By Diana Magnay, Moscow correspondent
For Vladimir Putin, things matter.
And that summit looked magnificent, with all the pomp and circumstance that Russia can muster, each and every ceremonial sword and gleaming limousine doorknob filmed with love as they are for the president’s inauguration, to give the impression on state television and beyond that Russia is a wonderful country. Force with vital allies, regardless of sanctions, recriminations, foreign arrest warrants.
To be sure, the vast majority of those watching in Russia and beyond will see the spectacle, with the substance slightly grasped beyond the general discourse of close friendship and burgeoning economic ties.
But all this, Putin locks Russia into a dependence on China with little in return.
It is unlikely, if China wants to maintain its symbol as a peacemaker, that it will start supplying the army that Russia is very likely, in fact, it is not asking for, openly.
Yes, microchips, customer products, goods that Russia can’t get elsewhere, now they’re buying them from China. But that’s out of necessity, not choice. And energy, agriculture, civil nuclear technology, all this turns out that now it’s moving one-way and it’s east, at reduced prices.
Russia wants new thinking to restructure the economy to deal with its new truth as the pressures of sanctions are felt.
It possibly wouldn’t take place anyway under existing leadership, but being tied to China probably wouldn’t help.
When the Chinese president paused to say goodbye, he told Vladimir Putin that these were adjustments that had not been noticed in a hundred years.
It’s possible. But the effects of the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical adjustments it triggers will be radically different for the country.
Ukrainian troops want more ammunition and expect a stockpile of materials from Western partners, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In his late-night video speech, the Ukrainian president said he had talks with his staff today, in which they discussed Ukraine’s strength on the front line.
“One of the issues that gets the most attention is the source of ammunition and the help of our partners,” he said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine expects “an accumulation at the source of precisely what we want right now. “
Kiev craves more weapons to bolster its defense against Russia.
Watch Mr. Zelenskyy’s full copy here. . .
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine for a four-year financing arrangement worth about $15. 6 billion (£12. 8 billion).
The deal, which still needs approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, follows months of talks between the IMF and Ukrainian officials.
IMF Ukraine chief Gavin Gray said the program “should help mobilize large-scale concessional financing from Ukraine’s foreign donors and partners. “
He said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had had a “devastating impact” on Ukraine’s economy, which reached 30% last year.
“A lot of the capital inventory has been destroyed and poverty has increased,” Gray said.
Ukraine is expected to enjoy a “gradual economic recovery” in the coming months as it recovers from widespread damage to critical infrastructure.
IMF Executive Board members are expected to reach an agreement in the coming weeks.
The roar of heavy artillery fire near the town of Kalynivka reminds citizens of the risks of standing still.
The village and nearby town of Shasiv Yar are located a short distance west of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where a fierce and bloody war has been raging for months.
Many in the region will now have to decide whether to stay or leave as Russian forces advance westward.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby spoke at a press conference in the last hour, and it deals with Sino-Russian relations after the Moscow summit.
Xi Jinping China as peace mediator for the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin welcomed Beijing’s proposals for a “settlement” of the confrontation, referring to his 12-point peace plan, which calls for a rapid ceasefire between the parties.
He said Xi urges Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine if it needs to play a constructive role in the conflict.
Compliance with the UN charter means that Russia withdraws from all of Ukraine, he said.
“We haven’t noticed anything Xi and Putin have said that leads us to think that the war in Ukraine will end soon,” Kirby added.
While he would not call Russia-China relations an alliance, he said it was transparent that either country “would like to see the global game through its rules. “
The Russian government raided the homes and offices of human rights defenders and historians at the rights organization Memorial, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
The wave of raids, after which police took Memorial activists away for questioning, is part of a broader crackdown on dissent that has intensified since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
He said the raids and interrogations were related to a thief case brought through Russia’s commission of inquiry against the activists earlier this month.
The investigation was opened for “rehabilitation of Nazism”, punishable by five years in prison.
Memorial runs a database of victims of political repression, which includes three other people who were convicted in Soviet times for joining Nazi Germany.
The organization said the government is the names on the list in its case opposite Memorial.
Oleg Orlov, the organization’s co-chair whose apartment is among those searched, told reporters the allegations were “idiotic,” before being dragged to a police station by a masked officer dressed in a bulletproof vest.
Vladimir Putin that if the UK sent munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, Russia would be obliged to act.
If the UK did, it would amount to escalation because “the West is already beginning to jointly use nuclear-based weapons. “
But can depleted uranium be a nuclear weapon?
First, what is it?
Depleted uranium (DU) is the curtain left after most of the highly radioactive form of uranium, known as U-235, is removed from natural uranium ore.
The U-235 supplies the fuel used to produce nuclear power and the harsh explosions used in nuclear weapons.
Depleted uranium is less radioactive and emits alpha particles, which normally do not have enough power to pass through the skin, so outdoor exposure is not a serious danger.
However, it can pose a health hazard if swallowed or inhaled.
But is it a nuclear weapon?
According to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, depleted uranium munitions cannot be nuclear weapons.
It says depleted uranium meets legal definitions of nuclear, radiological, toxin, chemical, toxic or incendiary weapons.
Depleted uranium is used in weapons because it can penetrate tanks and armor more smoothly due to its density and physical properties.
The British military has been the curtain of his shells “for decades,” the Defense Ministry said in reaction to the Russian leader’s comments.
“This is a component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities,” the Defense Ministry said.
“Russia knows this, but intentionally misinforms. “
A former diplomat joked that a proposed AI-created peace plan for the war in Ukraine is very similar to the 12-point formula published by Beijing.
Former diplomat Charles Parton told Sky News that his friend had asked the chatbot ChatGPT to provide 12 clauses for a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia.
“Then he circulated that with the genuine one and said, ‘Can you tell the difference?I have to say it was difficult”, M. Parton.
This is a reference to the indistinct and ambiguous wording of the proposed plan through China, which has been called a “public attempt” through Beijing.
On Xi Jinping’s stopover in Moscow, the former diplomat said that “it’s probably 3 smart days” for the Chinese leader.
Parton said China benefits many from its strong relationship with Russia, and adds to its attempts to replace global governance and food and energy security.
But it also has a “propaganda advantage,” he says, as China prepares to announce peace while the West supplies arms to Ukraine.
He said China’s adoption of Russia’s stance on war “seems pretty smart to some countries, necessarily to us here in Europe or in the loose world, but elsewhere. “
“In general. . . the 3 days were pretty smart for Xi Jinping. “
Kiev is still waiting for a reaction from Beijing after suggesting it sign up for a Ukrainian peace plan to end the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
At a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Ukrainian leader said the suggestion had been made to China, but there was no reaction yet.
The assembly between the two leaders comes at the time as a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, 800 kilometers from Moscow.
Beijing has proposed a 12-point peace plan that would see a rapid ceasefire on both sides, meaning territorial losses for Ukraine.
Kiev says Russian troops will absolutely have to withdraw from the country and has pushed its own plan in recent months.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Putin “deliberately seeks to misinform” by publicly criticizing his resolve to send munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine.
The Russian leader said Moscow would react if the UK acted, which he said indicates the West will be transferred to supply Kiev with weapons containing nuclear components.
The Defense Ministry showed it would send depleted uranium cartridges to Ukraine, adding that the British military had been the curtain of its shells “for decades. “
“This is a component that has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“Russia knows this, but intentionally misinforms. “
The projectiles are “very effective” in defeating tanks and armored vehicles, the ministry said.
He added that clinical studies show that any effect on the private physical state and environment of using depleted uranium munitions is “probably small. “