Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

France and Ukraine are set to sign a bilateral security agreement Friday in Paris, the Elysee Palace, home of the French presidency, said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to seal the agreement in Ukraine, but his trip was postponed. The Elysee did not disclose the details of the agreement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit France and Germany beginning on Friday, and the trip to France will be his third since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.

— Natasha Turak

The World Bank, United Nations, European Commission and government of Ukraine delivered an updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3), increasing the expected funding needs for Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery over the next decade from $411 billion a year ago to $486 billion.

The joint statement added that in 2024 alone, Ukrainian authorities estimate that the country’s funding needs for its most urgent reconstruction and recovery amount to around $15 billion. Housing, energy, transport, and soft infrastructure and services are among the top priority areas. Only about one third of that $15 billion is currently secured, it said.

“Despite the ongoing full-scale war, the Ukrainian government, with the support of international partners, continues to implement a rapid recovery program,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. “We see that the needs for reconstruction have continued to grow over the past year. The main resource for Ukraine’s recovery should be the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West. We need to start this process already this year.”

— Natasha Turak

France’s defense budget will reach the 2% of national gross domestic product in line with NATO’s spending agreement, the country’s defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said Thursday.

“From Brussels where he is participating in the meeting of Defense Ministers of #Nato, @SebLecornu announced this morning that France’s defense budget will reach 2% of GDP in 2024,” the French Ministry of Defense wrote in a post on X, according to an English translation by the platform.

“France is thus fulfilling a commitment made by all member states at the #Nato Wales summit on September 4 and 5, 2014.”

The NATO heads of state in 2014 agreed to allot 2% of each of their countries’ gross domestic product to defense spending to ensure military readiness in the face of threats. The agreement was made in the wake of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea that year.

Former U.S. President and Republican front-runner Donald Trump recently threatened to “not protect” NATO countries that did not meet the 2% spending target, and that he would even encourage Russia to attack them. The comments drew strong rebukes from NATO leaders.

— Natasha Turak

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg reiterated hopes that the U.S. Congress will approve a package of ongoing aid for Kyiv, after the U.S. Senate earlier this week passed a $95 billion package in funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The bill must still be assented by the Republican-led House of Representatives, which is likely to express more rigorous opposition.

Supporting Kyiv is an investment in the security of NATO members, Stoltenberg said, in comments reported by Reuters. NATO has stalwartly declared its solidarity with Ukraine, with Stoltenberg noting recent Ukrainian progress against Russian forces.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s military said it destroyed a Russian landing ship off the coast of occupied Crimea, in what would constitute a severe blow to Moscow’s navy in the Black Sea. CNBC was unable to verify the report.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Russian forces have launched another missile attack on Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to Serhiy Popko, leader of the Kyiv military administration.

“Another missile attack on Ukraine,” he said in a Google-translated update on Telegram. “In particular, the enemy directed various types of missiles at Kyiv. They entered the city from different directions.”

He reported no casualties or major residential damage, adding that air defense forces shot down all missiles. Air alerts lasted for more than two hours, Popko said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko had referenced the attack in a separate Google-translated Telegram post overnight.

“Explosions in the city. Air defense works,” he said, without supplying further details.

CNBC could not independently verify the reports.

— Ruxandra Iordache

A fire erupted in Russia’s iron-ore-rich region of Kursk, after a Ukrainian drone struck a local oil depot, according to a Google-translated update from regional Governor Roman Starovoit on Telegram.

There were no casualties as a result of the incident, he said, citing preliminary information.

CNBC could not confirm developments on the ground.

Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been increasingly targeted in recent weeks, raising concerns about global hydrocarbon security, which have already been stoked by the war in the Middle East.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday said Washington would continue to support Ukraine, amid uncertainty over whether the House of Representatives will pass a bill to provide Kyiv with $61 billion worth of aid.

“The United States continues to stand foursquare with Ukraine. And America will continue to support Ukraine’s principled fight against Putin’s imperial aggression,” Austin said.

Austin was speaking virtually at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which was formed in April 2022 to coordinate support for Ukraine and discuss developments in the war.

Supporting Ukraine is “the right thing to do” and just standing by was “not an option” for “people of principle and governments of conscience,” Austin said.

It comes as tensions over funding for further aid for Ukraine have reached boiling point in the U.S., with various Republican lawmakers opposing a bill that would provide monetary support to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Austin also said supporting Ukraine was central to national security interests and that the outcome of the war would “define global security for decades.”

— Sophie Kiderlin

The Ukrainian military published a video it said showed its attack on a large Russian landing warship in the Black Sea, off the coast of occupied Crimea.

The shaky and grainy video appears to show an explosion on or next to a large ship occurring at night. CNBC was unable to verify the content of the footage.

The “Tsezar Kunikov” ship was destroyed Wednesday by special forces and sea attack drones, Kyiv’s main military intelligence agency said in a post on Telegram. The ship received “critical holes” on its left side and began to sink, it said.

Moscow has not publicly commented on the claim or video. It earlier said it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea, according to Reuters. CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for comment.

The Black Sea is a key battleground for Ukraine, providing it with a vital trade route for agriculture and other products.

Despite lacking its own naval ships, Kyiv has targeted Russian warships on the Black Sea several times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and is increasingly using unmanned drones.

— Jenni Reid