April 6, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Brad Lendon, Aditi Sangal, Sana Noor Haq, Leinz Vales, Adrienne Vogt, Matt Meyer and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 10:01 p.m. ET, April 6, 2023
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6:04 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Putin’s meeting with Belarusian President Lukashenko was "lengthy and meaningful," Kremlin says 

Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday was "lengthy and meaningful" and "lasted well after midnight," according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

On Thursday, Putin and Lukashenko will meet again as part of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, which is the highest governing body of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

Putin and Lukashenko are expected to review progress on joint industry programs and discuss practical issues related to further cooperation.

Peskov told journalists in a briefing call that Putin is also planning to hold meetings on Thursday with leaders of the four regions that Russia has annexed from Ukraine.

Remember: Under the annexation process, which is illegal under international law, Moscow recognizes the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as Russian territory.

6:00 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Still unclear who was behind Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, Swedish prosecutor says 

From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls

A leak from Nord Stream 2 is seen on September 28, 2022.
A leak from Nord Stream 2 is seen on September 28, 2022. (Swedish Coast Guard/AP/FILE)

Swedish authorities said the circumstances behind Nord Stream pipeline blasts last year have been "difficult to investigate," several months after the attack targeting Russia's gas deliveries to Europe.  

Swedish and Danish officials have been investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.

Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement on Thursday that the findings have confirmed that the blasts at Nord Stream pipelines concern “gross sabotage.”  

“This concerns a crime whose circumstances are difficult to investigate. The detonations took place 80 meters (262 feet) under the water on the ocean floor in the Baltic Sea," Ljungqvist said. 

“The incident has obviously become an open arena for different influence attempts. These speculations do not have an impact on the ongoing investigation, which is grounded in facts and the information which has emerged from analyses, crime scene investigations and collaboration with authorities in Sweden and other countries," he added in the statement.  

Some context: Mystery has surrounded who might be responsible for the brazen sabotage last September which damaged two pipes transporting Russian gas into the European Union and targeted a crucial source of revenue for Moscow. Both pipelines were closed at the time of the attack, which came months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last month, Ukraine has denied any involvement in the sabotage following a report by the New York Times citing new intelligence that a "pro-Ukrainian group" may have been behind it. US intelligence officials were largely split on the assessment.

CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko, Simone McCarthy, and Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting.

6:35 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Macron and Chinese premier discuss war in Ukraine during talks, Elysee Palace says

From CNN’s Pierre Bairin in Paris and Allegra Goodwin in London 

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premier Li Qiang discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, in a series of meetings between Chinese and European officials this week.

“With the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic discussed the conflict in Ukraine,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

Macron also held talks with the Chairman of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji, in which he “underlined the impact of the war in Ukraine on global security and strategic balances," the statement added.

The French president is in China with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as part of a three-day visit.

6:35 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Xi says Macron's visit to Beijing will "inject new impetus" to China-Europe relations

From CNN’s Irene Nasser

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron review troops in Beijing on Thursday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron review troops in Beijing on Thursday. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing will “inject new impetus and bring new weather” to relations between both parties, amid high-stakes meetings where the conflict in Ukraine is likely to be at the top of the agenda.

Macron, who is making his first state visit in three years to China, held talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi said the two countries “have the ability and responsibility to transcend differences and constraints,” adding that they can “practice genuine multilateralism” in a strategic partnership, according to Chinese state media CCTV.

Xi said the two countries are collaborating closely on climate change, biodiversity, and African development, according to CCTV, adding that “China-France relations have maintained a positive and steady development momentum."

His remarks came as Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing has a strong desire for "exchanges and cooperation" with Europe.

Ning said the discussions will “inject certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world," where Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Beijing's close ties to Moscow have put pressure on China-EU relations.

Xi met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last week to firm up bilateral relations. The meeting was followed by Xi's meeting with Macron, after which both leaders will be joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for trilateral talks.

Macron and von der Leyen will also meet top officials as part of their visit to China.

6:35 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

European Commission President says she discussed how to rebalance bloc's trade with China

From CNN’s Simone McCarthy and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivers an address in Brussels on March 30.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivers an address in Brussels on March 30. (Valeria Mongelli/AFP/Getty Images/FILE)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she discussed how to rebalance the bloc's trade with her counterpart in China, as part of a high-stakes trip where the conflict in Ukraine and European economic interests are likely to be at the top of the agenda.

“Our economies are strongly interconnected but the EU trade deficit is increasing due to discriminatory practices,” von der Leyen tweeted on Thursday. “We should resume our High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue to engage on this.”

Von der Leyen said in opening remarks during her meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang that EU-China relations have become more complex in recent years, and it is important that they discuss all the aspects of the rapport.

The meeting was part of von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron's three-day visit to China this week, where they will meet with top officials and have separate assemblies with President Xi Jinping, according to an Elysee source.

Some context: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put pressure on the EU's diplomatic relationship with Beijing, whose close ties with Moscow and an aggressive foreign policy have made the bloc increasingly wary.

Beijing has claimed neutrality in the conflict, but has not condemned Russia’s invasion and instead bolstered its economic and diplomatic ties with the Kremlin over the past year.

Both European leaders have stressed the role China could play in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

They are also juggling political issues with looming business interests, having expressed a more cautious view in relation to economic ties with Beijing amid a tense international landscape.

CNN's Michelle Toh contributed reporting.

5:29 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Western representatives walk out of UN meeting as Russian children’s commissioner speaks

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin

Russia's Commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova addresses an informal meeting of UN Security Council members via video at the UN headquarters in New York City on Wednesday.
Russia's Commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova addresses an informal meeting of UN Security Council members via video at the UN headquarters in New York City on Wednesday. (Michelle Nichols/Reuters)

Envoys from several Western countries walked out of a United Nations meeting on Wednesday with the Russian commissioner for children's rights, who is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war charges, accusing her of spreading “disinformation” about the war in Ukraine.  

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.

Lvova-Belova appeared virtually at the informal meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, called by Russia to discuss the “evacuation” of Ukrainian children from the conflict zone. Russia took over the rotating Security Council presidency on April 1.  

“As Russia takes on the presidency of the Security Council, we will use every opportunity to push back on their using their perch in the chair to spread disinformation and to use their chair to push support of their efforts,” the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters ahead of the meeting.  

“So, it's for that reason today that we have opposed their Arria-Formula briefer, a woman who has been charged with war crimes, who has been involved in deporting and removal of children from their homes to Russia,” she continued.  

Thomas-Greenfield added the US, like the UK, had blocked the webcast of the meeting, so Lvova-Belova was not given “an international podium to spread disinformation and to try to defend her horrible actions that are taking place in Ukraine.”  

Representatives of the United States, Britain, Albania and Malta, walked out of the conference room as Lvova-Belova was speaking, with Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia describing the move as “a clear demonstration of their indifference to the fate of the children of Donbas and Ukrainian children.”  

CNN’s Florence Davey-Attlee contributed reporting.

4:53 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

NATO chief tells CNN he's "confident" Sweden will join alliance, in first interview since Finland's entry

From CNN’s Eoin McSweeney

(CNN)
(CNN)

Sweden will become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) despite opposition from Turkey and Hungary, the chief of the transatlantic military alliance said on Wednesday, in his first interview since Finland became a new member of the group.  

"I'm confident that Sweden will become a member [of NATO], not least because all NATO allies, including Turkey, invited Sweden to become a member at our summit in Madrid," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN's Becky Anderson in an interview.  

Finland officially became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

However, Sweden’s attempt to join the bloc has been stalled by alliance members Turkey and Hungary, as under the accession rules, any member state can veto a new country from joining. Finland’s fold into the alliance also reignited calls from Ukraine to join NATO.

US President Joe Biden's administration announced an additional package of military aid to Ukraine totaling $2.6 billion on Tuesday, as part of a slew of NATO support for the embattled nation. Ukraine has burned through ammunition and weapons faster than the US and NATO can produce it, but Stoltenberg promised to ramp up production to meet further needs. 

"This has now become a war of attrition, a war of logistics. We are working closely with the defense industry across the alliance to ramp up production, partly to be able to replenish our own stocks, but also continue to provide support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

"It is Russia that has invaded neighbors ... That is the reason why countries in Europe decide they want to be part of NATO."

6:21 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Explosions heard overnight in occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol

From CNN's Svitlana Vlasova

Explosions sounded overnight in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, a hub for Russian forces away from the frontlines of the war.

Exiled mayor Ivan Fedorov said that explosions were heard in the area of the seized airfield and suggested that a Ukrainian attack has led to Russian losses. 

"It was a loud night in the temporarily occupied Melitopol for all districts of the city, especially Aviamistechko," Fedorov said in a Telegram post. 

Meanwhile, a member of the region's Russian-backed military-civilian administration, Vladimir Rogov, said that Russian air defenses foiled an attempted missile attack on Melitopol.

Rogov claimed six rockets were fired by Ukraine and that all were intercepted, resulting in no damage or casualties.

3:06 a.m. ET, April 6, 2023

Ukraine repelled nearly 20 Russian attacks in Bakhmut, which remains at "epicenter of the fighting"

From CNN's  Svitlana Vlasova in Kyiv

Ukrainian defense forces repelled about 20 Russian attacks in the area near the eastern city of Bakhmut over the past day, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. 

"Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka remain at the epicenter of the fighting," the General Staff said in its morning update. 

The update added that Russian forces were still "trying to take full control of the city of Bakhmut and continues to assault it," adding that more that 15 localities were affected by shelling.

Ukraine’s General Staff also said its forces carried out 17 strikes on Russian positions and military equipment.

More on Bakhmut: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday acknowledged the possibility of a military withdrawal from the Bakhmut, but said that ammunition deliveries from Ukraine’s allies would bolster his military’s defense.