• 5:50 a.m.: New Xi-Putin talks in Moscow

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are due to meet on Tuesday (March 21st) for official talks on the second day of the Chinese president's visit to Russia. The two men should logically address the conflict in Ukraine again, Beijing having proposed last month a peace plan, but also their cooperation in the broad sense and the deepening of their economic ties, with the expected signing of agreements.

Xi Jinping's three-day state visit to Russia is an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to appear with a strong ally, as he is increasingly isolated in the West and targeted since last week by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

  • 4 a.m.: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on his way to Ukraine

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Kiev for a surprise visit and meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Fumio Kishida will "convey to President Zelensky his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people who defend their homeland under his command, as well as the solidarity and unwavering support to Ukraine, Japan and the G7," which the Asian country is hosting this year, the ministry said in a statement.

Fumio Kishida was the only leader in the group who had not yet been to Kiev since the Russian invasion in February 2022. He was regularly called upon to visit Ukraine. In February, US President Joe Biden also made a surprise visit to Kiev.

  • 0:19 a.m.: Russian cruise missiles destroyed in Crimean explosion, Kiev says

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said late Monday that an explosion in the northern Crimean peninsula caused the destruction of Russian cruise missiles intended for use by the Russian Navy fleet deployed in the Black Sea.

Via social media, the ministry's intelligence directorate reported that an "explosion in the city of Dzhankoi, in the temporarily occupied northern Crimea, destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles while they were being transported by rail." These missiles, she added, were intended to be launched from Russian Navy vessels in the Black Sea and had a range of more than 2,500 kilometers.

According to the head of the local administration, appointed by Moscow, the city of Dzhankoi has been the target of drone attacks. A 33-year-old man was injured while a house, a school and a supermarket caught fire, TASS news agency quoted Ihor Ivine as saying.

With AFP and Reuters

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