March 24, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Helen Regan, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Matt Meyer and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 0251 GMT (1051 HKT) March 25, 2023

What we covered here

Deadly Russian strikes overnight killed three people in the eastern Donetsk region and two in the northern region of Sumy, officials said.
Russian airborne troops are playing a greater role in the fighting around Bakhmut as the Wagner private military company faces growing losses, the Ukrainian military said.
India's Air Force says Russia is unable to honor its arms delivery commitments due to the war in Ukraine, placing a potential strain on relations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism that cooperation with European allies could bring a victory by the end of the year, but he warned there were still problematic areas such as delays in the supply of armaments.
US President Joe Biden said Friday he's not alarmed following the meeting between the leaders of China and Russia earlier this week, adding he thinks "we vastly exaggerate it" because China has not provided any support for Russia to date despite warnings from officials Beijing considered it.

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8:40 p.m. ET, March 23, 2023

It will cost $411 billion to rebuild from the war in Ukraine, World Bank says

From CNN’s Florence Davey-Attlee

The estimated cost of reconstruction efforts in Ukraine after Russia's invasion has reached $411 billion, according to an updated assessment by the World Bank.

This amounts to 2.6 times the country’s estimated GDP in 2022. It includes an estimated $135 billion of direct damage — mainly to the housing, transportation, energy, commerce and industry sectors, according to the bank. The majority of damage is concentrated in frontline eastern regions, including Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk.

The updated cost estimate covers damage incurred in the one-year period after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022. It marks an increase from the bank's $349 billion estimate in June 2022.

“The amount of damage and recovery needs currently does not include data on the loss of infrastructure, housing and businesses in the occupied territories,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, referring to areas controlled by Russia's troops. “When the defense forces release them, we expect that the data will be supplemented, and the Government will immediately begin restoration work in these territories.”

The reconstruction cost is a joint assessment made by Ukraine's government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations.

8:38 p.m. ET, March 23, 2023

Arrest of Putin overseas after ICC warrant would mean a "declaration of war," Russian official says

From CNN's Radina Gigova in London and Nadine Schmidt in Berlin

Dmitry Medvedev attends a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, on May 9. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Any arrest of Vladimir Putin overseas under the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant for the Russian President would mean "a declaration of war against Russia," Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday, according to state-run news agency Tass.

"Clearly, such a situation is never going to happen but still, let’s imagine that it has happened. The incumbent head of a nuclear country arrives in, say, Germany, and is arrested. What does it mean? A declaration of war against Russia," Medvedev said, responding to a media question. "In such a case, all our weapons will target the Bundestag, the [German] chancellor’s office and so on."

Responding to German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann’s remark that Berlin would have to implement the ICC decision and arrest the Russian President if he arrived in Germany, Medvedev said: "Does he even realize that it would be a casus belli, a declaration of war? "

Medvedev also reiterated that the ICC’s decision would have a detrimental impact on Moscow’s relations with the West.

"Our relations with the Western world are already poor; they are perhaps at their worst ever. Even when Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech, our relationship was better. And all of a sudden, they make such a move against our head of state," Medvedev said, according to Tass.

Hungary said Thursday it would not arrest Putin if he entered the country, despite the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for him last week, accusing him of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said that even though Hungary is a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, and ratified it in 2001, arresting Putin would have no basis in Hungarian law.

“We can refer to the Hungarian law and based on that we cannot arrest the Russian President … as the ICC’s statute has not been promulgated in Hungary,” Gulyas said. He added that the Hungarian government had not yet “formed a stance” on the ICC arrest warrant for Putin.

8:17 p.m. ET, March 23, 2023

Ukraine will be on the agenda when Spanish leader visits China

From CNN's Al Goodman in Madrid

Pedro Sanchez attends the second session of the motion of censure, at the Congress of Deputies, in Madrid, Spain, on March 22. (Eduardo Parra/Europa Press/Getty Images)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he will discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a state visit to China next week.

Sánchez said he will address three topics with Xi:

Reinforce bilateral relations and celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Madrid and Beijing.
Explain the goals of the Spanish presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2023.
Discuss stability and durable peace in Ukraine.

Sanchez said he would specifically address the issues of peace, on Kyiv’s terms, and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“That means respecting the UN human rights charter, with regards to the territorial integrity which is being violated by Russia, in this case in Ukraine,” he told reporters as he arrived for a European Council meeting in Brussels. “And logically it will be Ukrainians themselves who establish the conditions for the beginning of that peace dialogue that will logically have to occur.”

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said it has no information to provide regarding the matter.

The Spanish prime minister said he was thankful for President Xi’s invitation and referred to China as “a global actor of the first order,” adding it was important to hear Beijing’s view.

Beijing has attempted to position itself as a peace broker in the conflict despite its growing relationship with Russia. Xi departed Moscow on Wednesday after pledging to deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin during a three-day state visit. Their talks failed to achieve a breakthrough on Ukraine.

8:16 p.m. ET, March 23, 2023

Prince William and Polish President discuss Ukraine conflict during meeting in Warsaw

From CNN’s Max Foster in Warsaw, Poland

William, Prince of Wales, left, meets with Poland's President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, on March 23. (Ian Vogler/Reuters)

A meeting between Britain's Prince William and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw focused on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its impact on Polish society, a spokesperson for the Prince of Wales said in a statement.

“The Prince of Wales took the opportunity to thank the President and the Polish people who have done so much to support the people of Ukraine who’ve fled here,” the spokesperson said.

“They discussed the importance of the need for ongoing support to Ukraine and its people.”

Some context: Prince William made a rare, unannounced trip to Poland on Wednesday, meeting British and Polish troops stationed near the Ukrainian-Polish border and praising their “cooperation in support of the people of Ukraine and their freedom.”

The Prince of Wales first visited the 3rd Brigade Territorial Defense Force base in Rzeszów, where he met Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and viewed a display of military equipment.