Ukraine war live updates: Putin heaps praise on Xi while in China; Russia says forces advancing 'in all directions' in Ukraine

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praise on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the start of a two-day state visit to China.

After the two leaders and their delegations held around 45 minutes of talks, Putin said at a press conference that discussions had been "warm and comradely" and had shown the importance of the relationship. He said both countries were working for a "multipolar world" and that many of their approaches to global or regional problems were similar.

Putin thanked China for its efforts in trying to solve the Ukraine "crisis" and said he would brief Xi on the battlefield situation, with Russia claiming that its forces are advancing in all directions in Ukraine.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had taken control of two more settlements in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, building on daily gains in the northeast as a new offensive builds momentum, and had taken full control of the settlement of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine dismissed the claim about Robotyne.

Russia's relationship with superpower China is in the spotlight as President Vladimir Putin meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Both countries' ties with the West have become increasingly tense while their own alliance has seemed to blossom.

Analysts say the relationship is complicated, however, with interests and needs that bring them together, such as trade and investment and a shared animosity toward the West, and others that keep them further apart, like Russia's unpredictability on the global stage and the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Like it or not, Russia and China's relationship is