The U.S. move affects high-demand munitions, including Patriot missiles, the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile and shorter-range Stinger missiles.

Calls are mounting for the Europeans to use Russian assets that they froze after the full-scale invasion in 2022 to help Ukraine. At the end of March, around $320 billion worth — the bulk of the assets — was being held by Belgian clearing house Euroclear.

In tense EU talks, China warned that a Russian defeat in Ukraine would shift US strategic focus toward Beijing and denied any military aid to Moscow

The European Union's top diplomat urged China's foreign minister on Wednesday to end restrictions on rare earths exports and warned that Chinese firms' support for Russia's war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security,

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stated that Beijing cannot allow Russia to be defeated in the war against Ukraine during four hours of talks with Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.