Ukraine war latest: Russia's troops 'partially pushed back' from key town, Ukraine claims - as Putin's offensive 'appears to slow' (2024)

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

You've heard of the transatlantic Special Relationship.

This is the "no limits" partnership - a term coined when Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in February 2022.

It was just days before he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A lot's changed for Russia since then, of course. It’s now an international pariah. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is China’s support.

Why? For one, Presidents Xi and Putin share a similar outlook. Both oppose external "interference" in domestic affairs, and long for a "multipolar" world.

There are economic benefits for both, too. But this is not an equal partnership. The power lies with Beijing.

"Because of the war, Russia is in desperate need of any kind of partnership", said Alexandra Prokopenko, a Berlin-based fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, adding that Beijing had provided "a real lifeline" for Moscow.

"China is not only a market for Russian oil and gas, which is the major source of the currency for the Russian budget, but also China’s become a very important source of imports to Russia," she said.

Putin won't like being the junior partner, but it’s a role he’s clearly willing to accept, given the benefits.

Last year, trade between the two nations soared to $240 billion - an increase of more than 25%.

Cheap energy flows one way; cars and telephones come back. But the West fears that's not all Russia’s importing.

The US and others believe Chinese products and dual-use goods, like machine tools and microelectronics, are also fuelling the Kremlin's war machine, by filling critical gaps in its military-industrial.

China denies supplying any actual weaponry, and maintains a neutral stance on Ukraine.

But the assertions have done little to dampen suspicions with US secretary of state Antony Blinken reiterating his "deep concern" today.

Putin's entourage might also raise eyebrows. He’ll be accompanied by his new defence minister, Andrei Belousov, with Putin widely expected to push for more support for Russia's militarised economy.

But despite the "no limits" characterisation of the relationship, analysts say it does have boundaries.

"China knows red lines," Prokopenko said, referring to Washington’s concerns over the extent of Beijing's support.

In her view, the partnership between Xi and Putin should be viewed "as part of a big, big game between the US and China".

In that sense, then, this visit is likely to be more symbolic than anything else. It's the first foreign trip of Putin's new presidential term and signals his priorities.

But in terms of the optics - two strongmen leaders defying Western pressure - one of them is clearly stronger than the other.

These images show Vladimir Putin chairing a security council meeting.

Former defence minister and new secretary of the council Sergei Shoigu was in attendance - pictured in the first image next to chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov.

Earlier today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed all foreign trips due to the situation in the Kharviv region.

Russia has also claimed to have taken three more settlements in the country - two of which are in the Kharkiv region.

The offensive by Moscow started at the end of last week, and today our military analyst Michael Clarke says Russia has already achieved some of what it intended to do.

He says by targeting the Kharkiv region Moscow's main goal is to "draw Ukrianian forces from elsewhere".

"The Russians are trying to stretch the Ukrainian forces all the way round the front.

"If the Russians get to the village of Lyptsi then they can put Kharkiv under artillery barrage, because it is within range of normal artillery weapons.

"More importantly, the village of Vovchansk, may mark the beginning of a bigger offensive that could go southwards or maybe eastwards to link up with other forces."

Despite fierce fighting in Vovchansk, Clarke says the Ukrainians have slowed Russian advances down, by redirecting their best units from the south.

"Parts of their best brigades have been sent north to stem the tide," he says.

"But the Russians have already achieved what they wanted, which is to draw off some of the best troops and equipment which are fighting in Chavis Yar down in the south, which really mattered to the Ukrainians."

Watch Clarke's full analysis here:

Finland will change its legislation to allow thousands of reservists to patrol the country's border with Russia, should there be a sudden wave of migrants.

"With the changed security situation, we need to complement existing methods with new ways to maintain border security," defence minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement.

Finland, which joined NATO in Aprillast year, has accused Moscow of weaponising migration against the Nordic nation, which the Kremlin denies.

Finland shut its 1,340km-long border with Russia late last year amid a growing number of arrivals from countries such as Syria and Somalia via Russia.

Away from Kharkiv, and Ukraine has denied Russian claims of progress in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Ukrainian military dismissed reports that Moscow's forces had taken control of the village of Robotyne in the southern part of the region.

"This information is not true," military spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk was quoted by Ukrinform agency as saying.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Russia's offensive in northern Kharkiv has been the focus of much of the reporting on the war in Ukraine over recent days.

Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke has said the aim of Moscow is to draw Ukraine's forces to that area from the south, thus stretching the country's military resources.

And the latest analysis from US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War suggests that the pace of the offensive "appears to have slowed over the past 24 hours".

The group's experts said the pattern of Russian offensive activity in the area was consistent with assessments that Vladimir Putin's forces are prioritising the creation of a "buffer zone" in the international border area over a deeper penetration of Kharkiv Oblast.

It said several Ukrainian military officials reported yesterday that they believed the situation in Kharkiv Oblast was slowly stabilising.

"Drone footage purportedly from Vovchansk shows Russian foot mobile infantry operating within the settlement in small squad-sized assault groups, consistent with Ukrainian reports," the analysis added.

Two people have been killed after a Russian air attack on infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor has said.

Serhiy Lysak said onTelegram that there were a number of people who had been injured, but gave no other details.

Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, it sits on the Dnipro River and is around 300 miles from Kyiv.

Within the last hour, the UK's House of Commons addressed an urgentquestion on "Russia's aggression relating to Ukraine and the situation in Georgia".

Ukraine has come under vast assault from Russia in recent days, while in Georgia there have been riots as Russia asserted its influence to see a controversial "foreign agents" law passed.

The question was tabled by Jim Shannon, a Democratic Unionist Party politician, and answering on behalf of the government was armed forces minister Leo Docherty.

He noted today was "day 811 of Putin's 'special military operation' - an operation that was supposed to last three days, and he has failed in all his objectives".

But the minister went on to say the conflict was "evolving", and confirmed Russia's latest assault on the Kharkiv region, which was "almost certainly" a bid to "divert Ukrainian resources away from other parts of the front line and to threaten Kharkiv - the second-largest city in Ukraine".

He declared the UK would "not be diverted from our commitment to provide Ukraine with the support they need to prevail", pointing to the vast package announced in January and ongoing efforts to support the Ukrainian military.

Turning to Georgia, the minister said the government was observing events "with concern".

"The United Kingdom, along with our partners, is of course committed to the right of peaceful protest, as we are concerned by the introduction of the law" on foreign influence, he said.

He added that the UK was "a close friend of Georgia" and called for "calm and restraint on all sides".