make steady progress. 

Both Denmark and Norway to send more tanks and other equipment to Ukraine

From CNN's Radina Gigova and Vasco Cotovio

Denmark will donate an additional 45 tanks to Ukraine, including 15 modernized T-72 tanks and 30 Leopard 1 tanks, the country's defense ministry told CNN on Tuesday. Copenhagen is also sending Kyiv additional arms, ammunition and mine-clearing equipment.

The donation is part of a joint initiative between the defense ministries of Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, which "share the understanding that the continued provision of materiel from industry stocks and production would be of vital importance for the military capabilities of Ukraine," according to a joint statement.

Meanwhile, Norway is also set to donate about 50 tracked cargo carriers to Ukraine, its government announced Tuesday. This type of vehicle is able to maneuver in terrain inaccessible for wheeled vehicles.

"The cargo carriers can transport ammunition, food and water to Ukrainian troops in the field," the Norwegian government said.

Norway has previously donated "a wide range of capacities to Ukraine," including ground-based air defense systems and battle tanks. It's also among the nations providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Latvia has shut a border crossing with Belarus in bid to curb illegal migration

Latvia closed one of its two border crossings with Belarus on Tuesday in an effort to prevent illegal migration, the country's public broadcaster LSM reported. 

The operation of Latvia's Silene border crossing point has been suspended, while its other crossing with Belarus will remain open for freight transport as well as for urgent humanitarian movement or emergencies. 

The initiative to close the Silene border post was announced last week by border Guard Chief Guntis Pujāts, who said the situation was "probably the most tense in these three years since 2021," according to LSM. 

Tensions on the border between Latvia and Belarus, which is Russia's closest ally, have increased since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

So far in September this year, Latvian Border Guard officials have prevented 1,773 illegal border crossings, LSM reported. 

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of manufacturing a migrant crisis on his country's border by the prime ministers of three neighboring nations, leading Poland to adopt a bill for the construction of a wall along its border with Belarus.

The situation along the border escalated once again earlier this summer after Wagner private mercenary group fighters moved from Russia into Belarus. But after the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda said the need to close the border with Belarus had become less relevant as the threat of encroaching Wagner mercenaries was waning.

Wagner built an empire in the Central African Republic. Post Prigozhin, its operations are consolidating

From CNN's Sebastian Shukla, Brent Swails, Clarissa Ward and Scott McWhinnie

Russia has been engaged in a high-stakes scramble to centralize Wagner's empire on the African continent since Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary group's leader, attempted a coup in June and subsequently died in a plane crash outside Moscow just months later.

The Wagner private mercenary group's diverse activities in the Central African Republic (CAR) include thousands of fighters on the ground, a vast array of business holdings and multiple soft power initiatives.

As the Kremlin tries to get its arms around Wagner’s sprawling commercial network, what’s next for the group remains unclear. But signs of what the future may hold in the CAR, one of the organization’s first client states and its laboratory on the continent, are beginning to emerge in the country's capital.

CNN visited Bangui, where Russia appears to be consolidating Wagner’s operations while continuing to exert its influence. The message that Moscow wants to project seems to be: it’s business as usual.

Read the full story here :

What Wagner's post-Prigozhin future looks like on the ground in the Central African Republic | CNN

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, Addresses World Economic Forum

[email protected]

• President Zelensky urges “maximum” sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo and full withdrawal of foreign companies
• Ukraine leader compares Russia’s invasion with Sarajevo in 1914 and Munich in 1938
• Calls on all foreign business to leave Russia and says “values must matter”
• For more information on the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022, visit www.wef.ch/wef22

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 May 2022 – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in a live video address to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 in Davos-Klosters, told participants how he wakes up every day to read the numbers of his people killed in the war in the last 24 hours.

“Today,” he said, “we lost 87 people and the future of Ukraine will be without these 87 people”.

His stark message was in response to the question, what is your dream for Ukraine?

Zelenskyy was speaking at the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022. Nearly 2,500 leaders from politics, business, civil society and the media were welcomed by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, to the first in-person Annual Meeting for more than two years held under the theme, History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies.

Speaking through a translator, the Ukrainian president said: "This year the words 'turning point' appear to have become more than just a rhetorical figure of speech. This is really the moment when it is decided whether brute force will rule the world.”

He went on: “Brute force does not discuss – it kills, as Russia does in Ukraine as we speak today.”

“Instead of successful peaceful cities there’s only black ruins. Instead of normal trade there are seas full of mines and blocked ports. Instead of tourism there are closed skies and thousands of Russian bombs and cruise missiles.” He said: “This is what the world would look like if humanity misses this turning point.”

He called for “maximum” sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo and a complete withdrawal of foreign companies. “All trade with the aggressor should be stopped. All foreign business should leave Russia so that your brands are not associated with war crimes. So that your offices, bills and goods are not used by war criminals in their bloody interests. Values must matter.”

He continued: “This is what sanctions should be. They should be maximum, so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to wage a brutal war against its neighbour clearly know the immediate consequences of their actions.”

He compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with events in Sarajevo in 1914 and Munich in 1938, two historic moments that preceded the two world wars.

Zelenskyy praised his people’s courage. The war and the Ukrainian people’s resistance have stirred the unity of the democratic world and showed “that freedom must be fought for”. The Ukrainian leader received a standing ovation.

“The war in Ukraine represents a turning point in history and the resulting tragedy will reshape our political and our economic landscape in the coming years,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive, Chairman, World Economic Forum.

Ignazio Cassis, President of Switzerland, said: “Switzerland has strongly opposed the war of aggression in Ukraine. There can be no neutral attitude in the face of a brutal attack on our shared values of freedom and democracy. We stand alongside other countries in condemning the war.”

About the Annual Meeting 2022

For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has been the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Annual Meeting is the focal point for leaders to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle global challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future. Convening under the theme, History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies , the Annual Meeting 2022 and its 200 sessions bring together global leaders from business, government and civil society. Learn more about the programme and view sessions live and on-demand.

Notes to editors:

Learn about the Forum’s impact on http://wef.ch/impact

Watch live webcasts of sessions and get more information about the meeting at www.wef.ch/wef22

Guide to how to follow and embed sessions on your website at www.wef.ch/howtofollow

View the best photos from the event at https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/

Read the Forum Agenda at http://wef.ch/agenda

Read the Forum Agenda in Spanish , Japanese and Mandarin

Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook

Watch Forum videos at http://wef.ch/youtube

Listen to the Forum’s podcasts at wef.ch/podcasts

Follow the Forum on Twitter via @wef and @davos , and join the conversation using #wef22

Follow the Forum on Instagram at http://wef.ch/instagram

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Subscribe to Forum news releases at http://wef.ch/news

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A conversation with the President of Ukraine

Steve Inskeep

Lisa Weiner

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been making his case at the U.N. and on Capitol Hill for continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He's also been making his case in the U.S. media and he sat down for a one-on-one interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine in Joint   Statement

 Mariinsky Palace Kyiv, Ukraine

10:49 A.M. EET

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY:  (As interpreted.)  Mr. President, fellow ladies and gentlemen, journalists and everyone in this room, the team of President Biden: I’m very happy to welcome you in Ukraine.  It is a great honor for me and for all of us.

We have just had negotiations with the President of the United States in the vis-à-vis format, and then we had a wide discussion with the involvement of our teams.  These conversations brings us closer to the victory.  And we hope that this year, the 2023, will become a year of victory.  This unprovoked and criminal Russia’s war against Ukraine and against the whole world and democratic world has to end with liberating the whole of Ukraine’s territory from Russia’s occupation and the solid guarantees of the long-term security for our country as well as Europe and the whole world.

Right now, in Ukraine, the destiny of the international order based on international order is decided.  And we, together with President Biden and our allies and partners, have to continue doing everything possible so that the democratic world would win in this historic fight.

Ukrainian remember the focus, the attention, the attitude of President Biden and United States to every single Ukrainian.  To Ukraine, we remain constantly in communication with the President of United States over the course of this large-scale war.  And this is the first visit over 15 years.  And this is really the most important visit of the whole history of Ukraine-U.S. relationship.

This is the visit in this most difficult period for Ukraine when Ukraine is fighting for our own liberty, for the liberties of the world.  And this underlines the results that we have already achieved and what sort of historic achievements we might gain altogether with the whole world, with the United States, with Europe.  And today our negotiations were very fruitful.  We’ve — they were very important and crucial.  And as has become traditional in relationship between our countries, I would like to extend words of gratitude personally to Mr. President Biden and to his team, to the Congress, to all the U.S. people.  And I thank you for this level of Ukraine-U.S. cooperation.

And this week, we’ll be marking a one year of our fight against Russia’s aggression, so it’s very symbolic that we solidify our resilience through two meetings with the President of Ukraine — my visit in December and the visit of Mr. President of the United States to Kyiv today.

The results of this visit will surely be seen and will surely have a reflection on the battlefield and in liberating our territories.

The decision of the United States on Abrams tanks for Ukraine has already presented a foundation for establishing a tank coalition.  And it’s of historic importance in many other aspects, more specifically in air defense, in Patriots for the defense of our cities.  Now, this is a very fundamental and crucial reinforcement of our capacities.

We’ve also talked about long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine, even though it wasn’t supplied before.

I know, Mr. President, that there will be a very significant package of security support to Ukraine.  And currently, it will serve as a clear signal that Russia’s attempts of relaunch will have no chance and that we will together defend our cities and citizens from Russia’s (inaudible), will have more impetus towards our victory.

And today we have yet again underlined that we have our common vision with regards to the perspectives of this war.  We have coordinated the follow-on pressure on the terrorist state.  We are working hard on the reinforcement of sanctions, both bilaterally and in the form of G7, which is very important.

We have common vision on the contents of many aspects of our Peace Formula, because its security elements, as well as the tasks to restore the U.N. Charter to its full capacity and to defend the international rule-based order — that’s a common, joint task for all the countries that are interested in the international security.

The rebuilding and the recovery of justice is also very important for all those who was affected by the Russian terror, by the Russian war.  And the aggressor has to take responsibility for the aggression and to reimburse all the damages.

I thank to the President of United States for supporting our work on restoring the justice more specifically in the work of all of our institutions in that area.  And we believe there’s no alternatives to the establishment of the special tribunal.  This is the position of the Uni- — of Ukraine, and we shall support this position. 

And I would really like the United States to be engaged in the implementation of our Peace Formula, because its implementation would mean a reinforcement of global stability and the predictability of international relations.  And we have some achievements in this area.

Already this week, in New York, together with the United States of America and over 60 other countries will be submitting for the consideration of the U.N. General Assembly — of the draft resolution on supporting peace in Ukraine.  And on the eve of the 24th of February, we believe that the approval of this resolution would be very significant evidence to the fact that the terrorist state would never break a civilized country.

And I think we are also opening a special tablet dedicated to President Biden.  The first call the night of the 24th of February took place with the United States, and since that time, we had conversations and with very significant attention to our fight, to the protection of Ukraine’s democracy.

Besides, there’s the personal contribution in President Biden in solidified the liberty and democracy in the world.  This will be remembered eternally.  And Ukraine is grateful to you, Mr. President, to all the U.S. citizens, to all those who cherish freedom just as we cherish them.

Glory to our warriors.  Glory to our allies.  And glory to Ukraine.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, thank you very much, Mr. President.   You know, it was — it was one year ago this week that we spoke on the telephone, Mr. President.  It was very late at night in Washington, very early in the morning here in Kyiv.  Russian planes were in the air, and tanks were rolling across your border.  You told me that you could hear the explosions in the background.  I’ll never forget that.  And the world was about to change.

I remember it vividly, because I asked you — I asked you next — I asked you, “What is there, Mr. President?  What can I do for you?  How can I be of help?” 

And I don’t know that you remember what you said to me, but you said, and I quote, “Gather the leaders of the world.  Ask them to support Ukraine.”  “Gather the leaders of the world, and ask them to support Ukraine.”

And you said that you didn’t know when we’d be able to speak again.  That dark night, one year ago, the world was literally, at the time, bracing for the fall of Kyiv — it seems like a lot longer ago than a year, but think back to that year — perhaps even the end of Ukraine.

You know, one year later, Kyiv stands and Ukraine stands.  Democracy stands. 

The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.

Kyiv has captured a part of my heart, I must say.  And I’ve come here six times as Vice President, once as President.  And in 2009, as Vice President, when I first came here.  Then back in 2014, I came three times in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity.  And I again came in 2015 to address the Rada about the work of building a strong democracy.  And I came in 2017, just before I left office as Vice President.

I knew I’d be back, but I wanted to be sure.  Even though we’d — the election were over, Barack and I were out of office, I decided to make one more trip, before the next President was sworn in, to Kyiv.

So, President Zelenskyy, you deeply honor me here in Kyiv with you today to meet with your military, your intelligence folks, your diplomatic teams, community leaders who have stepped up and — to help their country in their hour of need. 

It’s astounding who stood up.  Everybody.  Everybody — women, young children — trying to do something.  Just trying to do something.  Pulling people out of apartments that are being shelled and — literally what I think is a war crimes.

It’s astounding.  And the whole world — the whole world sees it and looks at it.

This is the largest land war in Europe in three quarters of a century, and you’re succeeding against all and every expectation, except your own.  We have every confidence that you’re going to continue to prevail.  You know, from the moment I first received the intelligence report in the fall, about a year ago, we were focused on determining: How do we rally the rest of the world?  How do I help you with the promise you asked me to make to rally the world?

Well, how do you succeed?  How do you ever get a world to respond to a prosperous economy, a confident democracy, a secure and independent state?

When united, Americans of all political backgrounds decided that they would step up.  The American people know it matters.  Unchecked aggression is a threat to all of us.

We built a coalition of nations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific: NATO to the Atla- — in the Atlantic; Japan in the Pacific.  I mean, across the — across the world, the number of nations stood up — over 50 — to help Ukraine defend itself with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support. We united the leading economies of the world to impose unprecedented cost that are squeezing Russia’s economic lifelines.

Together, we’ve committed nearly 700 tanks and thousands of armored vehicles, 1,000 artillery systems, more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 50 advanced launch rocket systems, anti-ship and air defense systems, all defend U- — to defend Ukraine.  And that doesn’t count the other half a billion dollars we’re going to be — we’re announcing with you today and tomorrow that’s going to be coming your way.  And that’s just the United States, in this piece.

And just today, that announcement includes artillery ammunition for HIMARS and howitzers, more Javelins, anti-armor systems, air surveillance radars that’ll protect Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments.

Later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade sanctions and backfill Russia’s war machine.

And thanks to a bipartisan support in Congress, this week we’re delivering billions in direct budgetary support — billions in direct budgetary support — which the government can put to use immediately and help provide for basic services of citizens.

The cost that Ukraine has had to bear has been extraordinarily high, and the sacrifices have been far too great.  They’ve been met, but they’ve been far too great.

We mourn alongside the families of those who have been lost to the brutal and unjust war.  We know that there’ll be very difficult days and weeks and years ahead. 

But Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map.  Putin’s war of conquest is failing.  Russia’s military has lost half its territory it once occupied.  Young, talented Russians are fleeing by the tens of thousands, not wanting to come back to Russia.  Not fl- — not just fleeing from the military, fleeing from Russia itself, because they see no future in their country.  Russia’s economy is now a backwater, isolated and struggling.  Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided.  As you know, Mr. President, I said to you at the beginning, he’s counting on us not sticking together.  He was counting on the inability to keep NATO united.  He was counting on us not to be able to bring in others on the side of Ukraine.

He thought he could outlast us.  I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.  God knows what he’s thinking, but I don’t think he’s thinking that.  But he’s just been plain wrong.  Plain wrong.

And one year later, the evidence is right here in this room.  We stand here together.

Mr. President, I’m delighted to be able to repay your visit to our country.

In Washington, not long ago, you told us, you told the Congress, quote, “We have no fear, nor should anyone in the world have it.”  End of quote.

You and all Ukrainians, Mr. President, remind the world every single day what the meaning of the word “courage” is — from all sectors of your economy, all walks of life.  It’s astounding.  Astounding.

You remind us that freedom is priceless; it’s worth fighting for for as long as it takes.  And that’s how long we’re going to be with you, Mr. President: for as long as it takes.

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY:  We’ll do it.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you.  (Applause.)

11:07 A.M. EET

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Ukrainian President set to sign security pact with Spain — El Pais

T his will mark President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's first official bilateral visit to Spain. He previously attended the European Political Community summit in Granada last October.

Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, stated that the security agreement between Madrid and Kyiv would have unique aspects compared to agreements with other nations.

On May 11, the German publication Welt reported that the European Union had agreed on a security agreement for Ukraine and was already in discussions with Kyiv .

Russia-Ukraine war: Belarus to hold tactical nuclear drills; Kyiv detains two Ukrainian officials over plot to kill Zelenskiy – as it happened

Ally to take part in exercises alongside Russia; Ukraine says it has exposed network of agents run by Moscow

• 7d ago Closing summary
• 7 May 2024 Belarus holding tactical nuclear drills together with Russia, Tass reports
• 7 May 2024 Kyiv detains two Ukrainian security officials over plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskiy
• 7 May 2024 Ukraine says it has foiled Russian plot to assassinate Zelenskiy
• 7 May 2024 Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of using chemical weapons on battlefield
• 7 May 2024 Putin: Russia open to developing relations with West on equal terms
• 7 May 2024 Vladimir Putin arrives at inauguration ceremony
• 7 May 2024 EU plans to sanction Ukrainian media oligarch accused of treason by Kyiv

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of using chemical weapons on battlefield

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other at the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague of using banned toxins on the battlefield, the organisation said on Tuesday.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the accusations were “insufficiently substantiated” but added that “the situation remains volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons.”

Last week, the US said Russia had violated the international chemical weapons ban overseen by the OPCW by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine.

Russia denied the allegations.

The OPCW said it had been monitoring the situation since February 2022, when Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, any toxic chemical used with the purpose to cause harm or death, is considered a chemical weapon.

“It is against the Convention to use riot control agents at war on the battlefield. If used as a method of warfare, these agents are considered chemical weapons and, hence, are prohibited under the Convention,” the OPCW said.

For those wanting to know more about Vladimir Putin’s seemingly insurmountable grip on power, Andrew Roth, our Russia correspondent, tells us the tactics the Russian president uses to stay in post.

Putin: Russia open to developing relations with West on equal terms

Russian President Vladimir Putin said as he took the oath for a new six-year term on Tuesday that Russia did not rule out dialogue with the West but it needed to be on equal terms, Reuters reports.

In a short speech, Putin also said that Russia was open to developing relations with other countries he described as “the world’s majority”.

Russia’s state system must be resistant to any threats and challenges, he said.

EU plans to sanction Ukrainian media oligarch accused of treason by Kyiv

The EU plans to sanction a media oligarch accused of conducting malign influence operations in Europe and ban four more Russian media outlets from the airwaves and internet in its latest round of measures against Russia.

The bloc is seeking to sanction Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian politician and businessman accused of high treason by Kyiv, who was released to Russia in a prisoner exchange in 2022.

According to the EU draft listing Medvedchuk has “continued funding and carrying out influence operations targeting political parties and individual politicians in Europe”.

He is said to fund Voice of Europe, a Russian media outlet accused of systematic “media manipulation and distortion of the facts”. Voice of Europe is set to be banned in the EU, alongside Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, the newspapers Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Izvestiya.

Voice of Europe and Medvedchuk were sanctioned by the Czech Republic in March for an alleged pro-Russian influence operation aimed at destabilising the European elections in June.

Under the latest proposal, EU political parties, foundations, NGOs and think-tanks will be barred from accepting money from the Russian state or its proxies.

The latest draft sanctions - the 14th since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - also proposes restrictions on goods and services linked to Russia’s liquified natural gas industry. The European Commission wants to impose restrictions on the transhipment of LNG in the EU to stop Russia exporting shipped gas to non-EU countries via EU ports.

The EU also wants to ban new investment, goods and services to build LNG terminals in the Russian Arctic. The proposals, however, stop short of a ban on Russian LNG, which unlike most pipeline gas has continued to be imported into the EU.

The plans have to be approved unanimously by all EU 27 member states before coming into force.

A Russian court has remanded a US citizen in custody for 10 days for disorderly conduct, Reuters reports citing the state-run RIA news agency.

A TV report said the man, while drunk, had climbed into a children's library through a window and fallen asleep there.

Polish special services have found and dismantled bugging devices in a room where the council of ministers was due to meet on Tuesday, the special services coordinator’s spokesman said, Reuters reports.

Poland, a hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as Kyiv fights Russia’s invasion, is on heightened alert for any signs of spying activity.

“The State Protection Service, in cooperation with the Internal Security Agency, detected and dismantled devices that could be used for eavesdropping in the room where the meeting of the Council of Ministers is to be held today in Katowice”, Jacek Dobrzynski wrote on social media platform X.

“The services are carrying out further activities in this matter,” Dobrzynski added.

On Monday, the government said it was verifying if a Polish judge who had access to confidential information and asked for political asylum in Belarus had been spying.

Good morning and welcome to our Ukraine blog as the time has just passed 10am in Kyiv and Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be sworn into office at a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin later today, embarking on a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before.

As AFP writes, the 71-year-old has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition.

The inauguration will be broadcast live on most major Russian television channels from around midday (10.00BST), when a luxury motorcade will drive Putin to Moscow’s Grand Kremlin Palace.

After arriving, he will walk through the palace corridors to the ornate Saint Andrew Hall, where he will take the presidential oath and make a brief address to Russians.

Government officials and foreign diplomats in Moscow have been invited to the ceremony, including French ambassador Pierre Levy, who is expected to attend.

Other European countries including Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have signalled that they will not send representatives amid soured tensions over the conflict in Ukraine .

Yesterday Ukraine urged its western allies not to recognise Putin as the “legitimate president” of Russia given his 87% landslide victory was criticised by most international observers and dismissed as rigged by opposition and rights groups.

The ceremony comes at an especially tense time for Russia’s diplomatic relations given that yesterday it announced tactical nuclear nuclear drills and threatened to strike British military facilities amid its anger over comments by senior politicians including Emmanuel Macron and David Cameron.

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As Moscow bureau chief, Guy runs coverage of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Before Moscow, Guy ran Brexit coverage as London bureau chief (2012-2022). On the night of Brexit, his team delivered one of Reuters historic wins - reporting news of Brexit first to the world and the financial markets. Guy graduated from the London School of Economics and started his career as an intern at Bloomberg. He has spent over 14 years covering the former Soviet Union. He speaks fluent Russian.

At least two French prison guards were shot dead and three others seriously injured on Tuesday after heavily armed men ambushed a prison van to free an inmate, French police said, triggering a major manhunt.

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Belousov says Russia must win in Ukraine while minimising casualties

Russia's main task is to achieve victory on the battlefield in Ukraine with the minimal loss of troops, incoming defence minister Andrei Belousov said on Tuesday.

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G7 Ends With Ukraine in Focus as Zelenskyy Meets World Leaders and Russia Claims Disputed Gains

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima

Susan Walsh

President Joe Biden, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday, May 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country's war effort even as Russia claimed a battlefield victory that was quickly disputed by Ukraine .

The Ukrainian leader's in-person appearance in his trademark olive drab underscored the centrality of the war for the G7 bloc of rich democracies. It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities, including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world , that the leaders focused on at the three-day gathering.

Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the group was committed to “strong backing for Ukraine from every possible dimension.”

Zelenskyy held two major rounds of meetings Sunday, one with G7 leaders and a second with them and a host of invited guests including India and South Korea. He also spoke one-on-one with several leaders.

Hanging over Sunday's talks was the Russian claim that forces of the Wagner private army and Russian troops had seized the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The eight-month battle for the eastern city — seen by both sides as a major symbolic prize — has been the longest and likely bloodiest of the war.

Comments by Zelenskyy earlier in the day in English suggested that the Russians had finally taken the city. But he and other Ukrainian officials later cast doubt on that assessment, with Zelenskyy telling reporters in Ukrainian that "Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.”

U.S. President Joe Biden announced new military aid worth $375 million for Ukraine, saying the U.S. would provide ammunition and armored vehicles. That pledge came after the U.S. agreed to allow training on American-made F-16 fighter jets, laying the groundwork for their eventual transfer to Ukraine.

“We have Ukraine’s back and we’re not going anywhere,” Biden said.

Even before Zelenskyy landed Saturday, the G7 nations had unveiled a slew of new sanctions and other measures meant to punish Moscow over its invasion that began in February last year.

While Ukraine dominated the summit, the leaders of Japan, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union, also aimed to address global worries over climate change, poverty, economic instability and nuclear proliferation.

And Biden sought to reassure world leaders that the U.S. would not default because of the debt limit standoff that has cast a large shadow over his trip.

Two U.S. allies — South Korea and Japan — furthered efforts to improve ties colored by lingering anger over issues linked to Japan’s brutal 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a memorial to Korean victims , many of them slave laborers, of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing.

Washington wants the two neighbors, both of which are liberal democracies and bulwarks of U.S. power in the region, to stand together on issues ranging from Russia to North Korea.

Biden, Yoon and Kishida met briefly as a group outside the summit venue in front of Hiroshima Bay. Biden invited the two leaders to visit Washington for a trilateral meeting and they accepted, said a U.S. official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

In a meeting with Zelenskyy, Yoon promised to provide South Korean demining equipment and ambulances to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also met on the sidelines of the summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their first face-to-face talks since the war. He briefed him on Ukraine’s peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country before any negotiations.

India, the world’s largest democracy and a major buyer of Russian arms and oil, has avoided outright condemnation of Russia’s invasion.

“Zelenskyy’s presence puts some pressure on G7 leaders to deliver more — or explain to him directly why they can’t,” said Matthew Goodman, an economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

The G7 has vowed to intensify pressure on Russia, calling its assault on Ukraine "a threat to the whole world in breach of fundamental norms, rules and principles of the international community.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday denounced the G7 as "fixated on comprehensive confrontation with Russia ... The leaders of the G7 countries brought to their meeting the chief of the Kyiv regime, who is controlled by them, and ultimately turned the Hiroshima event into a propaganda show.”

The group took a different approach in its comments on China, the world’s No. 2 economy. The leaders said they did not want to harm China and were seeking “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing.

They also urged China to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine and “support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”

“We’re not looking to decouple from China, we’re looking to de-risk and diversify,” Biden said.

He also vowed to help Taiwan defend itself against a potential attack by China, saying that there is an understanding by the U.S. and its allies that “if China were to act unilaterally, there would be a response.”

China’s Foreign Ministry for its part urged G7 members to "focus on addressing the various issues they have at home, stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs, stop containing and bludgeoning other countries.”

The G7 also warned North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace, to completely abandon its nuclear weapon ambitions, “including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology.”

The G7 leaders have rolled out a new wave of global sanctions on Russia, now the most-sanctioned country in the world, as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions.

Russia had participated in some summits with the other seven countries before being removed from the then-Group of Eight after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Kishida, mindful of the host city's symbolic importance, has twice taken leaders to visit to a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world’s first wartime atomic bomb detonation. He had wanted nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions.

Some survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attack and their families worried that Zelenskyy's inclusion at the summit overshadowed that priority. Etsuko Nakatani, an activist whose parents survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing, said the leaders' visit was “not appropriate for Hiroshima, which is a peace-loving city.”

Protesters carrying “No War No G7” banners briefly scuffled with riot police deployed as part of a massive show of force throughout the city during a march Sunday.

The G7 leaders also discussed efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They reiterated their aim to pull together up to $600 billion in financing in a program meant to offer countries an alternative to China’s investment dollars.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Copyright 2023 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Putin sacks Sergei Shoigu as defense minister, appoints him as leader of security council

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed replacing Sergei Shoigu as defense minister and appointed him as secretary of Russia’s national security council.

The appointment comes after Putin proposed appointing Andrei Belousov as the country’s defense minister in place of Shoigu, who has served in the post for years. The reshuffle comes as Putin starts his fifth presidential term and as the war in Ukraine drags on for the third year

In line with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned on Tuesday following Putin’s glittering inauguration in the Kremlin.

The announcement came as thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed  ground offensive  in Ukraine’s northeast that has  targeted towns and villages  with a barrage of artillery and mortar shelling, officials said Sunday.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the  Kharkiv region , capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested gray zone along the Russian border.

By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the northeast with a prewar population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said that Russian forces were on the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions.

“Infantry fighting is already taking place,” he said.

A Russian tank was spotted along a major road leading to the town, Tymoshko said, illustrating Moscow’s confidence to deploy heavy weaponry.

An Associated Press team, positioned in a nearby village, saw plumes of smoke rising from the town as Russian forces hurled shells. Evacuation teams worked nonstop throughout the day to take residents, most of whom were older, out of harm’s way.

At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday, when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media statement. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast front line, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements in the past 24 hours, he said.

Analysts say the Russian push is designed to exploit ammunition shortages before  promised Western supplies  can reach the front line.

Ukrainian soldiers said that the Kremlin is using the usual Russian tactic of launching a disproportionate amount of fire and infantry assaults to exhaust their troops and firepower. By intensifying battles in what was previously a static patch of the front line, Russian forces threaten to pin down Ukrainian forces in the northeast, while carrying out intense battles farther south where Moscow is also gaining ground.

It comes after Russia stepped up attacks in March targeting energy infrastructure and settlements, which analysts predicted were a concerted effort to  shape conditions for an offensive .

Meanwhile,  a 10-story apartment building partially collapsed  in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border, killing at least eight people and injuring 20 others. Russian authorities said that the building collapsed following Ukrainian shelling. Ukraine hasn’t commented on the incident.

Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelenskyy  said that halting Russia’s offensive in the northeast was a priority, and that Kyiv’s troops were continuing counteroffensive operations in seven villages around the Kharkiv region.

“Disrupting the Russian offensive intentions is our No. 1 task now. Whether we succeed in that task depends on every soldier, every sergeant, every officer,” Zelenskyy said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had captured four villages on the border along Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, in addition to  five villages  reported to have been seized on Saturday. These areas were likely poorly fortified because of the dynamic fighting and constant heavy shelling, easing a Russian advance.

Ukraine’s leadership hasn’t confirmed Moscow’s gains. But Tymoshko said that Strilecha, Pylna and Borsivika were under Russian occupation, and it was from their direction they were bringing in infantry to stage attacks in other embattled villages of Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.

Russian tactics in Vovchansk mirror those used in the battles for Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, he said, in which heavy aerial attacks were accompanied by droves of infantry assaults.

“Now the Russians are simply wiping it (Vovchansk) off the face of the earth and advancing with the scorched earth method. That is, they first scorch a specific area and then the infantry comes in, and they always advance in this way,” he said.

A Ukrainian unit said that they had been forced to retreat in some areas and that Russian forces had captured at least one more village late Saturday.

In a video Saturday evening, the Hostri Kartuzy unit, part of the special forces’ detachment of Ukraine’s national guard, said that they were fighting for control of the village of Hlyboke.

“Today, during heavy fighting, our defenders were forced to withdraw from a few more of their positions, and today, another settlement has come completely under Russian control. As of 20:00, fighting for the village of Hlyboke is ongoing,” the fighters said in the clip.

The Institute for the Study of War said Saturday that it believed claims that Moscow had captured Strilecha, Pylna, Pletenivka and Borsivika were accurate, and that geolocated footage also appeared to show that Russian forces have seized Morokhovets and Oliinykove. The Washington-based think tank described the recent Russian gains as “tactically significant.”

In the war’s early days, Russia made a botched attempt to quickly storm Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, but retreated from its outskirts after about a month. In the fall of 2022, seven months later, Ukraine’s army  pushed them out of Kharkiv . The  bold counterattack  helped persuade Western countries that Ukraine could defeat Russia on the battlefield and merited military support.

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Macron puts trade and Ukraine as top priorities as China’s Xi opens European visit in France

China’s President Xi Jinping met Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the French presidential palace in Paris. Xi Jinping arrived in France Sunday for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron hosted a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday evening. Xi’s visit marks the 60th anniversary of France-China diplomatic relations, and follows Macron’s trip to China in April 2023. (Production by Masha Macpherson)

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron is welcoming China’s Xi Jinping for a two-day state visit to France and is seeking to press Xi to use his influence on Moscow to move toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, his wife Brigitte Macron, left, China’s President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose on the steps of the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron pose with China’s. President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan before a state diner at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping stand in front of the Republican Guards during the official welcoming ceremony at the Hotel national des Invalides in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine.(Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes China’s President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron is welcoming China’s Xi Jinping for a two-day state visit to France and is seeking to press Xi to use his influence on Moscow to move toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

China’s President Xi Jinping, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron walk during an official welcoming ceremony at the Hotel des Invalides monument, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to China’s President Xi Jinping during a meeting with delegates at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)

China’s President Xi Jinping, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands after a joint statement at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the Chinese president’s two-day state visit in France, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a toast at a state dinner, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, China’s President Xi Jinping, second left, and delegates pose during a working session at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)

French actress Sophie Marceau arrives to attend a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China’s President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

China’s President Xi Jinping and wife Xi Jinping ‘s wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

China’s President Xi Jinping, left, attends a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the Chinese president’s two-day state visit in France, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

China’s President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to deliver a joint statement at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the Chinese president’s two-day state visit in France, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

China’s President Xi Jinping, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron walk in garden of the Elysee Palace after a joint statement, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

China’s President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan, center, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte Macron, right, visit the Orsay Museum, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)

China’s President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte Macron, center, watch Bal du moulin de la Galette by Auguste Renoir as they visit the Orsay Museum, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China’s President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday that focused on trade disputes — including lifting immediate tariff threats on Cognac exports — and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts.

Xi was in France for a two-day state visit to open his European tour.

Speaking alongside Xi after their meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said that France hopes China’s influence on Moscow would help to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine .

“We welcome the Chinese authorities’ commitments to refrain from selling any weapons or aid” and to “strictly control” sales of products and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, Macron said.

China claims neutrality in the war.

“History has repeatedly proven that any conflict can ultimately be resolved only through negotiation,” Xi said. “We call on all parties to restart contact and dialogue.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced plans to visit China this month .

Last year, Macron appealed to Xi to “bring Russia to its senses,” but the call wasn’t followed by any apparent action by Beijing.

Both leaders also expressed their concerns regarding the situation in the Middle East, where Macron said France and China share the “same goals,” that is “to achieve an immediate cease-fire to release hostages, protect the populations, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, encourage a regional deescalation and reopen a political perspective.”

Xi called the Israel-Hamas war a “tragedy” that is “a test of human conscience.”

“The international community must do something. We call for an immediate, comprehensive and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza,” he said.

In addition, Xi expressed China’s willingness to work with France “to take the Paris Olympics as an opportunity to advocate a global cease-fire and cessation of war during the Games.”

Macron advocates for making the Paris Games “a diplomatic moment of peace” and respect the Olympic Truce.

Trade issues also were at the top of the agenda as Macron denounced the trade practices of China as shoring up protections and subsidies.

Macron thanked Xi for his “openness about the provisional measures toward French Cognac.” The remark came after China opened an anti-dumping investigation into Cognac and other European brandy earlier this year.

A French top diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks, said that Xi agreed not to apply tariffs in the short-term pending further investigation.

French gifts to the Chinese president on Monday included luxury bottles of Cognac. Xi reciprocated with Chinese-language editions of “Madame Bovary” and other classic French novels.

France hopes to be able to continue to export its products, including brandy and cosmetics, to the Chinese market.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined both leaders for a meeting meant to address broader European Union concerns.

The EU launched an investigation last year into Chinese subsidies and could impose tariffs on electric vehicles exported from China. The 27-member bloc last month opened another inquiry into Chinese wind turbine makers.

“For trade to be fair, access to both markets needs to be reciprocal,” von der Leyen said after the meeting. “Our market is and remains open to fair competition and to investments, but it is not good for Europe if it harms our security and makes us vulnerable.”

She said that Europe “will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and its security.”

The discussions were expected to be closely watched from Washington, a month before U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to pay his own state visit to France.

Xi’s European trip, the first in five years, seeks to rebuild relations at a time of global tensions. After France, he will head to Serbia and Hungary .

Xi’s visit marks the 60th anniversary of France-China diplomatic relations, and follows Macron’s trip to China in April 2023 . Macron prompted controversy on that trip when he said that France wouldn’t blindly follow the U.S. in getting involved in crises that aren’t its concern, apparently referring to China’s demands for unification with Taiwan .

Several groups — including International Campaign for Tibet and France’s Human Rights League — urged Macron to put human rights issues at the heart of his talks with Xi. Protesters demonstrated in Paris as Xi arrived on Sunday, calling for a free Tibet .

Amnesty International called on Macron to demand the release of Uyghur economics professor Ilham Tohti , who was jailed in China for life in 2014 on charges of promoting separatism, and other imprisoned activists.

On Monday, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders staged a protest in front of the Arc de Triomphe monument to denounce Xi’s visit, calling the Chinese president “one of the greatest predators of press freedom.” The group says 119 journalists are imprisoned in the country.

Macron said in an interview published Sunday that he would raise human rights concerns. He didn’t mention the issue in his public comments Monday.

The second day of the visit is meant to be more personal. Macron has invited Xi to visit the Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees mountains, where the French leader spent time as a child to see his grandmother. The trip is meant to be a reciprocal gesture after Xi took Macron last year to the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father once lived.

Barbara Surk in Nice, Angela Charlton in Paris and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this story.

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Xi Bristles at Criticism of China Over the War in Ukraine

Talks in Paris with President Macron produced a call for an “Olympics truce” this summer but no concrete progress on Beijing putting pressure on Russia.

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By Roger Cohen

Reporting from Paris

President Xi Jinping of China, on a two-day visit to France, spoke out firmly against criticism of his country for its close relationship with Russia during the war in Ukraine, saying that “we oppose the crisis being used to cast responsibility on a third country, sully its image and incite a new cold war.”

Flanked by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he held several rounds of talk on Monday, Mr. Xi stiffened as he defended China’s role, recalling it was “not at the origin of this crisis, nor a party to it, nor a participant.”

The bristling remark appeared aimed principally at the United States, which believes that China, aside from buying enormous amounts of Russian oil and gas, continues to aid Moscow’s war in Ukraine by providing satellite imagery to Russian forces along with jet fighter parts, microchips and other dual-use equipment.

Mr. Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, who attended a morning session of talks, pressured Mr. Xi to use his influence on Moscow to bring the war to an end. Mr. Xi will host President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Beijing later this month, but there was no suggestion — other than a general wish for peace — that he would ask his “no limits” ally to stop the war.

The talks in Paris took place as Mr. Putin again suggested he might be prepared to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine . Russia has specifically cited Mr. Macron’s taboo-breaking statement in February that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine could not be ruled out as a reason for Moscow’s decision to hold military exercises to practice for the possible use of battlefield, or “tactical,” nuclear weapons.

Mr. Macron has said repeatedly that he stands by his position on the possible deployment of troops, remarks intended, he says, to create “strategic ambiguity.” He did not address the issue on Monday.

Addressing Mr. Xi, the French president said, “Without security for Ukraine there can be no security for Europe.” But he emphasized that France was not at war with Russia or its people and did not seek to overturn Mr. Putin’s regime. Mr. Macron added, with respect to the war, that France and China “must maintain a close dialogue”

Earlier in the day, Ms. von der Leyen said Beijing should “use all its influence on Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine.” Mr. Xi had played “an important role in de-escalating Russia’s irresponsible nuclear threats,” she added, expressing confidence that the Chinese leader would “continue to do so against the backdrop of ongoing nuclear threats by Russia.”

“More effort is needed to curtail delivery of dual-use goods to Russia that find their way to the battlefield,” said Ms. von der Leyen, who has been blunter in her criticism of China than Mr. Macron. “And given the existential nature of the threats stemming from this war for both Ukraine and Europe, this does affect E.U.-China relations.”

It is relatively unusual for a top European official to describe the war in Ukraine as an “existential threat” to the European continent. Doing so may reflect Mr. Putin’s renewed talk of the use of nuclear weapons.

The atmosphere between Mr. Xi and Mr. Macron was friendly and full of mutual congratulation at the fruits of the 60-year diplomatic relationship between the two countries and vows to build a better world together. At a separate French-Chinese business summit attended by top executives, Mr. Xi said, “Between our two countries there is no geopolitical tension nor any fundamental conflict.”

The two leaders called jointly for an “Olympics truce” — a pause in all fighting in all conflicts across the world for the duration of the Paris Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11.

Mr. Macron noted the gastronomic passions shared by the two countries, and offered Mr. Xi a couple of bottles of Cognac.

China started an anti-dumping investigation this year targeting European brandy — French Cognacs for the most part — after the European Union began an investigation into fast-growing subsidized electric car imports from China. This could lead to the imposition of European tariffs this year. Mr. Macron, thanking Mr. Xi for his “openness” on the Cognac question, suggested that the threat of Chinese tariffs had been staved off for the time being.

Mr. Macron, who wants to build a sovereign “Europe power” beholden neither to the United States nor China and pursuing its own interests with the military and industrial strength to do so, was, however, less effusive about relations with China than during a visit to Beijing last year, when the two countries declared a “global strategic partnership.”

“There can be no long-term exchange without reciprocity,” Mr. Macron said at the business summit, adding that his goal was to “rebalance” trade between the two countries.

France has an almost $50 billion trade deficit with China; Europe’s deficit with China has tripled to close to $325 billion over the past five years. The level of French investments in China is three times as much as China’s investment in France.

“There is an opportunity for a balanced partnership between France and China,” Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said at the meeting with business executives. “We are right now far from that balance.”

A number of agreements between French and Chinese companies were announced, including several related to battery production, transportation and green energy. Mr. Macron called on Chinese companies to increase investments in France in the areas of electric batteries and vehicles, solar panels and computing, so long as the investments were made “in full respect of our sovereignty.”

Ms. von der Leyen also took a firm line on trade. Tensions are high between the 27-nation European Union and China because heavily subsidized Chinese manufacturing and weak domestic demand have led to a big export push from Beijing.

“These subsidized products — such as electric vehicles or, for example, steel — are flooding the European market,” Ms. von der Leyen said. “At the same time, China continues to massively support its manufacturing sector, and this is combined with domestic demand that is not increasing.”

“The world,” she declared, “cannot absorb China’s surplus production.”

The war in Ukraine has put great pressure on European economies — as has the consequent need to shift energy supplies after most of the continent stopped buying from Russia. Inflation has risen, and the fear that China could put companies out of business has risen along with it.

“Europe cannot accept market-distorting practices that could lead to deindustrialization here at home,” Ms. von der Leyen said, adding that “Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and security.”

Aurelien Breeden and Liz Alderman contributed reporting.

Roger Cohen is the Paris Bureau chief for The Times, covering France and beyond. He has reported on wars in Lebanon, Bosnia and Ukraine, and between Israel and Gaza, in more than four decades as a journalist. At The Times, he has been a correspondent, foreign editor and columnist. More about Roger Cohen