March 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

A senior Ukrainian official told CNN Tuesday that discussions are underway with China to organize a call between the Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Beijing’s proposal for a peace plan for Ukraine. 

If the conversation does happen, it would be the first to take place between the two leaders. But the senior Ukrainian official added that “nothing concrete has been scheduled.” 

The Chinese leader is currently on his first trip to Russia since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday Putin and Xi had a “thorough” exchange of views during a face to face meeting Monday. Peskov confirmed Putin and Xi discussed China’s “peace plan” during their first meeting which lasted four and a half hours, without disclosing any more details.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has arrived in Ukraine's capital as part of a "historic visit," Emine Dzheppa, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said Tuesday. 

"Ukraine is happy to welcome Japan's PM Kishida Fumio. This historic visit is a sign of solidarity and strong cooperation between Ukraine and Japan," she said in a post on her official Twitter account, accompanied by a picture showing the arrival. 

"We are grateful to Japan for its strong support and contribution to our future victory," she added. 

At least 8,317 civilians have been killed and at least 13,892 have been injured across Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement released Monday. 

The highest numbers of civilian casualties were recorded in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the OHCHR numbers show. 

The numbers are based on information collected up until March 19, 2023, OHCHR said, providing the following details:

Citing intense hostilities, OHCHR said the reports from some locations are delayed and many are still pending corroboration and so "the actual figures are considerably higher."

Among those areas are the cities of Mariupol in Donetsk region, as well as Lysychansk, Popasna, and Severodonetsk in Luhansk region, "where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties," the agency said. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “thorough” exchange of views during a face-to-face meeting in Moscow on Monday, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting on the outcome of the first day of Xi’s visit to Russia, during which the presidents are expected to discuss Beijing's proposition on resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

“A thorough exchange of views took place,” Peskov told reporters, saying that the leaders will elaborate during their press statements on Tuesday.

He also confirmed Putin and Xi discussed China’s “peace plan” during their first meeting of the visit which lasted four and a half hours, without disclosing any more details.

Putin and Xi are also 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.

However, senior officials in Kyiv and the United States have warned that they predict the meetings will have little impact on the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia's invasion has prompted a mass humanitarian crisis and left tens of thousands dead.

CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed reporting.

A Russian soldier who allegedly shot a civilian in an extraordinary attack caught on camera by a Ukrainian drone is being accused of war crimes in absentia by the Ukrainian police.

The dossier of evidence against him includes phone calls between the soldier and his wife and friend intercepted during a months-long investigation into the Russian attack near the city of Izium last June.

The audio files were shared exclusively with CNN in advance of a news conference in Kharkiv to announce the charges on Tuesday.

Police identified the soldier as Klim Kerzhaev – a 26-year-old commander from Moscow, who served in the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army in the Western Military District. He is accused of the attempted murder of a civilian – a war crime under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The attack was also captured on aerial footage by Ukrainian soldiers, who launched a unique rescue mission by attaching a piece of paper with the words “follow me” to a small drone – an operation which featured in a recent documentary by Ukrainian filmmaker Lyubomyr Levytsky.

Read the full story:

RELATED

'I killed a man today': Russian soldier accused of war crimes in absentia after audio files intercepted

Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to travel to China later this year, as the two leaders hold talks in Moscow that Western allies caution may result in little diplomatic breakthrough on the war in Ukraine.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has already accepted Xi's invitation, the Russian prime minister's spokesperson was quoted saying by state news agency TASS.

Xi met with Mishustin on Tuesday and invited him to visit China as soon as possible to establish closer ties with China’s new Prime Minister Li Qiang, TASS reported.  

Xi's three-day state visit to Russia comes as Beijing attempts to frame itself as a mediator in the conflict in Ukraine, having called for a ceasefire and peace talks in a vaguely-worded proposal last month.

But leaders in Kyiv and its Western allies remain skeptical of China's position on resolving the war, based on concerns that nothing offered by Beijing so far supports Ukraine's demand that all Russian troops retreat from its territory.

CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed reporting.

Russian shelling has killed at least two civilians and wounded three others in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region over the last 24 hours, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration.

One person was killed and two wounded in the town of Avdiivka, he said in a Telegram post Tuesday. "The city suffered two shelling attacks and a rocket attack - houses on 4 streets, the territory of the Avdiivka Coke Plant and a food factory were damaged."

In the direction of Horlivka, one person was killed and one wounded in Bakhmut, Kyrylenko said.

In Kostyantynivka, three private houses, a kindergarten, a gas pipeline and a water pipeline were damaged. Communities in the Soledar area also came under fire, he said.

In the Lysychansk direction, a kindergarten and houses on two streets in Siversk were damaged, Kyrylenko said.

Here's a a map of the area and which areas are under Russian contrDonetsk region

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived at the Russian White House in Moscow for a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ahead of further talks at the Kremlin, state-run news agency Tass reported Tuesday.

Xi is on a three-day state visit to Russia framed by Beijing as a peacemaking project despite deep skepticism in Kyiv and the West.

The Chinese leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for four and a half hours on Monday and are expected to hold further talks on Tuesday before signing documents and holding a joint news conference ahead of a state lunch.

The Russian White House houses the offices of the country's government.

Xi Jinping sits down for a second day of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday but Western allies remain skeptical of any breakthrough over the war in Ukraine with Washington saying the Chinese leader’s visit provides “diplomatic cover” for Moscow.

The first day in Russia for Xi was a carefully choreographed show of bonhomie with a brass band serenade, a photo op and lunch with his “dear friend” Putin — but it is the second day where the two leaders are set to get to work.

The key question of global interest hanging over the talks is whether any outcomes will impact the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia continues an onslaught that has triggered a mass humanitarian crisis and left tens of thousands dead.

China in recent weeks has attempted to portray itself as an aspiring broker of peace, calling for ceasefire and peace talks in a vaguely-worded position paper released last month.

Putin on Monday said Russia had “carefully studied” China’s proposals and promised “an opportunity to discuss this matter,” according to a Kremlin readout.

But there has been wide skepticism of China’s position on resolving the conflict, centered on concerns that nothing offered by Beijing so far reflects Ukraine’s demand that all Russian troops withdraw from its territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday hit out at Xi’s visit, remarking that it came just days after the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

Read more here.