Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Data from the flight recorders of the Il-76 aircraft that Russia says was shot down by Ukrainian armed forces last week confirms the external impact on it, law enforcement agencies reportedly told Tass news agency.

Black boxes from the Russian military transport plane were retrieved last week after the plane crashed over the Belgorod region, killing 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, as well as nine Russians. Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane with Western missiles; Ukraine has neither accepted nor denied responsibility for the incident.

“The black box data … confirms that the plane was subjected to external influence, that is, it was shot down in the air. Everything is obvious,” the law enforcement agency’s interlocutor reportedly told Tass.

Analysis of the black box data is ongoing. “This work is nearing completion. There is no rush here,” a representative of the security forces was cited as saying.

CNBC was unable to verify the information in the media report.

— Holly Ellyatt

China Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met with Ukrainian ambassador to China Pavlo Riabikin and exchanged views on issues of shared concern, including the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sun, in their meeting, said both China and Ukraine should respect each other and treat each other sincerely, so as to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.

— Reuters

Regional officials of both Russia and Ukraine reported a series of attempted drone attacks against territories in their countries overnight.

Russian authorities reported early Tuesday that air defense systems shot down Ukrainian drones over the regions of Bryansk, Kaluga and Tula, as well as over the sea area in the Sevastopol area in Russian-occupied Crimea, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing officials in each of the regions.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said air defense forces destroyed and intercepted 21 Ukrainian drones over those territories.

“Over the past night, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped,” the department said, news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said air defense systems destroyed 15 out of 35 Russian drones that were launched at Ukrainian energy and military infrastructure within the Mykolaiv, Sumy, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Kyiv regions. Two missiles were also launched by Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

“The enemy directed part of the attack UAVs on the front-line territories, trying to hit the infrastructure of the fuel and energy sector, civilian and military facilities near the front line and the state border with the Russian Federation,” the air force said on Telegram.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the drones that were not destroyed, or the two missiles that Ukraine reported.

— Holly Ellyatt

Hungary accused the European Union of blackmail after a leaked document reportedly suggested that the bloc plans to sabotage Budapest’s economy if it vetoes fresh aid for Ukraine at a summit later this week.

Hungary’s minister for EU affairs took to social media to lambast the paper drawn up by EU officials and cited Sunday by the Financial Times, which said that Brussels has developed a strategy to target Hungary’s economic weak spots and undermine investor confidence over its blockade of funds to Kyiv.

“Hungary does not give in to blackmail,” Bóka János wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

— Karen Gilchrist

A Ukrainian rocket strike in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Monday killed at least three civilians and wounded one more, Russian-installed Mayor Alexei Kulemzin announced on Telegram.

Multiple unverified pictures and videos had earlier emerged on social media showing a vehicle on fire and several bodies lying in the street.

CNBC was not able to independently verify Kulemzin’s claims.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó arrived in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on Monday for talks with senior officials ahead of Thursday’s EU summit, at which the bloc hopes Budapest will sign off on a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package to Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, shared a photograph on X of the two men sitting opposite one another.

“For a better relationship, a frank dialogue is needed. We are ready,” Yermak said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday published his income over a two-year period, as he looks to promote transparency as part of Kyiv’s push for European Union membership.

According to the declaration, the president and his family members received 10.8 million hryvnias ($286,168) in 2021, the year before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, down almost 12 million hryvnias from the previous year. The 2021 figure included income from the sale of around $142,000 in government bonds.

In 2022, the Zelenskyy family’s income fell to 3.7 million hryvnias due to the “temporary termination of lease agreements on the territory of Ukraine as a result of the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression.”

The family’s cash balance at the end of 2022 dropped by almost 1.8 million, while there were no other changes across the two years relating to assets, real estate, vehicles etc.

Ukraine formally started the screening process to begin talks over its future membership of the EU on Thursday, and faces stringent conditions to increase transparency and root out corruption.

Zelenskyy has called for all public officials to disclose their incomes, while the U.S. and other allies supporting Ukraine’s war effort, including the International Monetary Fund, have sought assurances about the country’s efforts to eradicate corruption.

— Elliot Smith