Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Putin hosts China's Xi

* After U.S. sources said Chinese ammunition was being used by Russian forces, Beijing countered that it was the United States, not China, supplying arms to the Ukraine battlefield. DIPLOMACY * Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a counter-case against the ICC prosecutor and judges, arguing there were no grounds for criminal liability on Putin's part and heads of state enjoyed immunity. * Justice ministers from around the world were gathering in London to discuss scaling up support for the ICC.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, seeking to promote Beijing's role as potential peacemaker in Ukraine and to deepen economic ties with an ally he sees as a useful counterweight to the West. RUSSIA-CHINA

* Xi is the first world leader to meet Putin since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on Friday over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war. * The two hailed each other as a "dear friend".

* Putin told Xi that he viewed China's proposals for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict with respect, while Xi told his Russian counterpart he was convinced Russians would back him in a presidential election due in 2024. * Ukraine urged China to use its influence to end the war.

* China's proposal offers no concrete suggestions on how to end the year-long conflict and the West is deeply sceptical of China's motives, given it has declined to condemn Russia and offered it an economic lifeline. * After U.S. sources said Chinese ammunition was being used by Russian forces, Beijing countered that it was the United States, not China, supplying arms to the Ukraine battlefield.

DIPLOMACY * Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a counter-case against the ICC prosecutor and judges, arguing there were no grounds for criminal liability on Putin's part and heads of state enjoyed immunity.

* Justice ministers from around the world were gathering in London to discuss scaling up support for the ICC. * European Union countries agreed to give 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year by digging into their own stockpiles and teaming up to buy more.

* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was authorising further $350 million in military aid for Ukraine. FIGHTING

* Fierce fighting continued in the eastern town of Bakhmut with each side launching counter offensives. Ukrainian forces have held out in Bakhmut since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the year-long war. * The eastern town of Avdiivka, could soon become a "second Bakhmut", a small city where its forces have held out against Russian invaders for eight months but risk being fully encircled, Ukrainian military said on Monday.

* Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which is spearheading the assault on Bakhmut and has suffered heavy losses, plans to recruit some 30,000 new fighters by mid-May. In a letter published on Monday, Wagner's boss warned Russia's defence minister of an imminent "large-scale" Ukrainian offensive. GRAIN

* Putin said Russia would provide grain to African countries for free if the Black Sea grain deal, allowing Ukrainian exports, is not extended in May. RECENT IN-DEPTH REPORTING

* EXCLUSIVE-Russians flood Kazakhstan with sanction-busting requests * INSIGHT-North of Bakhmut, another key battle tests Ukraine's defences

* SPECIAL REPORT-Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war and loyalty to their leader * ANALYSIS-Patchwork fixes to Ukraine grain shortfall leave world vulnerable a year into war

(Compiled by Reuters editors)