Ukrainian officials say they won't concede territory to Russia, including Crimea

Senior Ukrainian officials insisted Thursday that Kyiv will make zero territorial concessions in its fight against Russia, following remarks from a deputy in the Ukrainian president’s office about the future of Crimea.

What the presidential official said: In comments first reported Wednesday by the Financial Times, top adviser Andriy Sybiha said if a Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed Russian forces back to the administrative border with Crimea, “we are ready to open (a) diplomatic page to discuss this issue."

“It doesn’t mean that we exclude the way of liberation (of Crimea) by our army," Sybiha added.

Why it's notable: The suggestion that Crimea might ever be up for negotiation has been essentially taboo for Ukrainian officials since the early days of the war.

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014, in a move denounced by Ukraine and many Western allies as violating international law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to take back the territory as the country fights off Russia's full-scale invasion, launched eight years after seizing the peninsula.

The two countries have not held talks on ending the fighting in a year.

Ukrainian leaders restate their position: Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, appeared to restate Ukraine’s uncompromising stance on Crimea Thursday.

Yermak said “the return of all Ukrainian territories” was key.

Another senior official in the president’s office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in a tweet that the basis for "real negotiations" with the Kremlin is "the complete withdrawal of Russian armed groups beyond the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine in 1991. Including Crimea."

View the full tweet below:

CNN's Rob Picheta contributed to this report.

Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery in the direction of Bakhmut on April 3. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The "most intense battles" are raging for Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka in eastern Ukraine, with Ukrainian troops focused on the battered city of Bakhmut to try to exhaust the Russians, the Ukrainian military said Thursday. 

Ukrainian forces repelled more than 20 Russian attacks over the last 24 hours, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an evening update. Russian forces launched four missiles and seven air strikes, the General Staff said, firing "more than 10 times from multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of our troops and civilian infrastructure of settlements."  

"The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive actions at the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions," the General Staff said. "The most intense fighting is taking place for the towns of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka."

Russian forces continue their offensive to take full control of Bakhmut, the military said, and Ukrainian defense forces repelled about 10 enemy attacks in this area alone. More than 15 settlements in the combat area were targeted by Russian shelling, it added. 

Cherevatyi said that the Russian force in Bakhmut, "replenished by Russian prisoners, is now very shattered and has to be reinforced by paratroopers, motorized rifle units of the occupying army, which in turn largely consist of freshly mobilized personnel."  

"Our defenders of Bakhmut are now doing the main thing: They are exhausting the occupier's capabilities, knocking out their morale, so that when our reserves, who are now training and mastering new equipment abroad and in Ukraine, are ready, they will drive this evil out of our land forever," Cherevatyi said. 

Tensions are unlikely to escalate so far that Russia would use the nuclear weapons it plans to station in Belarus, the top official on the Belarusian Security Council said Thursday, according to state news agency BelTa.

Volfovich was speaking in Moscow, where Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other officials traveled this week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Warheads and other tactical or strategic nuclear munitions are primarily designed as a deterrent, designed to ensure the security of both Russia and Belarus,” Volfovich said, according to BelTa.

Reporters asked Volfovich to clarify where Russia will station the warheads, following a Russian ambassador's remark that they would be deployed to Belarus' western border.

“The entire Belarus is located near the western border. It is the western outpost of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. We don't have to deploy them near the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia," he said.

The Belarusian official said the country has "plenty of space for deployment," saying dozens of Soviet-era sites it once used to station nuclear weapons have been "preserved."

Some background: Belarus is one of Russia’s few allies in its war on Ukraine. Its military isn’t directly involved in the fighting, but Belarus helped the Kremlin's troops launch its invasion by entering from their territory.

Last month, Putin announced he plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on his ally's territory.

Belarus has had no nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s. Shortly after gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it agreed to transfer all Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction stationed there to Russia.

Global reaction: Ukraine, NATO and the European Union's top diplomat have condemned Moscow's plan. The US has downplayed the move, saying there are no indications Russia will use nuclear weapons.

Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova attends a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A Russian 13-year-old Masha Moskalyova, who was taken from her home and placed in an orphanage after she and her father expressed anti-war sentiments, has left state custody, a top Russian official stated on Telegram.

She was removed from the orphanage by her estranged mother, Olga Sitchikhina, according to Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, who is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly kidnapping Ukrainian children and placing them with Russian families.

Moskalyova had been placed in a juvenile shelter center after her father, Alexey Moskalyov, who was raising Masha alone, was charged with “discrediting the Russian military” and put under house arrest. He was sentenced to two years in prison last Tuesday.

Moskalyov, who pleaded not guilty, was detained in Belarus after failing to turn up at his hearing in the city of Yefremov, his lawyer told CNN Wednesday. As of Thursday, his location is still unknown, his lawyer Vladimir Bilienko told CNN: "We petitioned the court to make a request to the Federal Penitentiary Service, [to find out] where Alexey is."

Some background: In April 2022, Masha drew a picture of Russian missiles being fired at a Ukrainian family and wrote “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine” during her art class, according to Russian independent news outlet, Mediazona. Her school subsequently called the police.

Lvova-Belova claimed on Telegram that at first, Masha did not want to leave the orphanage to return to her estranged mother, and her opinion is required by law to be taken into account. “Now her [Masha’s] position has changed — she told me this herself on the phone,” Lvova-Belova claimed. Sitchikhina is currently not limited in parental rights, she added.

Lvova-Belova released photos on her Telegram page, which she says show Masha reuniting with her estranged mother. Bilienko, Her father's lawyer, dismissed those photos as propaganda from the Children’s Rights Commissioner's office, and claimed, "this has been orchestrated by the authorities."

Bilienko previously expressed concerns about the child being handed over to her mother, whom he claims did not show interest in Masha's life until very recently. “These sweet-looking pictures are designed to convince everyone that maternal instincts have woken up in the girl's mother," Bilienko told CNN.

Sitchikhina was quoted in the local government-owned newspaper, Tulskiye Izvestiya, saying that Masha will now live with her. She added that in September, she will resume going to school.

Officials in the city of Yefremov's Commission on Juveniles previously said that Sitchikhina had not been living with her daughter for more than seven years, noting, "Parent-child relations had been cut, connection with the mother lost, legal guardian takes no interest in the fate of her daughter, deviates from upbringing her," according to an official court statement from the commission, shared by lawyer Bilienko, who said that the officials have made a "180-degree U-turn" on their position, and that he believes "this was an initiative of higher authorities."

Previous reporting from CNN's Mick Krever

China's President Xi Jinping speaks after a signing ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. (Gonzalo Fuente/Reuters)

Beijing's "top priority" is to push for ceasefire and end the war in Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping told European Union Commission Chief Ursula Von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting Thursday, according to the Chinese readout.

Xi emphasized his view that the war in Ukraine is not a conflict between China and Europe.

"China ... supports Europe in putting forward ideas and proposals for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis based on its own fundamental and long-term interests, and promote the establishment of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework," the readout stated.

Xi also said China and Europe should uphold mutual respect, increase political trust, enhance dialogue and cooperation, and shore up stability of China-EU relations.

Some context: Beijing has claimed neutrality on the war in Ukraine, but has not condemned Russia’s invasion and instead bolstered its economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow over the past year.

Beijing has sought to cast itself as a peacemaker in recent months, releasing a vaguely worded position paper on the “political solution” to the conflict in Ukraine. It was met with skepticism by the United States and its allies.

What the EU leader said: In her opening remarks, Von der Leyen told Xi she doesn’t see breaking ties with China as a viable or desirable strategy for the EU, but "equally I could see a number of risks that Europe should address."

Macron said in his opening remarks that a peace solution – one that earns Ukraine's approval and respects its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity – is feasible. 

CNN's Simone McCarthy and Rob Picheta contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia and Belarus will continue to develop their military cooperation in light of a "difficult international situation" and "growing tension" along their external borders. 

“The Russian Federation and Belarus are building up cooperation in the field of defense and security, expanding in the military-technical sphere. This is especially important against the backdrop of a difficult international situation,” Putin said during a session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, that took place in the Kremlin.

Last month, Putin announced he plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, from where he staged part of his February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier Thursday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that he "agrees" with remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that no country can deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of another country, but directed his statement toward the US. "This is why Americans should remove all the nuclear weapons from five or six countries where they are deployed. And that's it," he said.

Lukashenko arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and attended the Supreme State Council in the Kremlin on Thursday. 

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that he "agrees" with remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that no country can deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of another country, and said he believes the ideological confrontation between the East and West will not weaken "even after the guns fall silent" in Ukraine, according to Belarus state news agency BelTa. 

Speaking to reporters while visiting Moscow for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko responded to a question about the comments by the French president, saying: “I agree with him. This is why Americans should remove all the nuclear weapons from five or six countries where they are deployed. And that's it."

In March, CNN reported on Russia's plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin said that Moscow will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by the beginning of July.

During a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, Lukashenko said an "effective" defense system has been developed in the Union State, according to BelTa. 

“The Union State has developed an effective system of defense and security, within the framework of which the regional grouping of troops (forces) and the unified regional air defense system operate successfully," Lukashenko said. 

"Steps taken to strengthen border security have significantly increased the protection of the Union State from international terrorism, uncontrolled migration flows, weapons and ammunition smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal economic activity,” he said.

Lukashenko arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a two-day visit that included several meetings with Putin and Russian officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, looks over to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a joint meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. (Ng Han Guan/Pool via Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron in Beijing Thursday that he is ready to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the right moment, French diplomatic sources tell CNN.

In remarks at the bilateral talks earlier Thursday, Macron told the Chinese leader that “he can count on Xi to reason with Russia and bring everyone back to negotiating table," having previously expressed the role that Beijing, a close ally of Moscow, could play in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó speaks during an interview on March 24 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. (John Minchillo/AP)

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has warned Sweden that “putting pressure” on Hungarian lawmakers would not help Stockholm’s accession process to NATO, according to a government statement released on Thursday.  

Szijjártó made the comment while speaking in Brussels following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers this week, the statement said. 

He added that Hungary’s voting schedule on the issue depended on the Fidesz parliamentary group –the country’s ruling party. 

The minister also said that Hungary’s government “has no conditions” regarding Sweden’s accession to the military alliance, adding that it's a decision that the country's lawmakers will make. 

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Hungarian cabinet office quoted the country’s president Katalin Novák as saying that “We should put these issues aside and say that in this very difficult and demanding situation, we have more reasons to accept in the NATO Sweden than to refuse this.” 

According to the Hungarian cabinet office, Novák made the remarks in an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT World.   

Sweden’s attempt to join NATO has been stalled by alliance members Turkey and Hungary. Finland officially became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia. 

Remember: Finnish and Swedish public support for joining NATO surged following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

CNN's Tara John contributed reporting to this post.