March 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Sana Noor Haq, Aditi Sangal, Alisha Ebrahimji, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:05 a.m. ET, March 22, 2023
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12:07 p.m. ET, March 21, 2023

US will send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine faster than originally planned, defense officials say

From CNN's Natasha Bertrand

Patriot missile defense systems are set to be deployed to Ukraine faster than originally planned, and a group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers will complete their training on the systems at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the coming days, US defense officials said on Tuesday.

The troops will then move on to Europe for additional training on the two Patriot systems—one American, and one built by the Germans and Dutch— that will be deployed to Ukraine in the coming weeks, the officials told reporters at Fort Sill.

US trainers at Fort Sill, where the 65 Ukrainians have been training since January 15, were able to significantly speed up the timeline of the course because of the Ukrainians’ baseline knowledge of air defense systems, the officials said.

The acceleration of Patriot deployments comes the same day it was reported that the US will accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America's main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials.

“Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive, and absolutely a quick study,” said Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, the Fort Sill commander. “Due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone, it was easier— though never easy—for them to grasp the Patriot System Operations and Maintenance concepts.” 

The US military had allocated 10 weeks for the training, but the Ukrainians completed it in about 8 weeks. The training schedule was “aggressive,” a Fort Sill official said, with the Ukrainians training daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

11:26 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

Putin: Moscow is ready to support Chinese business to replace Western companies that left Russia

From CNN's Anna Chernova

Moscow is ready to support Chinese businesses in replacing Western companies that have left Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday ahead of expanded talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“We are ready to support Chinese business in replacing Western enterprises that left Russia,” Putin said.

Some background: Dozens of the world’s biggest companies abandoned or scaled back their operations in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The exodus affected every corner of the economy, from its vast energy riches through autos, finance, retail, entertainment and fast food, starving Russia of new investment and removing products and services that had become popular in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some high-profile exist were by Apple, Ford and BP. See the list here.

11:28 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

Putin says he held "substantive" and "frank" discussion with Xi

From CNN's Chris Liakos

Ahead of the start of scheduled expanded negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the two leaders had “substantive” and “frank” discussions so far.

“Last night, we had a substantive conversation about the entire comprehensive agenda between our countries and the urgent international and regional problems,” Putin said in his opening statement.

“Having just met in a narrow circle we had a frank and full discussion and exchanged views on the future development of Russian-Chinese ties and the strengthening of coordination on the international scene,” he said.

Next, the two leaders are next going to have “a detailed examination of the practical aspects of our cooperation in various areas in extended meeting between our delegations,” Putin said, including a plan for the development of key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030.

Additionally, Putin told Xi that Russia is “able to meet the growing demand of Chinese economy for energy resources.”

11:05 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

Xi: Russia and China are pushing for further cooperation

From CNN's Xiaofei Xu and Wayne Chang

Russia and China are pushing for further cooperation and that the countries are seeing “early results” of their cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

"Our areas of cooperation continue to expand and our consensus continue to deepen. We are seeing early results of our cooperation and further works are under full implementation," Xi said. 

According to a Chinese state media readout, in a meeting earlier Tuesday Xi told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that China and Russia should enhance and expand economic and trade cooperation, and "jointly safeguard our two countries’ energy security."

10:54 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

US will accelerate delivery of tanks to Ukraine, officials say

From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Kevin Liptak

US soldiers operate an Abrams M1-A1 tank to engage a simulated opposing force during the Bull Run training exercise at Bemowo Piskie, Poland, in November 2022.
US soldiers operate an Abrams M1-A1 tank to engage a simulated opposing force during the Bull Run training exercise at Bemowo Piskie, Poland, in November 2022. (Staff Sgt. Matthew Foster/US Army National Guard)

The US will dramatically accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America’s main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials. 

The switch will allow the tanks to arrive as early as the fall of this year, one of the officials said, shaving months off the previous timeline that could have taken a year or longer.

On Tuesday morning, the National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said that the US was working to speed up the delivery of tanks to Ukraine. 

 “We're working on that. There's some changes that you can make to the process, to sort of speed that up,” Kirby said on MSNBC. “The Pentagon is working as fast as they can, and they'll have more to say on adjustments they're making.”

More on the tanks: The US had previously announced it would send the more modern M1-A2 version of the Abrams battle tank, but that would have required either building new tanks or modernizing existing older tanks, then training Ukrainian crews on the more advanced system. The M1-A2 has a newer digital targeting system that makes it a more capable tank, but it also required more training for Ukrainian troops to operate the more complex tank and to maintain the system. 

The decision to speed up the delivery of tanks comes as Ukraine is preparing to launch a spring offensive against Russian forces, built largely around the more powerful and more advanced systems Western countries have agreed to send, including tanks and other armored vehicles. 

The US still intends to send 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the same number as previously announced. The size of a complete Ukrainian tank battalion.  

What other US officials have said: In mid-February, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said these systems would “make a pretty significant difference” in Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive. Austin urged other countries last week to send tanks and other armored vehicles to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Last month, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth had said all of the options the US was considering to get tanks to Ukraine would take months.

“We’re looking at options for how to get the Ukrainians tanks and there are a variety of different ways that we could do that,” Wormuth told a group of reporters at the time. “We’re looking at what’s the fastest way we can get the tanks to the Ukrainians. It’s not going to be a matter of weeks.”

But she warned that even the faster options still involve “longer timelines” that may take more than a year.

Reuters first reported the decision to send the older Abrams tanks.

11:04 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

Xi says China and Russia should enhance economic and trade cooperation, according to readout

From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu in Paris and Wayne Chang in Hong Kong

China and Russia should enhance and expand economic and trade cooperation, and also jointly safeguard both countries’ energy security, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in a meeting Tuesday, according to a Chinese state media readout. 

“We must fully utilize the spillover effects of major interconnecting projects, jointly safeguard our two countries’ energy security and expand our bilateral trade exchanges,” Xi said in a statement, adding that China and Russia should also enhance cooperation in scientific and technological innovation. 

What Moscow is saying: Russia, on the other hand, is ready for closer cooperation with China in various areas, including trade, energy, natural gas, “peaceful use” of nuclear power, space technology, technological innovation, cross-border transportation, food security and supply chain security, Mishustin said, according to the statement. 

Mishustin said he brought “almost all key cabinet members” to his meeting with Xi, adding that the fact that Xi chose Russia for his first foreign visit after he secured a precedent-shattering third-term as China’s head of state demonstrates the “special nature of Sino-Russia relations in the new era.” 

Xi went on to meet with Russian Vladimir Putin after this meeting with Mishustin. Western leaders have closely been monitoring Xi's three-day Moscow visit for possible outcomes that could impact the conflict in Ukraine.

10:19 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

Ukraine says it needs new combat aircraft as pilots "squeeze maximum" out of Soviet-era fleet

From CNN's Svitlana Vlasova and Tim Lister

A senior Ukrainian air force official says that Ukraine needs modern combat aircraft as it squeezes the most out of its diminishing Soviet-era fleet.

Ukraine needs "modern multi-purpose aircraft capable to perform a wider range of tasks than the old Soviet equipment that is in service," and Ukrainian pilots need to be trained up quickly on such planes, said Serhiy Holubtsov, Chief of Aviation of the Air Force Command.

"At the moment, we are not talking about a specific type, but rather focus on technical characteristics. We are considering aircraft that can use the same ammunition and have the same characteristics as, for example, the F-16," Holubtsov said.

He added that Ukraine has the capability to store and protect its aircraft.

For now, Ukrainian pilots are skillfully using old Soviet aircraft and "squeezing the maximum out of that equipment," Holubtsov said, adding that a recent test of Ukrainian pilots in the US showed that they can be trained in less than six months.

Some context: So far no western government has pledged F-16s to Ukraine, though several have said they would not object to Ukraine acquiring the plane. Sweden has not ruled out supplying Gripen fighters to Ukraine but has no firm plans to do so. Slovakia and Poland have announced plans to send Soviet-era combat planes to Ukraine. 

11:06 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

NATO chief says there are "signs" that Russia requested lethal aid from China

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a joint press conference with to Finland's Foreign and Defense Ministers at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 20.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a joint press conference with to Finland's Foreign and Defense Ministers at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 20. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

NATO has "seen some signs" that Russia has likely requested lethal aid from China to bolster Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the alliance’s secretary general said Tuesday.

“We haven’t seen any proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia, but we have seen some signs that this has been a request from Russia, and that this is an issue that is considered in Beijing by the Chinese authorities,” Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels.

“China should not provide lethal aid to Russia. That would be to support an illegal war,” Stoltenberg warned. 

The NATO chief's comments come as China's Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has claimed impartiality in the conflict, but echoed Kremlin rhetoric blaming NATO for the conflict, refused to condemn the invasion, and backed Moscow financially by significantly increasing purchases of Russian fuel.

Stoltenberg said Xi's three-day state visit to Moscow signals the closer ties developing between China and Russia in recent years.

“We see how China and Russia are coming closer and closer in the military domain — joint exercises, joint patrols, naval and air patrols — in the economic domain and also in the political and diplomatic domain,” Stoltenberg said. “So the meeting in Moscow is part of that pattern where China and Russia are working more and more closely and building a stronger and stronger partnership.”

CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed reporting to this post. 

9:17 a.m. ET, March 21, 2023

What we know so far about the Xi and Putin meeting in Moscow

From CNN staff

China's President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Tuesday, March 21.
China's President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Tuesday, March 21. (Grigory Sysoyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold official joint events in the Kremlin on Tuesday, including two rounds of Russia-Chinese negotiations, a ceremony for signing documents, statements for the press and a state dinner.

While we await those, here's everything you need to know so far about Xi's three-day state visit to Moscow:

"Thorough" exchange of views: The two presidents had a “thorough” exchange of views during a face-to-face meeting in Moscow on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, though he refrained from commenting on the outcome of the first day of Xi’s visit to Russia.

China's "peace plan": Peskov confirmed that Putin and Xi discussed China’s “peace plan” during their first meeting of the visit, which lasted four and a half hours. He did not disclose any further details.

Deep skepticism: Western allies remain skeptical of any breakthrough over the war in Ukraine. Top US diplomat, Antony Blinken, said the Chinese leader’s visit provides “diplomatic cover” for Moscow.

China's "strategic choice" to develop relations with Russia: On Monday at the Kremlin, the Chinese leader said developing relations with its “biggest neighbor” was a “strategic choice” on the basis of Beijing’s “own fundamental interests and the prevailing trends of the world.”

He called for the two countries to “strengthen coordination and collaboration on multilateral platforms such as the UN to boost their respective national development and rejuvenation,” according to a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry.

The meeting also provides an opportunity for China to further expand an economic relationship that has only grown more lopsided following Russia’s expulsion from the global financial system.