Additional talks between Vladimir Putin and his “dear friend” Chinese leader Xi Jinping are scheduled for Tuesday, new opportunities for the reclusive Russian president to show himself alongside his strongest ally against the West, which condemns Moscow’s war and supports Ukraine.

Ukrainian tanks in Cheasovo Yar, west of BakhmutPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 391, LIVETEXT:

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A quick morning summary of the latest events on Tuesday:

  • Xi became the first world leader to meet Putin after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on Friday over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war. Putin told Xi that he respects China’s proposals for resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
  • Kyiv has called on China to use its influence to end the war, despite Western allies being skeptical of Beijing’s proposals.
  • Russia’s Investigative Committee said it launched a counter-prosecution against the prosecutor and judges of the ICC, arguing that there is no basis for criminal responsibility on Putin’s part and that heads of state enjoy immunity.
  • European Union countries have agreed to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells over the next year from their own stockpiles and jointly purchase more. “Hungary does not want to send ammunition to Ukraine. Let other countries do as they want, we want peace,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijarto
  • Several European foreign ministers, including Romania, demanded on Monday that the EU impose sanctions on oligarchs involved in “attempts to destabilize” the Republic of Moldova and Georgia
  • US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the United States authorizes the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine in the amount of $350 million. Blinken also said that Xi’s visit to Moscow shows China’s intention to provide “diplomatic cover for Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine” instead of condemning them.
  • The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that as a result of the explosion at Geankoy in northern Crimea, cruise missiles intended for the Russian Black Sea Fleet were destroyed.
  • Russia’s Defense Ministry said a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was dispatched over the Baltic Sea on Monday after two US strategic bombers flew to the Russian border but then left the area.
  • Fierce fighting continued in the eastern city of Bakhmut, with each side launching a counteroffensive. The eastern city of Avdiyivka may soon become the “second Bakhmut”, a small town where Ukrainian forces resisted the Russian invaders, but risk being completely encircled.
  • Ukraine is building up troops and equipment near Bakhmut, which indicates that Kyiv is preparing to stage a large-scale battle in the area, Andriy Marochko, a retired lieutenant colonel of the people’s militia of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, said on Monday.
  • Yevgeny Prigozhin told Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Ukrainian offensive was inevitable and that it aimed to isolate “Wagner” from the rest of the Russian forces.
  • On Monday, Norway announced that it had delivered eight promised Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a contribution that, along with other allies, will be “crucial” for the next Ukrainian counteroffensive.
  • A high-ranking official from Kyiv Oleksiy Danilov resolutely denied the information that appeared in the American press about the number of dead during the war of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
  • Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday that Turkey may approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO before the alliance’s July summit in Vilnius.
  • In Europe, gas prices continue to fall: prices have fallen to a 20-month low. The price of oil also fell to 70 dollars.
  • Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO commander, says Ukraine will have only one chance to launch a successful large-scale offensive against Russian forces before “fatigue” sets in.

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  • Monday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro