Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

China said it’s willing to help bring about a cease-fire in Ukraine, but said “there is no panacea to resolve the crisis,” as it called on Russia and Ukraine to come to the negotiating table.

“All parties need to start from themselves, build mutual trust and create conditions to stop the war and talk,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday after a visit by China’s special representative on Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, to Ukraine.

Li met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the visit, as well as other ministers, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

“The two sides exchanged views on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and China-Ukraine relations,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, noting that the two sides agreed they should “work together to continue the tradition of mutual respect and sincere treatment between the two sides and keep the mutually beneficial cooperation moving forward.”

Li affirmed China’s position on a political settlement (Beijing has already issued a proposed peace plan, although it lacks substance) to the “crisis,” the ministry said, but noted “there is no panacea to resolve the crisis, but all parties need to start from themselves, build mutual trust and create conditions to stop the war and talk.”

China tends to call the war in Ukraine a “crisis” and has refused to condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion, remaining close to its ally Moscow throughout the war. It did, however, make a reference to the “war” in its latest statement.

“China is willing to promote the formation of the broadest common understanding in the international community to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and make its own efforts to stop the war and ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible,” it said.

It insisted that “China has always played a constructive role in its own way to ease the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine within its capabilities.”

— Holly Ellyatt

China is walking a diplomatic tightrope when it comes to trying to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, wanting to appear neutral enough to gain Kyiv’s trust while wanting to ensure any deal doesn’t hurt its ally Moscow.

Beijing — which has sent representatives to Ukraine, Russia and several European countries this week in a bid to lay the groundwork for peace talks — has a particular vested interest in Moscow not looking like it has been “defeated” in any settlement as this could backfire on Beijing, analysts note.

“A total Russian defeat does not serve Chinese interest, especially if it leads to [President Vladimir] Putin’s demise,” Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States, told CNBC Tuesday.

“Russia is an increasingly important partner for [Chinese President] Xi Jinping. There is no other country that can help weaken U.S. leadership in the world and revise the international order,” she added.

Read more on the story here: China walks a tightrope, searching for a Ukraine peace deal that doesn’t hurt its ally Russia

— Holly Ellyatt

Kyiv was hit by another series of Russian missile attacks overnight, with one official describing it as “unprecedented” in terms of intensity.

Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration, said on Telegram overnight that “a series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues.”

“This time the attack was carried out by strategic bombers Tu-95MS, Tu-160 from the Caspian region, probably by cruise missiles of the X-101/555 type. After launching the rockets, the enemy deployed its reconnaissance UAVs [drones] over the capital,” Popko said.

He said preliminary information suggested that all incoming missiles had been detected and destroyed. Final information on the number, type of missiles and UAVs would soon be announced by Ukraine’s air force. There was no information on any injuries from the strike.

Debris from destroyed rockets fell on several districts of the capital, causing a fire at a garage.

The latest attack is the ninth since the start of the month. On Tuesday, Kyiv was hit by another massive attack that it said involved cruise and ballistic missiles, and drones. CNBC was unable to immediately verify the details in Popko’s post.

— Holly Ellyatt

Maxar satellite images capture the brutal fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the city of Bakhmut.

The eastern Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region, which has largely been reduced to rubble, has been the site of intense conflict for several weeks.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with Li Hui, the special representative of China, during a two-day visit to Ukraine, according to a statement provided by the Ukrainian government and translated by NBC News.

The meeting comes on the heels of a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.

Kuleba reiterated to Li that Kyiv will not accept proposals that would involve the forfeiture of Ukrainian sovereign territory to Russia in order to end the ongoing conflict.

— Amanda Macias

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the decision between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another two months.

The agreement, which established a humanitarian sea corridor for agricultural exports in July, was set to expire on Thursday.

“These agreements matter for global food security.  Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world,” Guterres told reporters at the United Nations. “I hope we will reach a comprehensive agreement to improve, expand and extend the [Black Sea Grain] Initiative – as I proposed in a recent letter to the Presidents of the three countries,” he added.

Since August, nearly 1,000 ships carrying more than 30.2 million metric tons of agricultural products and foodstuffs have left Ukrainian ports for global destinations, according to figures provided by the United Nations.

— Amanda Macias

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a humanitarian sea corridor for Ukrainian agricultural exports, will be extended for another two months.

Erdogan, who announced the extension of the current deal on Twitter, thanked Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations for carrying out the negotiations.

The deal, which was brokered in July to reopen key Ukrainian ports, was set to expire on May 18.

Under the agreement, nearly 1,000 ships carrying more than 30 million metric tons of agricultural products have departed from Ukraine’s ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny-Pivdennyi.

Moscow has previously threatened to leave the current agreement because it claims that the deal only benefits Kyiv.

— Amanda Macias

Momentum appears to be building behind Ukraine’s so-called “jets coalition,” but it remains to be seen who will supply the fighter aircraft.

Ukraine has been requesting fighter aircraft to combat Russia’s invasion for months. Its preference is to receive F-16s, jets operated by the U.S. as well as Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The U.K., which does not operate F-16s, said earlier this week that it’s happy to train Ukrainian pilots and, on Tuesday, the prime ministers of Britain and the Netherlands agreed “they would work to build international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F16 jets.”

Belgium’s prime minister said Wednesday that Belgium is also ready to train pilots to fly such jets, but cannot provide the aircraft. The U.S. previously ruled out providing F-16s too.

Denmark previously seemed more amenable to the idea, with its defense minister saying in February that it is “open” to the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine.

For now, however, Ukraine has international partners willing to help it procure the aircraft but not willing to provide them.

— Holly Ellyatt