War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discuss a plan to settle the conflict

The European Union is finalizing this week a plan of 2 billion euros to finance joint purchases of artillery ammunition which Ukraine desperately needs to counter the offensive of Russian troops. The project should make it possible to supply the Ukrainian forces with at least one million 155 mm shells and to replenish the strategic stocks of EU countries, some of which are close to exhaustion.

“We don’t have white smoke yet,” a European official said on Sunday. “Two member states, the Netherlands and Italy, still have reservations, but there is no blockage. They should be able to be lifted for the meeting of Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers on Monday in Brussels” , explained a diplomat. The agreement will then be submitted to EU leaders for their summit on Thursday and Friday.

The EU is responding to an urgent appeal made on March 9 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as his troops are limiting their firepower due to lack of ammunition. “We have entered the dangerous phase of the war. The Russians have more than 300,000 fighters massed for an offensive and we must help the Ukrainian forces to resist”, explained a senior European official.

“The world should not be fooled” by China’s proposals to Moscow

US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said on Monday that “the world (should) not be fooled” by Beijing’s proposals on the conflict in Ukraine, when Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow. “The world should not be fooled by any tactical decision by Russia, backed by China or any other country, to freeze the conflict on its own terms,” ​​the secretary of state told reporters.

US announces new military aid to Ukraine

The United States will deliver a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine, amounting to 350 million dollars and including in particular ammunition for the Himars rocket launchers, announced Monday the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken . “Russia alone could end its war today. Until it does, we will stand with Ukraine as long as necessary,” the secretary of state said in a statement, when Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow.

Bakhmout controlled “about 70%” by Wagner according to his boss

The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, said on Monday that his men controlled “about 70%” of the town of Bakhmout in eastern Ukraine, the scene of heavy fighting since last summer. “At present, Wagner’s units control about 70% of Bakhmout and continue the offensive for its complete liberation”, assured Yevgeny Prigojine in a letter addressed to the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, and published by his news service on Telegram. These statements were unverifiable from an independent source.

The boss of Wagner also said he expected a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces for the end of March-beginning of April, intended according to him to “cut off Wagner’s units from the main forces of the Russian army”. He asked Sergei Shoigu to “take measures” to prevent this situation from happening. Yevgeny Prigojine is in open conflict with the Russian military hierarchy, which he accuses of not knowingly delivering enough ammunition to his men and has publicly attacked the Russian Minister of Defense on several occasions.

A city of some 70,000 inhabitants before the war, Bakhmout has become, because of the length of the battle and the heavy losses incurred by both sides, the symbol of the struggle between Russians and Ukrainians for control of the industrial region of Donbass.

Norway has delivered the promised eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Norway announced on Monday that it had delivered to Ukraine the eight Leopard 2 tanks it had promised, a contribution which, together with that of other allies, will be “decisive” for the next Ukrainian counter-offensive. “The eight Leopard 2s are all in Ukraine,” Norwegian army spokeswoman Stine Barclay Gaasland said in an email to AFP. The Scandinavian country had indicated in February that it would give Ukraine eight of its Leopard type 2A4, a penultimate generation model which it will replace for its own needs with more modern Leopard 2A7s which it has just order 54 copies.

“For Ukraine, the donation of combat tanks will be decisive for its ability to carry out offensive operations and retake the territories which are occupied by Russia”, declared Lieutenant-Colonel Lars Jensen, commander of the mechanized battalion of the Norwegian army, quoted in a press release. In addition to the tanks, Norway has pledged to provide Kiev with up to four support vehicles, ammunition and spare parts. The Ukrainian crews called upon to operate the Leopard 2s are currently being trained in Poland under the aegis of the European Union, the Norwegian army said. Other Western countries such as Poland, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Finland and Canada have delivered or promised Leopard tanks to Ukraine to counter the Russian invasion.

EU releases 2 billion euros to supply ammunition to Ukraine

The European Union on Monday approved the allocation of 2 billion euros to buy and deliver artillery ammunition to Ukraine, several European diplomatic sources told AFP. EU foreign ministers approved a three-phase action plan to supply Ukrainian forces with at least one million 155mm shells and to replenish EU countries’ strategic stocks, some of which are close to exhaustion, said the representatives of five delegations. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, who participated by videoconference in the meeting of his EU counterparts, welcomed the agreement. “More artillery ammunition for Ukraine as soon as possible. This was the main objective of today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council,” he stressed in a message on Twitter. . This agreement will “strengthen Ukraine’s capabilities on the battlefield”, he commented.

The agreement, which will be submitted to EU leaders at their summit on Thursday and Friday, responds to an urgent appeal made on March 9 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. One billion euros will be used to reimburse member states for ammunition taken from their stocks, at a price of 1,000 to 1,300 euros per shell, it was specified. A shell is currently worth 4,000 euros and prices are rising. The agreement calls for the supplies by May 31. A second billion will be used for joint purchases of 155 mm ammunition intended for Ukraine. The contracts are scheduled for September with the objective of reducing the lead times for supply and delivery to 6-8 months.

The third part of the plan aims to increase the production capacities of the EU’s dozen arms companies to “replenish the stocks of EU countries and continue to supply the Ukrainian forces”. The 2 billion euros will be taken from the European Peace Facility, an intergovernmental fund created by states outside the European budget and used since the start of the war for arms supplies to Ukraine. An agreement in principle has been reached to allocate new financing of 3.5 billion euros to top up the Facility, the diplomats specified.

Ammunition for Ukraine: kyiv welcomes a “strong measure for European security”

Ukraine on Monday welcomed as a “strong measure for European security” the allocation of 2 billion euros by the EU to buy and deliver artillery ammunition to Kiev forces. “We are grateful to the EU (…) This is a very strong measure to protect European security,” said the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Yermak, on Twitter.

London urges Xi to urge Putin to end war and ‘atrocities’

Britain said on Monday it “hopes” Chinese President Xi Jinping will urge Vladimir Putin to end the war and “atrocities” in Ukraine when he visits Moscow. “We hope President Xi will take this opportunity to urge President Putin to stop bombing cities, hospitals and schools in Ukraine and put an end to the atrocities we witness daily,” the doorman said. -word of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, after the arrival of Xi Jinping in Moscow.

Xi Jinping arrived in Russia for an official visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a state visit to Russia during which he will meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin, state broadcaster CCTV reported. This is the Chinese leader’s first visit to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine and his first trip to Moscow in nearly four years.

Putin, Xi to talk about China’s plan to settle Ukraine conflict

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss Beijing’s proposed plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine at their summit in Russia this week, the Kremlin said Monday, accusing the United States of stoking violence.

“The topics covered in this (Chinese) plan for Ukraine will be part of the negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The United States sticks to its positions of continuing to provoke the conflict, to obstruct a reduction in the intensity of hostilities and to continue to flood Ukraine with weapons,” he added.

Meeting of Jinping and Putin at the top

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the strength of their bilateral partnership, hours before the Chinese president’s arrival in Moscow for a summit with his Russian counterpart, isolated internationally due to the invasion of Ukraine. The three-day state visit to Russia, a country with which China has important diplomatic and economic ties, is the Chinese leader’s first to its neighbor in nearly four years.

In an article published in the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi Jinping presented his visit as a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”, in the face of Westerners who view the Sino-Russian relationship with suspicion. “I look forward to working with President Putin to jointly adopt a new vision” of bilateral ties, writes Xi Jinping in particular.

On the strength of having facilitated the recent diplomatic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, China is positioning itself as a mediator on the Russia-Ukraine war and calls in particular for peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.

The war “will last”

“This war is destined to last and the needs of the Ukrainian forces are very great,” explained a diplomat. “The EU must rearm,” he insisted.

“The goal of supplying Ukraine with at least one million 155mm shells is widely shared,” assured a diplomat. “Destocking and supplies are carried out continuously”, explained the representative of a Member State. “We don’t know everything that the States are doing and not all of them are asking for refunds”, recognize the services of Josep Borrell.

European military aid to Ukraine is estimated at 12 billion euros, including 3.6 billion via the European Peace Facility, 63% of which is financed by contributions from Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The Europeans will also have trained 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers “at the end of April”, said a program manager. An agreement in principle has been reached to allocate new financing of 3.5 billion euros to top up the Facility and “the discussion could be launched this week”, confided a European official. “We’re going,” assured a European diplomat.