Ukraine war live updates: Russia fumes at Kyiv inviting neighbors to peace summit; Moscow signals end to foreign adoption of kids

Russia has poured scorn on Ukraine’s attempts to invite its former Soviet allies to a forthcoming peace summit in Switzerland, saying the invitation had been rejected by its neighbors.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Russian news agency Tass that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Western allies had “begged” the leaders of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an intergovernmental organization of Russia and former Soviet republics, to attend the conference in Switzerland, but claimed the invitation was refused.

“Heavy artillery was used: Zelenskyy and his Western “friends” began to personally call and beg the leaders of the Commonwealth states to take part in this “gathering”. We know that none of them succumbed to such persuasion,” the deputy minister said in excerpts of an interview due to be published in full on Wednesday.

“Kyiv and its Western handlers actively sought to attract representatives from the countries of the global South and East. Of course, they did not ignore our partners in the CIS. We know for sure that they were regularly sent invitations that remained unanswered,” Galuzin said. CNBC was unable to verify the claim.

Russia jealously guards its influence over the CIS, which includes Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Western countries have tried to strengthen their relations with several member countries of CIS, much to Russia’s disdain.

Galuzin claimed that the summit, which Russia has refused to attend (and has not been invited as a result) was “an attempt to hastily put together an anti-Russian coalition and present an ultimatum to Russia, to create the appearance of global support for the impractical ‘Zelenskyy [peace] formula’,” he said, repeating Moscow’s statement that the peace summit was doomed to fail without Russia’s participation.

Russia is sensitive over what it sees as Western encroachment on its own backyard, particularly as the CIS’ membership has dwindled in recent years. The Baltic States chose not to participate in the organization when it was founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Georgia withdrew its participation after a short-lived war with Russia in 2008, and Moldova suspended its involvement after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv formally ended its participation in the CIS in 2018.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia signaled Tuesday that it could completely end the adoption of Russian children by foreigners amid deeply troubled relations with Western countries.

“It appears that the emerging international situation and the resulting significant changes in bilateral relations with Western countries will ultimately lead to a complete cessation of foreign adoption of Russian children in the near foreseeable future,” Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, said in an annual report published by Russian media outlet Tass.

The report showed the share of children adopted by foreigners continues to decline. In 2023, foreign citizens adopted only six out of the 2,243 total number of children placed for adoption. In 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine, 57 children were adopted by foreigners.

In 2023, citizens of only two countries adopted children from the Russian Federation: Italy (five children) and France (one child), Tass reported.

It’s not the first time that adoption has been a battleground between Russia and the West, with Moscow previously restricting or suspending the adoption of Russian children by foreigners. Russia banned U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children back in 2013.

Russian air defenses intercepted 20 Ukrainian drones in the Russian border region of Kursk on Monday, the region’s acting governor said.

Alexei Smirnov accused Ukrainian forces of attacking nine villages in the southern border region but said no one was hurt in what he described as an attack using drones and explosives dropped from helicopters.

“20 Ukrainian drones in border areas were eliminated and rendered harmless by means of electronic warfare,” Smirnov said on Telegram. CNBC could not independently verify the reports and Ukraine has not commented on the attack, one of the latest in a long line of strikes on Russian border regions.

Such attacks prompted Russian forces to launch a new offensive in the northeast Kharkiv region of Ukraine last month as they look to create what Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a “buffer zone” to protect Russian border regions from attack.

— Holly Ellyatt

A Russian missile attack on the central city of Dnipro injured seven people, including two children, and damaged civilian infrastructure in early hours of Tuesday, local authorities said.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two Iskander-K cruise missiles over the region. The missile debris damaged civilian infrastructure, causing a fire and injuring residents, according to Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor.

Two boys were among those injured, in addition to five adults, based on preliminary information from the governor.

The attack damaged cars and knocked windows out in residential buildings and a hospital, Lysak wrote via Telegram messaging app.

Russian forces also launched four drones in the overnight attack — Ukrainian air force said it shot down two of them over the northern region of Chernihiv.

— Reuters

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday warned the U.S. against the potential “fatal consequences” of allowing Kyiv to deploy U.S.-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia.

“I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences. For some unknown reason, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive,” Ryabkov said, according to Google-translated comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass.

He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly addressed the topic, giving “a very significant warning, and it must be taken seriously, with the utmost seriousness.”

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House had approved a Ukrainian request to deploy U.S.-supplied weapons against targets in Russian territory, on the border near Ukrainian city Kharkiv. This use was authorized for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv.

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— Ruxandra Iordache