Russia Oil Price Cap Could Take Effect in Coming Days; Ukraine Embassies Receive ‘Bloody Packages'

Vladimir Astapkovich | Afp | Getty Images

This is CNBC's live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine. See below for the latest updates.

An elderly woman looks at damaged caused by overnight Russian shelling of a residential building on Dec. 1, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine.
Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images News | Getty Images
An elderly woman looks at damaged caused by overnight Russian shelling of a residential building on Dec. 1, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine.

European Union officials set a $60 per barrel cap on the price of Russian oil Friday, in their latest effort to try to choke off funding sources for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, between 10,000 and 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with Russia so far, according to a reported estimate from Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak.

It is thought to be the first estimated death toll of Ukrainian armed forces by a top official since Ukraine's military chief said in late August that close to 9,000 soldiers had died.

Ukraine's regional heads said in an update that Russian forces launched a missile attack on an infrastructure facility in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Separately, almost 40 shells were said to have been fired in Ukraine's eastern Dnipro region overnight.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reportedly said Russian President Vladimir Putin remains open to talks over a possible settlement deal. That comes shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would be prepared to meet Putin if he was looking for a way to end the war.

Russia oil price cap could be implemented in the coming days

(Clockwise from Top C) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, sit around the table at the top of the G7 meeting in Carbis Bay, on June 11, 2021 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
Leon Neal | WPA Pool | Getty Images
(Clockwise from Top C) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, sit around the table at the top of the G7 meeting in Carbis Bay, on June 11, 2021 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

The G-7 countries and Australia reached a consensus to set the maximum price of seaborne Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel, according to a joint statement. The announcement followed the European Union's agreement to cap the price of Russian oil at the same price.

"With this decision today, we deliver on the commitment of G-7 Leaders at their summit in Elmau to prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine, to support stability in global energy markets and to minimise negative economic spillovers of Russia's war of aggression, especially on low- and middle-income countries, who have felt the impacts of Putin's war disproportionately," the announcement said.

The joint statement said the cap will be implemented on Dec. 5 "or very soon thereafter." A separate plan for a price limit on Russian-origin petroleum products is expected to go into place on Feb. 5.

Maximum prices for high-value and low-value refined products will be announced separately.

—Chelsey Cox

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen praises G-7's $60 price cap on Russian oil

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded the joint decision by the European Union, Australia and G-7 countries to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil at $60.

"Today's announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners in achieving this outcome," Yellen said in a statement.

The "Price Cap Coalition" of countries announced plans in September to limit the price of Russian oil to deny Russian President Vladimir Putin a funding source for his ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The cap is also designed to maintain the flow of oil on the market.

Yellen said the cap "will particularly benefit low- and medium-income countries who have already borne the brunt of elevated energy and food prices exacerbated by Putin's war" and "enable them to bargain for steeper discounts on Russian oil and benefit from greater stability in global energy markets."

Russia was earning more than $100 per barrel after the Ukraine invasion, according to a senior Treasury official.

"This is going to exacerbate Russia's already poor economic and fiscal outlook," the official told reporters. "Russia has gone from a projected $10 billion surplus in 2022 to a deficit five times that size."

An EU embargo on Russian crude oil will take effect on Dec. 5.

—Chelsey Cox

IAEA says deal over Ukrainian nuke plant 'almost there'

A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside the city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, November 24, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside the city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, November 24, 2022.

A deal aimed at safeguarding Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is close at hand, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Europe's largest power plant, which was seized by Russia shortly after its invasion of Ukraine, has since come under repeated shelling, drawing condemnation from the IAEA, which has called for a safety zone to be created around the site.

"We are almost there. Believe me. .. Now we have a proposal on the table which simply put is aiming to stop the folly of bombing the largest nuclear power plant in Europe," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told a conference in Rome.

— Reuters

U.S. targets Russian mercenary group over religious freedom

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. 
Craig Ruttle | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. 

The Biden administration placed a well-known Russian paramilitary organization on a list of religious freedom violators alongside a number of notorious terrorist organizations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had designated the Wagner Group as an "entity of particular concern" for its activities in the Central African Republic. Also on the list are Afghanistan's Taliban, Nigeria's Boko Haram, Somalia's al-Shabab and two factions of the Islamic State group.

"Our announcement of these designations is in keeping with our values and interests to protect national security and to advance human rights around the globe," Blinken said. "Countries that effectively safeguard this and other human rights are more peaceful, stable, prosperous and more reliable partners of the United States than those that do not."

The Wagner Group is run by a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and its mercenaries are accused by Western countries and UN experts of numerous human rights abuses throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali.

— Associated Press

Backlog of 73 ships waiting to transport crops from Ukraine

An aerial view of Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tons of corn, leaves from Istanbul, Turkiye and passes surroundings of Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge to reach Lebanon after inspections are completed by Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) complete inspection on August 03, 2022.
Ali Atmaka | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
An aerial view of Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tons of corn, leaves from Istanbul, Turkiye and passes surroundings of Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge to reach Lebanon after inspections are completed by Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) complete inspection on August 03, 2022.

The organization overseeing the export of Ukrainian crops said there is a backlog of 73 vessels waiting to be loaded with cargo.

The U.N.-led Joint Coordination Center also said that about 97 loaded vessels are waiting for inspection in Turkish territorial waters.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered in July among Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations, eased Russia's naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports.

Since the deal was signed, more than 510 ships carrying 12.7 million metric tons of grain and other food products have left for destinations around the world.

Kyiv has previously blamed Moscow for holding up inspections and delaying vessel movements.

— Amanda Macias

European Union caps price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel

A pro-European Union protestor holds a EU flag outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain October 20, 2022.
Henry Nicholls | Reuters
A pro-European Union protestor holds a EU flag outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain October 20, 2022.

The European Union agreed to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil prices at $60 a barrel, ending days of negotiations and months of speculation after G-7 finance officials announced the price cap in September. A formal announcement is expected Sunday.

The cap will be regularly reviewed to monitor market ramifications but should remain "at least 5% below the average market price," according to an EU document.

The G-7 devised the price cap to deprive Russia of a valuable income source amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. But energy experts warned that its effectiveness relies on support from other major buyers, such as China and India. Both countries increased their oil purchases from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion to take advantage of discounted rates.

—Chelsey Cox

Russian attacks seek ‘erasure’ of Ukrainian culture, writers' organization says

A Russian soldier patrols the Mariupol drama theatre, hit March 16 by an airstrike, on April 12, 2022 in Mariupol, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city. Editor's note: This picture was taken during a trip organized by the Russian military.
Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images
A Russian soldier patrols the Mariupol drama theatre, hit March 16 by an airstrike, on April 12, 2022 in Mariupol, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city. Editor's note: This picture was taken during a trip organized by the Russian military.

Russian troops in Ukraine are deliberately attacking the country's museums, libraries and other cultural institutions, according to a report issued Friday by the U.S. and Ukrainian chapters of the international writers' organization PEN.

"Culture is not collateral damage in the war against Ukraine; it's a target, a central pillar of Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for the war," the report stated. "Putin has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian culture and language simply don't exist. By targeting art museums, music halls, libraries, theaters and historical sites, he attempts to make it so."

PEN cited Ukraine's Ministry of Culture as saying that 529 "cultural heritage and cultural institutions" have been destroyed or damaged since the war started on Feb. 24. The figure includes both sites of national importance and cultural venues in towns and villages, the report said.

The list includes one of the war's most notorious incidents - the bombing in March of the main drama theater in the city of Mariupol, where hundreds of people were sheltering from the city's siege. Some 600 people died in the attack, according to an Associated Press investigation.

Two large inscriptions reading "children" on the ground adjacent to the theater indicated that Russian forces knew civilians were inside and "it seems likely that the theater was targeted for its cultural significance," the report said.

An avenue in Mariupol on April 12, 2022. The besieged Ukrainian city could now be facing a deadly cholera outbreak, NBC News cited local officials.
Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images
An avenue in Mariupol on April 12, 2022. The besieged Ukrainian city could now be facing a deadly cholera outbreak, NBC News cited local officials.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian culture and the language predate the start of the war and began in 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist fighters in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces of eastern Ukraine, PEN said.

PEN Ukraine said it has documented 31 civilian writers, artists and other cultural workers killed in Russian attacks this year, and that some other cultural figures have died while fighting with Ukrainian forces.

— Associated Press

Three vessels to depart Ukraine carrying 106,500 metric tons of agricultural products

Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images
Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved three vessels to leave the besieged country.

The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said that the vessels are carrying a total of 106,500 metric tons of grain and other food products.

Two ships from Odesa are destined for China and Italy and are carrying corn. Another ship will depart from Ukraine's Yuzhny-Pivdennyi port for Bulgaria and is carrying sunflower seeds.

— Amanda Macias

Army awards Lockheed Martin $431 million contract for HIMARS

US military personnel stand by a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Saudi Arabias first World Defense Show, north of the capital Riyadh, on March 6, 2022.
Fayez Nureldine | Afp | Getty Images
US military personnel stand by a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Saudi Arabias first World Defense Show, north of the capital Riyadh, on March 6, 2022.

The U.S. Army awarded defense giant Lockheed Martin a $431 million contract for the production of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, M142 launchers.

"This award will enable us to replenish our own inventory while providing critical capabilities for our allies and international partners," Douglas Bush, the Army's assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, said in a release. "We remain committed to getting things on contract as quickly as possible to ensure our stocks are rapidly replenished."

The HIMARS is designed to shoot a variety of missiles from a mobile 5-ton truck.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian engineers scramble to keep mobile phones working

Electricity workers from a team brought in from Odessa and wearing bulletproof vests and helmets prepare to start work to repair a destroyed high voltage power line on December 01, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. Teams of electrical workers have been brought in from across Ukraine to help restore power to Kherson City and surrounding areas. 
Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images
Electricity workers from a team brought in from Odessa and wearing bulletproof vests and helmets prepare to start work to repair a destroyed high voltage power line on December 01, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. Teams of electrical workers have been brought in from across Ukraine to help restore power to Kherson City and surrounding areas. 

With Ukraine scrambling to keep communication lines open during the war, an army of engineers from the country's phone companies has mobilized to help the public and policymakers stay in touch during repeated Russian missile and drone strikes.

The engineers, who typically go unseen and unsung in peacetime, often work around the clock to maintain or restore phone service, sometimes braving minefields to do so. After Russian strikes took out the electricity that cellphone towers usually run on, they revved up generators to keep the towers on.

"I know our guys — my colleagues — are very exhausted, but they're motivated by the fact that we are doing an important thing," Yuriy Dugnist, an engineer with Ukrainian telecommunications company Kyivstar, said after crunching through a half-foot (15 centimeters) of fresh snow to reach a fenced-in mobile phone tower on the western fringe of Kyiv, the capital.

Dugrist and his co-workers offered a glimpse of their new daily routines, which involve using an app on their own phones to monitor which of the scores of phone towers in the capital area were receiving electricity, either during breaks from the controlled blackouts being used to conserve energy or from the generators that kick in to provide backup power.

— Associated Press

Lion cubs orphaned in Ukraine find new home in Minnesota

First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States
Courtesy: International Fund for Animal Welfare
First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States

Four orphaned lion cubs that survived bombing and drone attacks in Ukraine arrived safely at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minn. this week.

Three female cubs, Stefania, Lesya and Prada, and a boy named Taras took a 36-hour journey from Ukraine to the Poznan Zoo in Poland where they spent about a month recovering and waiting for clearance to fly to the U.S.

First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States
Courtesy: International Fund for Animal Welfare
First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States

The cubs then took a nine-hour flight from Warsaw, Poland to Chicago on Tuesday, arriving in the U.S. around noon. After clearing customs and making an 8-hour drive from Chicago, the cubs arrived after midnight at The Wildcat Sanctuary, according to Melanie Mahoney, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which partnered with the sanctuary on the rescue.

First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States
Courtesy: International Fund for Animal Welfare
First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States

Three of the cubs — Taras, Stefania and Lesya — were reportedly found in a cardboard box at a train station in Odesa, Ukraine, according to rescue workers. The fourth cub, Prada, was surrendered in a cardboard box to a wild animal rescue group in Kyiv. The conditions of their surrenders are murky as they are believed to have been trafficked through the illegal exotic pet trade in Europe, Mahoney said.

First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States
Courtesy: International Fund for Animal Welfare
First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States

"Nearly every species of big cat must overcome a growing list of threats to their wild existence, in particular, the increasing demand of the exotic pet trade," said Meredith Whitney, Wildlife Rescue Program manager at the international fund. "We are working with the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance and organizations like The Wildcat Sanctuary to stop the exploitation of big cats in the US and around the world."

The sanctuary, which has cared for about 300 big cats, and the international fund worked with the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, which found a company that could fly the cubs to the U.S. and helped pay for the flight.

First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States
Courtesy: International Fund for Animal Welfare
First-Class Rescue: Rescued Lion Cubs from Ukraine Fly to United States

— Dawn Kopecki

Germany's Scholz urges Putin to find a diplomatic solution to Ukraine war

During an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday morning, Scholz was said to have condemned the Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
During an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday morning, Scholz was said to have condemned the Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed for Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a diplomatic solution to the Kremlin's war in Ukraine as soon as possible, a German government spokesperson said in a statement.

During an hour-long conversation, Scholz was said to have condemned the Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and reaffirmed Berlin's determination to support Kyiv in ensuring its defensive capability against Moscow.

Scholz's spokesperson said the political leaders also discussed the "particularly tense" global food situation and agreed to stay in contact.

The Kremlin's readout of the telephone call, meanwhile, said the discussion was held at the initiative of Germany and Putin "once again explained in detail" Russia's approach to what it describes as its "special military operation."

Putin was said to have drawn attention "to the destructive line of Western states, including Germany, pumping up the Kyiv regime with weapons, training the Ukrainian military."

Russia's leader was also said to have urged the German government to reconsider its approach to the Ukraine war.

— Sam Meredith

Ukrainian embassies and consulates receiving 'bloody packages' — some containing animal parts

Police secure the area of the Ukraine's embassy in Madrid on November 30, 2022 after a letter bomb explosion.
Oscar Del Pozo | Afp | Getty Images
Police secure the area of the Ukraine's embassy in Madrid on November 30, 2022 after a letter bomb explosion.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said Ukrainian embassies and consulates in multiple countries are receiving "bloody packages" — some with animal parts — as part of what appears to be a "well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation."

Following a spate of explosive letters sent to locations throughout Spain in recent days, Ukraine's foreign ministry said that bloody packages arrived at embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria, as well as the consulates general in Naples, Italy and Krakow, Poland and the consulate in Brno, Czech Republic.

The ministry said in a Facebook post that the packages contained animal eyes and "were soaked in a liquid of a characteristic color and had a corresponding smell."

"Not being able to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they are trying to intimidate us," Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, according to a translation. "However, I can immediately say that these attempts are useless. We will continue to work effectively for the victory of Ukraine."

The ministry said all Ukrainian embassies and consulates had been placed under heightened security measures.

— Sam Meredith

Kremlin says Putin open to talks on Ukraine war

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be open to talks on a possible settlement to the war in Ukraine.

His comments to reporters came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would be prepared to meet with Putin if the Russian leader was prepared to end the war.

— Sam Meredith

Finnish prime minister warns Russia would not be the only one to 'feel empowered' by Ukraine victory

Speaking on a visit to Australia, Finland's Marin said China has an important role to play in bringing Russia's war in Ukraine to an end.
Saeed Khan | Afp | Getty Images
Speaking on a visit to Australia, Finland's Marin said China has an important role to play in bringing Russia's war in Ukraine to an end.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin warned Russia would not be the only one to "feel empowered" if the Kremlin wins its war in Ukraine.

Speaking on a visit to Australia, Marin said China has an important role to play in bringing the war to an end, urged Europe to do more to strengthen its defensive capabilities and said the region would not be strong enough to cope without the support of key allies.

"We should make sure that we are stronger. And now I must be very honest, brutally honest with you, Europe isn't strong enough right now," Marin said.

"We would be in trouble without the United States ... in the war in Ukraine. The United States have given a lot of weapons, a lot of financial aid, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn't strong enough yet," she added.

— Sam Meredith

Ukraine presidential aide says up to 13,000 military personnel killed in war

Ukraine's forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, according to a Reuters report, which cited comments from Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak.

It is thought to be the first estimated death toll of Ukrainian military personnel by a top official since Ukraine's military chief said close to 9,000 soldiers had died as of late August.

— Sam Meredith

Member states will have to decide on EU proposal to create a court to investigate Russian war crimes, UN says

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General attends a press briefing at UN Headquarters.
Lev Radin | Pacific Press | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General attends a press briefing at UN Headquarters.

The U.N. said it will let member states decide whether to set up a court to investigate possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, the European Union proposed to set up a U.N.-backed court to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine. The EU also proposed using frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.

"The decision to establish a tribunal, with or without the involvement of the United Nations, is a decision that will rest with the [U.N.] member states," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a daily press briefing.

"The Secretary‑General is definitely aware that there've been discussions in various forums concerning the possibility of the establishment of an international tribunal in regards to what's going on in Ukraine and in particular, on the issue of the crime of aggression," he said, adding that any further comment on the matter would only be speculation.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian defense official speaks next to dud warhead

Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar speaks standing next to a dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during a recent missile attacks on Ukraine.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar speaks standing next to a dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during a recent missile attacks on Ukraine, during a media briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine 01 December 2022. 
STR | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar speaks standing next to a dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during a recent missile attacks on Ukraine, during a media briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine 01 December 2022. 

The Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile can carry nuclear warheads, speakers at the briefing said.

A dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during a recent missile attacks on Ukraine, is seen during a media briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine 01 December 2022.
STR | Nurphoto | Getty Images
A dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during a recent missile attacks on Ukraine, is seen during a media briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine 01 December 2022.

STR | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Biden, Macron vow to continue to support Ukraine against Russia

U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in a joint press conference at the White House reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russia.

"Having the U.S. strongly support the Ukrainians at this time is very important not just for the Ukrainians, but for the Europeans, who we are. This is why we do thank you for the solidarity, for the stability of our world today," Macron said. "Because if we consider that we can abandon the country and abandon the full respect of its principles, it means there is no possible stability in this world."

Macron is visiting the U.S. as a visitor for Biden's first state dinner as president.

Biden said he does not intend to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin any time soon, but he would be willing to if Putin is genuinely interested in ending the war.

"I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet," Biden said.

"In the meantime, I think it's absolutely critical, what Emmanuel said: we must support the Ukrainian people," Biden said. "The idea that Putin is ever going to defeat Ukraine is beyond comprehension."

- Emma Kinery

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:

Biden, Macron vow to keep up support for Kyiv; Russian warship deployment puts Ukraine on high alert

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