Ukraine war live updates: Putin praises ‘militant friendship’ with North Korea; U.S. intelligence highlights China’s economic support for Russia

A new audio message purportedly belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary boss who led the aborted mutiny against Moscow last month, surfaced on the Telegram messaging app.

In the message, the voice hails Niger’s military coup as good news and offers the assistance of Wagner fighters to regain order.

It was not possible for CNBC to authenticate the recording.

The voice did not claim involvement in the coup but described it as a moment of overdue liberation from Western colonizers. It comes after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a military coup in Niger.

— Karen Gilchrist

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday restated that Moscow is ready to start negotiations with Ukraine, but said that Kyiv refused to join them, according to Reuters.

Putin was responding to calls from African leaders to heed their peace plan, as delegates gathered in St. Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit.

Kyiv has said it is not prepared to enter negotiations with Moscow while Russia holds a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

— Karen Gilchrist

Doha on Friday pledged to provide Ukraine with $100 million in humanitarian aid, following a meeting between Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal.

“This money will be directed to recovery in the field of medical care, education, humanitarian demining and other important social and humanitarian projects,” Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Shmyhal said he and his counterpart also discussed “the importance of resuming the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” which Russia quit last week, as well as Qatar’s efforts to mediate the return of illegally deported Ukrainian children.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff on Friday said that Russia is threatening civilian vessels in the Black Sea

Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the threats were an act of terrorism and called on the international community to condemn the behavior.

“Russian warships threaten civilians in the waters of the Black Sea, violating all norms of international maritime law. These are the methods of terrorists,” Yermak said, according to a Google translation.

Russia has stepped up its bombing of ports and grain depots in the region since withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative at the start of last week.

CNBC could not independently verify the claims.

— Karen Gilchrist

African leaders gathered in St. Petersburg for a Russia-Africa summit urged President Vladimir Putin to move ahead with their peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine and provide guarantees for the safe passage of grain to their countries.

“The African (peace) initiative deserves the closest attention, it mustn’t be underestimated,” Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso told Putin and African heads of state, according to a Reuters translation.

“We once again urgently call for the restoration of peace in Europe,” he added.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also called on Russia to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow exited last week. Prior to the withdrawal, it had allowed for the safe, global export of grain from Ukraine.

Putin says Russia withdrew from the pact because it was not helping grain reach the poorest countries, and on Friday vowed to boost food supplies to Russia.

Ukraine and the West claim Russia is using food as a weapon, increasing its bombing of ports and grain depots since its withdrawal from the deal.

— Karen Gilchrist

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, will meet with Ukraine’s prime minister and foreign minister during a visit to the country, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Friday.

— Karen Gilchrist

Britain’s Ministry of Defense on Friday issued a map of how it assesses the situation on the ground in Ukraine, a tweet showed.

— Karen Gilchrist

Russian President Vladimir Putin told African leaders Friday that Moscow was boosting food supplies to the region and was interested in developing military cooperation with it, according to Reuters.

That comes a day after the president announced during a Russia-Africa summit that Moscow would supply some free grain shipments to certain African nations.

Putin also said Moscow respected and was carefully studying calls for a peace agreement made Thursday by the head of the African Union, President Azali Assoumani.

— Karen Gilchrist

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that the war in Ukraine will “almost certainly” compound food insecurity across Africa for at least the next two years.

Russia last week withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed for the safe, global shipment of grain from Ukraine.

The ministry added that the number of African heads of state attending the Russia-Africa summit, which is currently being held in St. Petersburg, was down to 17 from 43 last year.

— Karen Gilchrist

President Vladimir Putin on Friday lauded Russia’s “militant friendship” with North Korea and vowed to further develop political, economic and security ties with the isolated nation, state media reported.

In a letter shared by Russian delegates during their visit to Pyongyang, Putin said it was especially important to enrich the countries’ tradition of “friendship, good neighborliness and mutual assistance” in the face of present threats.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s firm support to the special military operation against Ukraine and its solidarity with Russia on key international issues highlight our common interests and determination to counter the policy of the Western group which hinders the establishment of the truly multipolarized and just world order,” the letter read, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The letter was shared as Russian and Chinese delegates joined North Korea in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, Pyongyang’s so-called Victory Day.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday posted a video showing Ukrainian soldiers saying they have “liberated the village” of Staromaiorske, located east of Zaporizhzhia city.

In comments accompanying the video, shared on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, Zelenskyy said: “Our South! Our guys! Glory to Ukraine!”

The village is close to the front line of the Ukrainian counteroffensive near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

— Karen Gilchrist

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Twitter that his office has documented 498 cases where children have died due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kostin added that his office has also recorded more than 19,000 forced deportations.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, for the alleged deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

— Amanda Macias

An unclassified assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence outlines China’s financial support for Russia during the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

The Biden administration previously warned Beijing to not support Moscow as the U.S. and its Western allies coordinate global sanctions for Russia’s ongoing war.

The unclassified report, which was released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is available here.

— Amanda Macias