March 20, 2023 - Xi and Putin meet in Moscow as Russia's war in Ukraine continues

As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow, Ukraine has reiterated that any future peace plan must be predicated on the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory.

China last month called for both sides to agree to a cessation of hostilities in a 12-point position paper outlining a "political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," which it issued on the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale war.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that the formula for the successful implementation of China's "peace plan" would require Moscow to restore Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity."

Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, told CNN that "Ukraine is following closely the Chinese President’s visit to Russia. We expect Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to make it put an end to the aggressive war against Ukraine."

Nikolenko added: "As Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart last week, restoring territorial integrity of Ukraine should be at the core of every diplomatic effort. We stand ready to engage in a closer dialogue with China in order to restore peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and the latest UNGA resolution on this matter."

More on China's "peace plan": In Beijing's 12-point document, China's Foreign Ministry called for a resumption of peace talks, an end to unilateral sanctions, and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons — a stance Xi communicated to Western leaders last year.

The plan is part of Beijing's latest efforts to present itself as a neutral peace broker, as it struggles to balance its "no-limits" relationship with Moscow and fraying ties with the West as the war drags on.

But Beijing's claim to neutrality has been severely undermined by its refusal to acknowledge the nature of the conflict — it has so far avoided calling it an "invasion" — and its diplomatic and economic support for Moscow.

CNN's Olga Voitovych contributed reporting to this post.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said an anti-corruption court has confirmed the confiscation of assets in Ukraine found to belong to a prominent Russian oligarch.

The SBU said that the Anti-Corruption Court upheld the Ministry of Justice's decision to transfer shares in a shopping mall that had belonged to Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg to the Ukraine state. It said the value of the seized assets was $300 million.

"It was established that Rotenberg is a member of the inner circle of the highest military and political leadership of Russia and was directly involved in the construction of the so-called 'Crimean Bridge,'" the SBU said.

It also claimed that Rotenburg — a prominent Russian businessman with interests in energy and construction — managed shares in the Kyiv shopping center "through controlled commercial entities in Ukraine and abroad."

Rotenberg controlled two-thirds of the mall shares through nominal Swiss owners, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has touched down in Moscow for his first visit to Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has cast the visit as a "journey of peace," and the meeting between Xi and Putin is being closely watched by Kyiv and its Western allies.

The trip comes a day after a defiant Putin was seen visiting the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, in what appeared to be a direct rebuke of the International Criminal Court, which has accused Putin of war crimes and issued a warrant for his arrest.

If you're just now catching up, here's what you need to know:

The Kremlin has published a list of participants who will be joining meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday, state news agency RIA Novosti reported, quoting Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy advisor.

According to the report, members will include: Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, and director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev.

"Six vice-premiers, presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev will also take part in the talks in an expanded format," RIA Novosti reported.

The European Union's foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell has said that he hopes the bloc will agree a joint ammunition procurement deal for Ukraine on Monday.

The chief diplomat warned of "difficulties" in continuing to supply arms to Ukraine if an "important decision" was not reached on Monday.

Some context: EU defense ministers earlier this month provisionally agreed a €2 billion ($2.1 billion) plan to purchase 155-millimeter artillery shells, and send more artillery rounds to Ukraine from EU countries' existing stockpiles. A final decision is expected on Monday on the sidelines of the meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels.

Speaking in Stockholm on March 9, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said his country needed one million rounds of ammunition "as soon as possible" to deter Russian forces.

The Russia-Ukraine war marks the first time the EU has supplied lethal weapons to a third country, underscoring the extent of the threat it believes Moscow poses to its security.

With the Ukraine war now in its second year, the EU — alongside the United States and the United Kingdom, Kyiv's other two main backers — has reaffirmed its solidarity with Kyiv.

That solidarity has translated into further commitments on military spending. In early February, the bloc announced that it would inject another €545 million ($575 million) into its €3.6 billion ($3.8 billion) military assistance fund for Ukraine.

And in January, Germany, France, Poland and the UK agreed to supply modern battle tanks to Kyiv, responding to a longstanding call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite fears that such a move could inflame the West's tensions with Russia.

A Russian deputy prime minister was present to greet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Moscow's Vnukovo airport upon arrival, television pictures showed.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, one of 10 deputy prime ministers of the Russian Federation, greeted Xi on the tarmac.

Xi is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin after 4:30 p.m. local time (9.30 a.m. ET) Monday.

In a statement released Monday as he arrived in Moscow for a three-day visit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his willingness to work alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin to "safeguard the international order."

It added, "I look forward to exchanging in-depth views with President Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern during the visit, so as to draw a blueprint for China-Russia strategic coordination and practical cooperation in the new era."

Earlier Monday, in a signed article published in Russian state media, Xi framed his trip to Moscow as "a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace," vowing to open "a new chapter" of bilateral relations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Putin will discuss the topic of Ukraine peace with Xi during the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was heckled during his surprise visit to the occupied southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Sunday, just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.

In the same clip, a female resident refers to the nearby apartment block as "a little piece of heaven here now," to which Putin replies that they plan to expand it. 

A man in the group of residents said: "We only saw you on TV so many times." Putin tells him: "We need to start getting to know each other better."

The city, the site of some of the fiercest fighting of the war and a heroic last stand by Ukrainian forces, has often been used for propaganda purposes since it was seized by Moscow last year.

Satellite images last May showed extensive excavation and the clearance of debris around the city, including at the bombed Mariupol drama theater. In the months since, Russian state media has released videos of areas that have been reconstructed, and Putin has released plans of how they will redevelop.

Reports of planned trials circulated last August after Russian media published images of cages under construction in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall, apparently intended to restrain Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the siege of the Azovstal steel plant.

CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has more:

Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the topic of Ukraine peace with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Moscow, the Kremlin said Monday.

"One way or another, the topics which are touched upon in [Beijing’s peace] plan, of course, will inevitably be touched upon during the exchange of views on Ukraine [between Putin and Xi]," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Putin and Xi are expected to have an "informal but very important" meeting Monday afternoon Moscow time, according to Peskov.

"The heads of state will raise the most pressing issues at their discretion," he added.

Xi is expected to meet with Putin after 4:30 p.m. local time (9.30 a.m. ET) Monday.