March 29, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of the war in Ukraine has moved here.

Entire city blocks in central Mariupol have been obliterated — a level of destruction previously not seen in the besieged Ukrainian city — new satellite images from Maxar Technologies show.

With communications in and out of Mariupol non-existent, the images are the first visual update in the past few days that have not come from Russian propaganda.

The images confirm what sensory satellite data from NASA has picked up: dozens of explosions have taken place in and around Mariupol.

The area just east of the bombed drama theater — where authorities believe about 300 people died in a Russian attack — is in ruins. In one satellite image, the roofs are either missing or have been significantly damaged on nearly every building.

In eastern Mariupol, another residential area has sustained similar destruction. Every house surrounding two separate apartment complexes is destroyed.

Another sprawling apartment complex in southeastern Mariupol, near the Azovstal iron and steel works factory, has been destroyed. CNN has previously confirmed that Russian troops and Chechen fighters have been active near that apartment complex.

The satellite images also show survivors of the carnage.

Outside the Metro supermarket in western Mariupol, hundreds of people are seen gathered in lines, waiting to enter the building. Its roof has holes from military strikes. 

Mariupol’s mayor estimated that as many as 160,000 people remain in the city as of Monday. 

Just northeast of the city, Russian military positions are seen, including vehicles parked directly next to homes. Towed artillery positions are seen just northeast of those vehicles.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is in Ukraine for urgent talks with the Ukrainian government about the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities. 

Here’s what we know:

Grossi posted a photo of himself on Twitter standing in front of an official UN vehicle on Tuesday, saying he had “just crossed the border into Ukraine to start the IAEA’s mission to ensure the safety and security of the country’s nuclear facilities.” 

Some context:

Safety fears:

Preventing a nuclear accident:

Nuclear sites in Ukraine:

Several scares:

The full extent of the devastation in the city of Irpin can be seen in new video taken by a Ukrainian NGO and provided to CNN.

It comes after Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops out of the city in Kyiv’s northwestern suburbs in the past 36 hours.

Some context: CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of the video taken by Ukrainian Witness Project, which is chronicling the war in Ukraine. This is one of the first videos in weeks from the eastern part of Irpin, as intense fighting there made it impossible to access safely.

On Monday, Irpin’s mayor said Ukainian troops has reclaimed the area from Russian forces.

A wasteland: The video, filmed Tuesday, shows the wooded suburb akin to an apocalyptic wasteland.

Wind passing through the remaining trees and the clanging of sheet metal against metal is the only thing that’s heard in the video, save for the dull boom of a military strike in the distance.

Ongoing shelling: Russia claims it will reduce military activity near Kyiv, but CNN has seen no sign that’s happening yet as military strikes continued on Tuesday evening around the Ukrainian capital.

The video shows that while the gunfire, the bombs and the war may have — for now — left Irpin, so has most of the life in the city.

Bodies in streets: Aside from debris and destruction of buildings, the bodies of civilians are the only thing in the streets.

An individual in a leather jacket, who had apparently been pulling a small cart when killed, is seen face down on the ground. Another casualty is shown on their back in the backseat of a bullet-ridden car.

There are at least five bodies in the video. It is unclear how and when they died.

The video shows they remain where they were struck dead in the street, in wind-filled silence, among the charred buildings and splintered trees.

Watch: Graphic video shows extensive destruction in Irpin

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00:54 - Source: cnn

Ukraine needs to build a new international security system that should make any aggression against the country “impossible,” according to the top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a video message posted to Facebook on Tuesday, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said relevant work is underway with the United States, Britain, China, Canada, France, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Israel on a “future document on security guarantees.”

“That is why I keep in touch daily with our international partners to make a new multilateral security treaty a reality,” he said, without giving details to what such a system would look like.

Peace talks: On the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul on Tuesday, Yermak said, “I’m sure everyone understands how difficult it is to negotiate with representatives of Russia today.”

Sanctions: A group of international and Ukrainian experts are “working daily” to analyze the sanctions imposed on Russia, he said. Ideas from a Tuesday meeting with American experts include punitive measures against the largest Russian banks and an embargo on Russian oil exports. The US has already banned Russian oil imports but an embargo would go further.

“Critical import chains will be targeted, including suppliers cooperating with the Russian military-industrial complex,” Yermak said.

A famed drama theater in Mariupol seemed like a safe haven for Maria Kutnyakova and her family. And then the iconic structure came under attack on March 16.

“When the theater was bombed, my sister was standing with the window and the window was like blown up. And she’s fallen down,” Kutnyakova, who was elsewhere checking on an uncle who lived nearby when the initial bombing occurred, told CNN’s Ivan Watson during an interview. “My mom was in another part of the theater and a wall fall on to her.”

Upon returning to the theater, Kutnyakova found that the building was destroyed. Her family suffered injuries but survived. Several hundred of her fellow Ukrainians weren’t as fortunate, as fresh strikes followed the initial bombing, resulting in further devastation.

“Everyone starts screaming that theater is on fire. So we should run. And we run, but Russians bombed it. So we running from the theater and bombs were [exploding all around her],” she told CNN.

It took Kutnyakova and her family nine days to get through Russian checkpoints and reach relative safety in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Kutnyakova told CNN why she remains positive despite all she has experienced.

“I’m very lucky. You understand? Like thousands and hundreds people still in Mariupol and they bombed. They have no food, no water. They have no medicine, nothing. And I understand, I’m very lucky. Like I have my arms. I have my legs… what do I need anymore,” she said, adding that she also has her family and her her pet, a two-year-old cat named Mushka who survived the destruction throughout Mariupol.

Now more than a month into the conflict, Kutnyakova wishes only that her country be left alone.

“I want the Russians just go away. This is Ukrainian territory. I don’t understand why they come in and tell me that it’s not my land. They’re not fighting with an army. They fighting with every citizen,” she said. “They bombed hospitals. They bombed kindergartens. They bomb the houses of peaceful people. They not fighting with the armies,” she continued.

Watch the interview below:

Max Strelnyk, a deputy in the Izyum city council’s office, says the humanitarian situation in the city “gets worse” every day.

Strelnyk had previously told CNN that there was a humanitarian catastrophe in Izyum. Since March 14, the city has not received any food, water, or medicine, he told CNN Tuesday.

“There’s been no pause in the bombing — it started weeks ago — by the Russians. Although Russia claims that they will decrease military operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts, Izyum and the greater Kharkiv region will have no such luck,” Strelynk said.  

Two of CNN’s three text conversations with Strelnyk have been cut short. He needed to seek safety in a bomb shelter.

The city also remains under a Russian blockade, Strelnyk said. 

He previously told CNN that Russian forces there are trying to snuff out the Ukrainian forces in the city, while they are en route to Ukraine’s Donbas region.

“They go south to Kamyanka because it is the road to the city of Sloviansk,” Strelnyk said. “We have radio interceptions of their talks; their task is to capture the Donetsk region from the north,” he added.

He claimed that the attempted advance is what’s holding Izyum’s residents’ hostage. He previously estimated that over a hundred civilians in Izyum had been killed in the fighting.

“In the city, the dead are buried in the central park of our city,” he told CNN.  

Video, geolocated and its authenticity verified by CNN, showed dead bodies across the city’s central park. 

Information out of Izyum is scant, as communications and cell networks work sporadically ever since the Russians neared. Strelnyk says it’s being deliberately jammed by the Russians.  

The top US general in Europe said Tuesday there “could be” a gap in US intelligence gathering that caused the US to overestimate Russia’s capability and underestimate Ukraine’s defensive abilities before Russia attacked Ukraine.

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month, US intelligence assessed that the country-wide assault could lead to Kyiv falling into Russian hands within days. But Russia’s military has been bogged down around the capital as the war has entered its second month, beleaguered by sustainability and logistics problems, along with an unexpected stiff resistance from Ukrainian fighters.

Testifying at a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, US European Command chief Gen. Tod Wolters was asked by Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, if there was an intelligence gap that caused the US to overestimate Russia’s strength and underestimate the Ukrainian defenses.

“There could be,” Wolters responded. “As we’ve always done in the past, when this crisis is over with, we will accomplish a comprehensive after-action review in all domains and in all departments and find out where our weak areas were and make sure we can find ways to improve, and this could be one of those areas.”

While US intelligence was spot on in predicting Russia was planning to invade Ukraine —which the Biden administration aggressively released to turn global sentiment against the Kremlin — the intelligence community did not assess the poor performance of the Russian military.

In the opening hours of the war, US officials offered to help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flee the country as Russian troops moved toward Kyiv, fearing that he would be killed. Zelensky refused, asking instead for weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

The US and NATO allies have continued to help re-supply Ukraine’s military with weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that have been used against Russian forces. While estimates vary widely, sources familiar with the estimates say thousands of Russian troops have been killed in the conflict. US officials say they have anecdotal evidence of morale problems in the Russian military.

More than a month into the war, Russia said on Tuesday that it would “drastically reduce” its military assault on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv after talks took place between representatives of the two nations on Tuesday. US officials told CNN it was a “major” strategy shift by Moscow, with Russian forces pulling back in some areas of the north and focusing on gains in the south and east.

Read more here.

Avril Benoit is on the ground in Ukraine, acting as the emergency communication coordinator for Doctors Without Borders. During a live interview on CNN, she offered a first-hand perspective on what medical workers are facing as the conflict continues.

“It’s incredibly impressive,” Benoit said speaking from Lviv of the work Ukrainian doctors and nurses are doing on the ground.

“What we’re finding on the ground is a huge appetite to prepare for a mass casualty influx of wounded people all at once. Surgeons are interested, really keen to learn from an organization like us, that has a lot of experience of war surgery, of triage in situations like this. They’ve been doing a lot of training,” she told.

On the topic of supplies, Benoit told CNN’s Jake Tapper that necessary materials are still able to reach Ukraine, though the process is not an easy one.

“It’s still possible to bring supplies in through various routes through Poland, Slovakia. There are ways with trucks to navigate the security environment. Amazingly enough, also the train system seems to be working quite well. So that’s another way we are able to move shipments to and from,” she said.

“There was a convoy of supplies that we were working with other organizations to reach Mariupol and it was far too dangerous on the road leading to it, littered with landmine’s that perhaps a car could slalom through, but certainly not a transport truck with significant amounts of cargo. So it is also of course a dangerous and volatile environment. Sometimes you reach a place and you just have to hunker down for a while, while you’re assessing is it possible to go further … We’re just making do the best we can,” she told CNN.

Benoit’s conversation with Tapper was then interrupted and ultimately cut short by the sounding of an air alarm in Lviv.

Watch the interview here:

US President Joe Biden and other American officials voiced extreme caution Tuesday following signals Russia is scaling back its military operations near Kyiv, suggesting they were waiting to see stronger signs of de-escalation before making an assessment of Moscow’s intentions.

“We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We’ll see if they follow through what they’re suggesting,” Biden said at the White House, where officials were busy digesting intelligence and reports from the ground that Russian troops were moving their focus away from Ukraine’s capital toward other areas of the country.

Biden’s don’t-trust-but-verify approach reflects deep American skepticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motives amid his monthlong invasion of Ukraine. While the US has observed movements of Russian forces away from Kyiv, there remains doubt the Russian assault on Ukraine will end soon.

Some Western officials viewed Russia’s moves as a mere tactical exercise amid a stalled campaign in Ukraine. US officials also said Russia could always reverse itself if the battle conditions allow.

Similarly, American officials appeared wary of voicing optimism about ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which both sides suggested Tuesday had yielded progress. Instead, Biden was focused on ensuring the stringent sanctions regime he’s enacted with European allies remains in place as the hostilities continue.

Meeting in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian teams began outlining the contours of a settlement, including discussions over the status of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and Donbas, the eastern region that Russia claims is independent. Ukraine’s neutral status and international security guarantees are also up for discussion, as is a potential meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

US officials have questioned Putin’s seriousness in negotiating an end to the violence from the start of the crisis. Some have also made plain they aren’t certain of Zelensky’s endgame in the talks and are wary of whatever concessions he may offer.

Speaking in the East Room alongside the visiting Singaporean Prime Minister, Biden said he’d discussed the nascent peace talks with European leaders on a 53-minute telephone call earlier in the day. He said there was a “consensus” among the leaders to “let’s just see what they have to offer. We’ll find out what they do.”

“In the meantime, we’re going to continue to keep strong the sanctions. We’re going to continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we’re going to continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on,” Biden added.

Biden’s aides echoed his sentiment, saying that while there were signs of troop movements, a new strategy did not appear afoot.

“We have no reason to believe that they have adjusted, that they’ve adjusted that strategy,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said during a daily briefing. “Obviously, we continue to do everything we can to impose costs for this decision.”

Speaking on a diplomatic visit to Morocco, Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned the pullback of troops could amount to “a means by which Russia once again is trying to deflect and deceive people into thinking it’s not doing what it is doing.”

Read more here.

Lesia Vasylenko is coming to terms with her country’s new reality.

“There we go,” the Ukrainian member of parliament tells CNN as the air raid sirens sound across Kyiv’s morning sky. “That sort of disturbs your day, but you learn to live with it.”

Vasylenko wanted to meet at Maidan Square, where pro-European Ukrainian activists stood up for their rights in 2014 and forced pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country.

Today, the mother of three is adamant that Russia will never take the nation’s capital. We ask if she has a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We say to him (that) life goes on, we carry on living. Your war, your fighting against us is in the background now — and we’ll go on fighting it for as long as we have to, but we’ll go on living at the same time,” she says.

That fight includes her own AK-47, and a pistol she holds close to her heart.

On Twitter, where she has built a large following, she posts pictures of everyday life.

“New kind of weekend fun,” she captions alongside an image from shooting practice.

Another post reads, “Parliament still works…Even in war we intend to keep democracy working.”

Vasylenko takes us to a café-turned-war canteen, where volunteers are churning out 600 meals a day for the army, territorial defense, hospitals and shelters.

As we scroll through pictures of her three children, it becomes clear that that staying on the front line comes at a huge personal cost. A few weeks ago she sent her kids away for their safety.

Speaking about her youngest child, who will be 10 months in a couple of days, she says, “She’s sort of looking at me like ‘really, Mommy? Really, you’re going to be away from me?”

But Vasylenko remains steadfast in her decision to stay – it’s her duty, she says.

On Wednesday, she will travel to France as part of the effort to make Ukraine’s case to the world.

“I am where I have to be. Things happened for a reason, I am a firm believer in that, there’s a reason why I was elected in 2019,” Vasylenko says. “We have a task, we have a duty we will complete it then we will see where life takes us.”

Watch CNN’s interview with Vasylenko:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s claims about scaling back military activity in parts of Ukraine “don’t drown out the explosions of Russian bombs.”

The Ukrainian president’s comments came in an address posted to social media on Tuesday night.

“I’m sure you saw the news that Russian military allegedly decided to scale down their attacks in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas,” he said. The president went on to say Ukraine does not want to lose its vigilance and that the situation “hasn’t become easier”.

“The scale of challenges hasn’t diminished. The Russian army still has a sizable potential to carry on their attacks against our country. They have plenty of equipment and people who are disenfranchised who they could send into the fire of war,” Zelensky added.

Zelensky also went on to say, “On this very basis I regard the reports on the negotiation process which continues on different levels with the representatives of the Russian Federation. The enemy is still on our territory. They carry on shelling our cities. Mariupol is besieged. Rocket and air attacks are not stopping.”

Zelensky said Ukrainians cannot trust words coming from representatives of a country that is “still pursuing our annihilation.”

Zelensky also said Tuesday night that Ukraine is set to carry on negotiations.

“We have to achieve real security for our country,” he said.

Ukraine’s president called on the international community to keep sanctions on Russia in place as negotiations continue.

“Some countries might not expect that certain negotiations will affect the lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The question of sanctions cannot even be raised until the war is over, until we get what belongs to us back, and until we restore justice,” Zelensky said. He called for sanctions to be strengthened and intensified every week.

“And they must be of a high quality. Not just for headlines in the media that sanctions have been imposed, but for the actual peace,” he added.

More context: Russian and Ukrainian representatives met for in-person talks on Tuesday in Istanbul. This comes the same day Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it would “drastically reduce military activity” on two fronts: Kyiv and Chernihiv.

US President Joe Biden said regarding Moscow’s statement, “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”

A US official later told CNN, “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements” and should brace for more Russian aggression instead.

At around 11:45 pm local time on Tuesday, major artillery and rocket fire were heard in Kyiv, according to a CNN crew on the ground. 

CNN reported earlier that intense fighting continued around the suburbs of Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon, especially in the northwest and northeast of the city, despite Russian officials saying Moscow was pulling some units away from around the capital and Chernihiv.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman charged Tuesday that Russia’s war in Ukraine has created a critical food shortage in Ukraine, with ripple effects of a “global food crisis” felt worldwide. 

At a United Nations meeting Tuesday held on the impact of Russia’s war on global food security, Sherman said that Russia has bombed at least three civilian ships carrying goods out of the Black Sea. She said that the Russian Navy is blocking access to Ukraine’s ports, cutting off Ukraine’s ability to export grain and preventing about 94 ships with food from reaching the Mediterranean Sea. 

Sherman argued that Russia’s claims that sanctions from the US and its allies are driving up food costs around the globe ignores the fact that Russia has prevented Ukraine’s grain exports from reaching the rest of the world. 

“So long as Putin continues his war, so long as Russian forces continue to bombard Ukrainian cities and block aid convoys, so long as besieged civilians are unable to get to safety, this humanitarian crisis will only get worse,” Sherman said. “Vladimir Putin started this war. He created this global food crisis. And he is the one who can stop it.” 

The claims from the senior State Department official leveled at Tuesday’s UN meeting come as the US has formally accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, including the targeting of civilians. 

Sherman said the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that as many as 13 million people worldwide “may be pushed into food insecurity as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Noting that both Ukraine and Russia are major agricultural producers, Sherman said about 30% of the world’s wheat, 20% of corn and 75% of sunflower oil exports come from the Black Sea region.

The World Food Program has warned that 45% of the people in Ukraine are concerned about having enough to eat, Sherman said. She pointed specifically to the attacks on the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine, saying that the population there has been left without food, water, heat and electricity, and people have “resorted to melting snow for drinking water.”

“One mother told reporters she could feed her three daughters only a spoonful of honey a day as they hid from Russian bombs. Now, city officials say people are beginning to die of starvation,” Sherman said. “Five weeks ago, Mariupol was at peace. It was, in fact, a bustling port city, a grain exporter that helped feed the world. Today, its residents are dying because of President Putin’s war of choice.”

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said that the Biden administration’s determination that the movement of Russian forces within Ukraine does not constitute a withdrawal is “based on the fact that we need to see what the Russians actually do before we trust solely what they’ve said.”

“We saw from the outset, that they made an aggressive push toward Kyiv at the beginning of this conflict, and we have no reason to believe that they have adjusted … that strategy,” Bedingfield told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday. “Obviously, we continue to do everything we can to impose costs for this decision. We will continue to execute on our strategy, but as you heard the President say, we are not going to take their word for it. We’re going to wait to see what their actions look like.” 

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden told reporters he won’t “read anything into” Russia’s claim it was withdrawing troops “until I see what their actions are.”

More background: An official also told Collins “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements” and instead should brace for more Russian aggression.

Bedingfield also responded to comments from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson that they do not want to see anything less than a “complete withdrawal” of Russian forces from the Ukrainian territory and will judge Russia by its actions rather than words.

“We are going to allow the Ukrainians to execute on these negotiations. It’s not our role to begin the negotiation again, our role is to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield to try to strengthen Ukraine at the negotiating table by implying the sanctions and costs to Russia,” Bedingfield told Collins. “But I’m not going to prejudge or predetermine an outcome for that conversation.”

More than 10 million Ukrainians, including more than half the population of children in Ukraine, have fled their homes since the onset of the war last month, a UN Humanitarian Affairs representative said while addressing the UN Security Council Tuesday.

Of those, 6.5 million are internally displaced and 3.9 million have crossed the borders to neighboring countries, UN Humanitarian Affairs Deputy Emergency Coordinator Joyce Msuya said.

Msuya said humanitarian aid is scaling up every day and now more than 1,230 United Nations personnel are in the country working with more than 100 humanitarian organizations across Ukraine.

“Ukraine is a humanitarian paradox: Side by side with extreme violence we see extreme kindness, profound solidarity and the gentlest of care,” Msuya said describing the humanitarian situation on the ground.

She said the first UN convoy reached Sumy on March 18 delivering 130 tons of medical supplies, water, ready-to-eat meals and canned food for 35,000 people among other things. On Monday, a second UN convoy reached Kharkiv providing food and other essential relief support items that were distributed by the Ukraine Red Cross society.

“Countrywide, more than 180 metric tons of medical supplies have been delivered, and more than 470 metric tons are on the way,” Msuya said. “Where we can, we buy supplies from the local market, and work alongside local efforts.”

In order to deliver more humanitarian support “we need detailed, realistic agreements on humanitarian ceasefires and pauses to allow aid in, and people out,” Msuya said. She added that “the situation in Ukraine is a breeding ground for human traffickers and predators taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the instability fueled by the war.”

“Humanitarian organizations are worried about the risk of trafficking, as well as sexual violence, exploitation and abuse in Ukraine and the region,” Msuya said. “Predators are luring single parents on the road with promises of transport and accommodation.”

The UN representative said that the organization is scaling up protection services for Ukrainians fleeing the country at the border but also inside the country, “providing information available on safe options and routes, access to helplines and safe shelter.”

US President Joe Biden, when asked to respond to Russia’s claim it will “reduce” its assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, told reporters Tuesday, “We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We’ll see if they follow through what they’re suggesting.”

In the meantime, Biden said, the US is going to “continue to keep strong the sanctions. We’re gonna continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we’re gonna continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”

The US President’s comments came after delegations from Russia and Ukraine met for in-person talks earlier on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey.

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said the announcement of plans for a de-escalation by the Russian military around Kyiv and Chernihiv “is not a ceasefire.”

Here’s a look at other key development in the war in Ukraine:

On the ground fighting: Intense fighting continued around the suburbs of Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon, especially in the northwest and northeast of the city, despite an announcement by both Ukrainian and Russian officials that Moscow was pulling some units away from both the capital and Chernihiv.

At least 12 people were killed and 33 injured in a Russian strike on the office of the regional military governor of Ukraine’s southwestern Mykolaiv region on Tuesday, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said.

This death toll is an increase to figures provided earlier Tuesday by the Mykolaiv regional media office telegram channel.

US and allies “affirmed” efforts to raising costs on Russia: Biden and his counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and the UK “affirmed their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its brutal attacks in Ukraine, as well as to continue supplying Ukraine with security assistance to defend itself against this unjustified and unprovoked assault,” on a call this morning, according to a White House statement. 

US troops training Ukrainians on weapons supplied by the West: US troops in Poland have been providing Ukrainians with some instruction on how to use weapons and equipment that the West has been shipping into Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, as part of the United States’ efforts to help Ukrainian forces repel Russian attacks. 

Biden said on Monday that those American forces have been “helping train the Ukrainian troops” in Poland. The troops have been deployed there to help bolster NATO’s eastern flank during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Expulsion of Russian diplomats: Multiple countries announced Tuesday they are expelling Russian diplomats from their countries.

According to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian intelligence officers attached to Russian diplomats in the country. It said in a tweet the decision was based on information from Dutch intelligence and security services naming the Russian officers as a threat to national security. 

Belgium said it is expelling 21 Russian diplomats who have been identified as involved in espionage and “influence activities,” Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sophie Wilmes said.

Ukraine invited to a meeting with NATO foreign ministers: Ukraine and a number of non-NATO countries have been invited to attend part of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers next week, according to a statement from the military alliance headquartered in Brussels.

Here’s a look at where things stand in Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion:

US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and the UK “did not” discuss Biden’s off-the-cuff comment in Poland this weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told reporters Tuesday.

“They did not — I spoke with the President about this earlier, they did not,” Bedingfield said about the leaders’ call on Tuesday. “They were incredibly aligned, however, and spoke to some of the key issues that we are focused on here including supply to supplying weapons to Ukraine, including increasing costs on Russia, continuing to increase sanctions, supporting stable energy markets, and of course, the state of diplomatic negotiations.”

Bedingfield dismissed concerns that Biden’s unscripted remarks may have overshadowed the rest of his trip.

“Absolutely not — he spoke from the heart, as he always does, as you know very well for having covered him for a long time, as many of you do,” Bedingfield told reporters. “And as the American people know, he speaks from the heart. He says what he feels and no, he absolutely does not regret that in any way.”

The Defense Department cautioned that while “small numbers” of Russian forces have moved away from Kyiv “in the last day or so,” Russia can still inflict “massive brutality” on the country, including on the capital city.

“We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine. It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby at a briefing.

“Nobody should be fooling ourselves by the Kremlin’s now recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce military attacks near Kyiv, or any reports that it’s going to withdraw all its forces,” Kirby said.

Kirby said that the number of Russian forces moving away from the Ukrainian capital are “not anywhere near the majority of what they have arrayed against Kyiv,” and that Russia has continued airstrikes against the city “even today.” 

Kirby said that the repositioning Russian forces are moving “more northward,” but that it’s “too early to tell” where their eventual destination is.

“We assess that it is likely more a repositioning to be used elsewhere in Ukraine. Where exactly, we don’t know,” he said.

Watch a moment from the Pentagon press briefing:

After US President Joe Biden offered a cautious reaction to Russian claims that they are scaling back some military operations in Ukraine, a US official says “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements” and should brace for more Russian aggression instead. 

“We believe any movement of Russian forces from around Kyiv is a redeployment, not a withdrawal, and the world should be prepared for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine,” the official told CNN. 

“It also does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over. Russia has failed in its objective of capturing Kyiv, and failed in its objective of subjugating all of Ukraine, but it can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including Kyiv,” the official said.

Biden said he and European leaders he spoke with Tuesday morning agreed to wait and see what Russia had to offer, while watching their actions in the meantime. 

Intense fighting continued around the suburbs of Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon, especially in the northwest and northeast of the city, despite an announcement by both Ukrainian and Russian officials that Moscow was pulling some units away from both the capital and Chernihiv.

A CNN team visiting a residential area close to the frontlines (5km away from Irpin) in the Eastern part of the capital, heard loud and frequent incoming and outgoing artillery thuds. Multiple Rocket Launch systems could also be heard sporadically.

In the city center, air raid sirens and artillery thuds could also be heard with the same intensity and frequency as in previous days.

At a nearby checkpoint, a member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense forces, Yuryi Matsarski, told CNN the fighting had not decreased in the past 24 hours.

“[There was shelling] all the time yesterday. There was a lot of shelling at night and also today in the morning and right now, in the evening,” he said. “As far as I understand, no targets hit here in Kyiv, so our anti-rocket system is doing its very best.“

Residents that CNN spoke with said they were suspicious of Russia’s announcement that it was withdrawing some of its forces from the region, adding that Moscow could not be trusted.

At least 12 people were killed and 33 injured in a Russian strike on the office of the regional military governor of Ukraine’s southwestern Mykolaiv region on Tuesday, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said.

This death toll is an increase to figures provided earlier Tuesday by the Mykolaiv regional media office telegram channel.

More on the strike: The Russian strike demolished half of the building, Gov. Vitalii Kim said.

“They [the Russians] hit the building of the regional administration, demolished half of the building, hit my office. Most people were miraculously saved,” Kim said in a statement on Telegram.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said the strike hit the nine-story building Tuesday morning at about 8.45 a.m. local time. 

A top European Union lawmaker on Tuesday said that “as a consequence of its principal position, China has given political support to the Russian aggression against Ukraine.” 

“The way in which China handles this conflict will have bearing on the future overall of the EU/China relationship,” said Reinhard Butikofer, head of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with China. 

Speaking to journalists ahead of a high-level summit between the EU and China on Friday, Butikofer said, “The veil is threadbare and it fools no one.” He added that he hoped that European leaders would “push hard to make China understand that Europe expects them to refrain from further supporting Russia.” 

“I would say that we have to convincingly tell the Chinese side that for us, this is not just a sideshow, this is not just an unnecessary conflict that will be forgotten tomorrow,” the German politician said. 

“This is a very fundamental conflict, because it breaches the principles on which the European security and stability order has been built over the decades.” 

When asked if he thought China was helping Russia evade sanctions, he said, “China’s commercial banks have refrained from obviously breaching the sanctions against Russia. 

“I don’t think it’s possible to say yet how much China has been helping Russia to overcome the sanctions,” he concluded. 

At Friday’s summit, the EU will be represented by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and will meet virtually with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang before speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day. 

The European Council said in a statement that “the main focus of the summit will be on the war in Ukraine, the engagement of the international community to support Ukraine,” as well as the “dramatic humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s aggression, its destabilizing nature for the international order and its inherent global impact.” 

The two sides will also discuss human rights, climate change, biodiversity and trade, it said. 

US President Joe Biden, when asked to respond to Russia’s claim it will “reduce” its assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, told reporters Tuesday, “We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”

“We’ll see if they follow through what they’re suggesting,” Biden continued in his answer after he was asked whether Russia appearing to scale back its military operations in Kyiv is possibly the war coming to the end or Russia trying to buy time.

Biden also noted that in his call Tuesday morning with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain that were was a “consensus” among the leaders to “let’s just see what they have to offer. We’ll find out what they do.”

“In the meantime, we’re gonna continue to keep strong the sanctions. We’re gonna continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we’re gonna continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on,” Biden added.

Russian negotiators have claimed that negotiations with Ukraine have seen “advances,” an Élysée source said, following an hour-long call between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.  

The source did not explain what those advances were, but added that Macron is due to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy in the “coming hours or days” to get the Ukrainian perspective on the negotiations.  

The source said that the humanitarian situation in Mariupol, the city in southeast Ukraine besieged by Russian forces, was “catastrophic,” adding that “freedom of movement of civilians does not exist.” 

During the call with Putin, Macron demanded a new ceasefire that would permit civilians to leave Mariupol “in whichever direction they please,” in addition to humanitarian access for those still in the city, according to the source. Putin said that he would “reflect [on the demands] and come back” to the French side, the source said.  

Nearly 170,000 civilians remain in Mariupol, the source said, with “enormous problems of humanitarian access” to the city, adding that carrying out a humanitarian operation sought by France is not possible at this stage since there is no ceasefire. 

Following demands from the Kremlin for European countries to pay for Russian gas in rubles, Macron reconfirmed to Putin during the call that it was not possible, the source said.  

US President Joe Biden and his counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and the UK “affirmed their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its brutal attacks in Ukraine, as well as to continue supplying Ukraine with security assistance to defend itself against this unjustified and unprovoked assault,” on a call this morning, according to a White House statement. 

“They reviewed their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the millions affected by the violence, both inside Ukraine and seeking refuge in other countries, and underscored the need for humanitarian access to civilians in Mariupol,” according to the White House. “They also discussed the importance of supporting stable energy markets in light of current disruptions due to sanctions.”

Earlier, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the leaders agree on the ongoing need to “support and sustain” the people of Ukraine against “Russian barbarism.”

“The Prime Minister underscored that we must judge Putin’s regime by their actions not their words. Putin is twisting the knife in the open wound of Ukraine in an attempt to force the country and its allies to capitulate,” the spokesperson added. 

CNN’s Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.

US President Joe Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a statement Tuesday said following today’s meeting the two nations “recognize that threats to the UN Charter and rules-based international order anywhere, including Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, place peace and prosperity everywhere at risk.” 

“The war in Ukraine has a negative impact on the Indo-Pacific region, which already faces many complex challenges. Taken together, the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century demand deeper cooperation between us,” the two leaders wrote.

Per the White House, the two “resolve to further expand bilateral cooperation, taking bold new steps to drive broad-based economic growth and innovation, raise infrastructure standards in the region, address the climate crisis, promote health security, increase supply chain resilience, improve cybersecurity, ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, and more.” 

On Ukraine, they “emphasize our unwavering commitment to the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which clearly violates international law, including the United Nations Charter,” and “recognize the need to preserve a world in which borders cannot be changed by force and state-to-state relations are guided by international law.”

The two leaders also condemned the military coup in Myanmar, adding the two nations “continue to call for an end to violence against civilians in Myanmar, the release of all political detainees, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and foreign detainees; unhindered humanitarian access; and for Myanmar to return to its path of democratic transition.”

The two leaders are expected to address reporters shortly from the White House.

Multiple countries announced Tuesday they are expelling Russian diplomats from their countries.

According to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian intelligence officers attached to Russian diplomats in the country. It said in a tweet the decision was based on information from Dutch intelligence and security services naming the Russian officers as a threat to national security. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that 17 diplomats were expelled, according to Russian state media TASS.

Belgium said it is expelling 21 Russian diplomats who have been identified as involved in espionage and “influence activities,” Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sophie Wilmes said.

Wilmes said the diplomats are from the Russian embassy and consulate.

Ireland and the Czech Republic also expelled a combined total of five Russian diplomats.

Ireland expelled four senior Russian diplomatic officials, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said in a statement. Coveney said his ministry had informed the Russian ambassador of the government’s decision to expel the diplomats due to their activities not being “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour.” 

In the Czech Republic, one Russian diplomat at the embassy in Prague had been declared “persona non grata,” the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that together with their allies, they were “reducing the Russian intelligence presence in the EU.” 

The Russian embassies in Ireland and Belgium condemned the moves, saying it will “not go unanswered.” 

“This is arbitrary, groundless decision, which can only deteriorate further Russian-Irish relations already damaged by the Irish participation in illegitimate EU sanctions against Russia,” the Russian embassy in Ireland said in a statement posted to its Twitter account.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Belgium in a statement also called the move “a serious blow to Russian-Belgian relations [that] goes against the long-history of interaction between the two countries.”

“This unfriendly action from the Belgian side will certainly not go unanswered,” the statement read. 

When the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in Turkey just 19 days ago, the atmosphere was toxic — and neither side got far beyond restating existing positions.

Today, at a meeting in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian teams, the atmospherics were a great deal more positive and the outlines, however faint, of an overall settlement to this horrendously destructive war, began to come into focus.

They included the future of Crimea and the Donbas region, Ukraine’s neutral status, protected by security guarantees, a notable pull-back of Russian forces currently north of Kyiv and even the prospect of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian side accepted kicking into the long grass the status of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, said of the future of Crimea, whose annexation has never been accepted by either Ukraine or other Western countries: “It was agreed in bilateral format to take a pause for 15 years and conduct bilateral talks on the status of these territories.

“Separately we discussed that during the 15 years while the bilateral talks take place there will be no military hostilities,” he told reporters.

This would take one of the most contentious issues off the table for now.

Both sides seemed to be in a constructive mood. Podolyak said the Russian negotiators have “taken the treaty that outlines ways to end the war and will work out their counter proposals.”

Russian news agency TASS quoted the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, as saying that the talks were constructive. And he said that “Russia is taking two steps towards Ukraine for de-escalation.”

The most immediate of those is the Russian declaration that hostilities against Chernihiv and in the direction of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, would be drastically reduced. Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, has been surrounded by Russian forces and has suffered devastating destruction over the past three weeks.

As significantly, Medinsky said that the Ukrainian proposals were now sufficiently formulated for them to “be presented to the President. And our appropriate response will be given.”

“Provided that the agreement is worked on quickly and a compromise is found, the opportunity to conclude peace will become closer,” Medinsky said — the most upbeat assessment from a Russian official since the first round of talks at the end of February.

Russian officials have previously played down any involvement in the process of Putin, saying that more needed to be negotiated before the Russian leader personally sits down for direct talks.

Now, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti — citing the Russian delegation — spoke of the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky simultaneously with the initialing of the peace treaty by the foreign ministers of both countries.

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who brokered the talks, sketched out a possible roadmap, with the “top priority of achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible to pave the way for a permanent political solution.”

Those “trickier” issues would be bumped up to the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers to “make final adjustments to the common approach.” And then a meeting between Putin and Zelensky would be on the agenda, he said in remarks to reporters after the talks.

An outline emerges: For Ukraine, security guarantees have always been a critical part of any settlement to the conflict. Gradually, President Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have walked away from Ukraine’s past insistence that it has the right — even the obligation — to apply for NATO membership, as is enshrined in the Ukrainian constitution.

Now a very different formulation is emerging.

One member of the Ukrainian team, Davyd Arakhamia, said after the meeting to Ukrainian TV: “We insist that this be an international treaty, signing all the guarantors of security, which will be ratified.”

That treaty would have to be ratified by parliaments in the guarantor countries, according to Ukrainian officials, who are evidently building as much insurance into the mechanism as possible. The Ukrainians also want the guarantors to include the permanent members of the UN Security Council — Russia included.

The guarantees would be very specific, Arakhamia said. In the event of aggression or a military operation directed at Ukraine, “consultations should take place within three days.”

“After that, the guarantor countries are obliged to help us. And military aid, and the armed forces, and weapons, and the closed sky — everything that we need so much now, and we cannot get it.”

The Ukrainians are now looking at what might be called protected — and permanent — neutrality.

Read more here.

US troops in Poland have been providing Ukrainians with some instruction on how to use weapons and equipment that the West has been shipping into Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, as part of the United States’ efforts to help Ukrainian forces repel Russian attacks. 

US President Joe Biden said on Monday that those American forces have been “helping train the Ukrainian troops” in Poland. The troops have been deployed there to help bolster NATO’s eastern flank during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

While in Poland last week, Biden heard directly from the troops about how they were providing the tactical weapons training to the Ukrainians there, the sources said.

“We were talking about helping train the Ukrainian troops that are in Poland,” Biden said on Monday. He was seeking to clarify a remark he made last week to US troops that they would be seeing “when you’re there … women, young people, standing in the middle of the damn tank, saying ‘I’m not leaving. I’m holding my ground.’” 

A White House official told CNN “there are Ukrainian soldiers in Poland interacting on a regular basis with US troops, and that’s what the President was referring to.”

Sources told CNN that while US troops are indeed providing some instruction to the Ukrainians at a military base in Poland, it does not amount to “formalized” training. 

Rather, the coaching is more tactical and in-the-moment, the sources said, like showing Ukrainian soldiers who are picking up the weapons shipments in Poland how to use some of the equipment, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles that the West has been sending in large numbers. Poland has become the central transit point of arms transfers into Ukraine.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Tod D. Wolters told US lawmakers on Tuesday that the US had been providing “advice and assistance with respect to materiel” going into Ukraine, but that the US forces are not “in the process of currently training military forces from Ukraine in Poland.”

“There are liaisons that are there that are being given advice, and that is different than what I think you are referring to with respect to training,” Wolters told Republican Sen. Tom Cotton when asked about the training.

Wolters said separately during the hearing that “as you well know, we’ve made dramatic improvements in our information sharing and intelligence sharing, and as [the Ukrainians] continue to pursue their campaign, our advice and our assistance with respect to material will be very, very important,” Wolters said. 

Britain does not want to see anything less than a “complete withdrawal” of Russian forces from the Ukrainian territory and will judge Russia by its actions rather than words, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said Tuesday. 

Earlier Tuesday, Moscow said it will “drastically reduce military activity” on two fronts — Kyiv and Chernihiv.

The British government acknowledged that there has been a reduction in Russian bombardment around Kyiv, the spokesperson added. 

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said Tuesday the announcement of plans for a de-escalation by the Russian military around Kyiv and Chernihiv “is not a ceasefire.”

In remarks to Russian state-owned channel RT, Medinsky said the first step agreed by Russia in talks with Ukraine “concerns a gradual military de-escalation in two main directions — Kyiv and Chernihiv,” adding, “we understand that there are people in Kyiv who need to make decisions, so we do not want to expose this city to additional risk.”

Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of US European Command, said there “could be” an intelligence gap in the US’ intelligence gathering that caused the US to overestimate Russia’s capability and underestimate Ukraine’s defensive capability in the current Ukraine crisis.

Wolters made the comments during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. 

When Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, asked if there was an intelligence gap that caused the US to overestimate Russia and underestimate Ukraine, Wolters said “there could be.”

“There could be and as we’ve always done in the past, when this crisis is over with, we will accomplish a comprehensive after-action review in all domains and in all departments and find out where our weak areas were and make sure we can find ways to improve, and this could be one of those areas,” Wolters said.

On Ukrainian advances: Wolters said he believes Ukrainian forces will be able to stall the Russians in the east of the country, but not that he believed they could push the Russian forces back.

He also said that 70% to 75% of Russia’s forces are “devoted” to the Ukrainian invasion “from a Russian perspective at this time.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he has not seen signs the talks between Ukraine and Russia are “moving forward in an effective way” because the US has not seen “signs of real seriousness” by Russia.

“There is what Russia says, and there is what Russia does. We’re focused on the latter,” said Blinken at a joint press conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

Blinken cautioned that Russia saying it would be reducing hostilities around Kyiv could be “a means by which Russia once again is trying to deflect and deceive people into thinking it’s not doing what it is doing.”

“If they somehow believe that an effort to subjugate “only,” in quotation marks, the eastern part of Ukraine and the southern part of Ukraine can succeed, then once again they are profoundly fooling themselves,” said Blinken. 

Blinken called for Russia to “end the aggression now, stop firing, pull its forces back and of course engage in talks.”

Ukraine and a number of non-NATO countries have been invited to attend part of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers next week, according to a statement from the military alliance headquartered in Brussels.

NATO said “the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Sweden and Ukraine, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs” will attend one session of the meeting on April 7.

Some of ministers “may attend via video link,” the statement added.

Foreign ministers from the 30 NATO countries will convene for the second time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The session follows last week’s high-level meeting of NATO leaders for an extraordinary summit on the crisis.

US President Joe Biden’s call with European allies to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ended, the White House said.

The call started at 9:19 a.m. ET and concluded at 10:12 a.m. EDT.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were on the call.

After delegations from Russia and Ukraine met for in-person talks today in Istanbul, Russia announced a a “drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Russia reduces military activity:

Evacuation corridors: Local officials are working to evacuate people living in towns suffering heavy Russian shelling despite the failure of fighting parties to formally agree a humanitarian corridor, the regional governor of Luhansk in Ukraine’s far east said. Thirty people had been moved out of Rubizhne on Tuesday morning, as well as people from other nearby towns, Gov. Serhii Haidai said.

The Ukrainian government said residents of Mariupol, Melitopol and Enerhodar are once again able to reach the city of Zaporizhzhia, which remains in Ukrainian hands and has become the key transit point for people looking to escape fighting in the southeast. This comes after Ukraine said Monday that no corridors would function over fears of possible “provocations” by Russian forces.

Ukraine counterattacks: Military officials say Ukraine has launched counteroffensives against Russian forces in the Kyiv region as well as in the south of the country. Russian forces have been struggling to hold their front line northwest of the city of Kherson, and Ukrainian officials say the military has also pushed Russian troops back around 31 miles (50 kilometers) in fighting near the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Here’s a look at the map of Ukraine as it stands amid the Russian invasion:

More than 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion began in late February, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday.

The 3,901,713 refugees registered as of Monday include 203,000 third-country nationals, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Turkey’s foreign minister said “consensus and common understanding” was reached between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on some issues during talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. 

“The most meaningful progress in negotiations has been made today,” Mevlüt Cavusoglu said of the talks brokered by Turkey. He hailed the progress made in particular on the “top priority of achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible to pave the way for a permanent political solution.”

Cavusoglu said the “trickier” issues are now to be discussed at higher levels, with a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers to “make final adjustments to the common approach.” Following that, a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on the agenda, he said.

About the talks: The Russian delegation to Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul announced two steps to de-escalate the conflict toward Ukraine following a first day of talks, Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti reported. 

RIA, citing the Russian delegation, said the steps included a “drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions,” and also the possibility of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky simultaneously with the initialing of the peace treaty by the foreign ministers of both countries.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser also Mykhailo Podolyak said enough progress was made during talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on Tuesday in Istanbul to allow Putin and Zelensky to meet. Speaking in Istanbul after talks wrapped between the two sides on Tuesday, Podolyak said there was now a “likelihood” that the two presidents may meet. 

US stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors carefully watched ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Russian officials met with a Ukrainian delegation in Turkey, and both parties said the talks were constructive.

Oil prices fell on the news: Brent crude fell to $106 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude was below $100. Both benchmarks lost 7% on Monday.

Here’s how the US stock market looked at the opening today:

The 5-year Treasury note, meanwhile, rose above the 30-year on Monday and remained there on Tuesday. This is the first inversion since 2006, and investors are worried that it signals an impending recession. 

The US government will release its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, at 10 a.m. ET today. It’s expected to show that the number of available jobs is down slightly from January’s surprisingly high total of 11.26 million.

Ukrainians will be asked in a referendum to approve any agreement linking neutrality status with security guarantees, Mykhaylo Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said.

Only after any approval would it go for ratification by the parliaments of the guarantor countries and the parliament of Ukraine, he said. 

Podoliak said it was essential the government had the backing of the Ukrainian people for this agreement.

At least nine people were killed and 22 injured in a Russian strike on the office of the regional military governor of Ukraine’s southwestern Mykolaiv region on Tuesday, according to the the Mykolaiv regional media office’s Telegram channel.

The Russian strike demolished half of the building, Gov. Vitalii Kim said.

“They [the Russians] hit the building of the regional administration, demolished half of the building, hit my office. Most people were miraculously saved,” Kim said in a statement on Telegram.

“Eight civilians are under the rubble, we are searching for them. 50-100 people came out. We are also searching for three servicemen,” he added.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said the strike hit the nine-story building Tuesday morning at about 8.45 a.m. local time. 

“The central section of the building from the ninth to the first floor was destroyed, without fire ensuing,” the statement said. “As of 11:30, rescuers pulled one dead from the rubble, 18 of those rescued were hospitalised. Rescuers are working at the scene.”

Senior members of the Ukrainian delegation who spoke with Russian officials today said there was progress after a day of talks in Turkey — and provided more detail on what security guarantees Ukraine would expect after a ceasefire.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referred to talks about the status of Crimea, which annexed by Russia in 2014. 

“I want to emphasize as regards the territories of Crimea and Sevastopol, it was agreed in bilateral format to take a pause for 15 years and conduct bilateral talks on the status of these territories,” he said.

Ukraine and the West have refused to recognize the Russian annexation of the peninsula, and the pause could be a formula for taking the issue off the table for now.

He also referred to one of the toughest elements in the talks: security guarantees for Ukraine if and when a ceasefire and peace settlement are agreed upon.  

“Undoubtedly, this treaty on security guarantees may only be signed after a ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops to their positions on the 23rd of February 2022,” he said.

“We are simply bringing our proposals as negotiators to Russia about the system of security guarantees of Ukraine,” he continued.

Podolyak said the Russian negotiators have “taken the treaty that outlines ways to end the war” and will work out their counter-proposals.

He added that both sides are still “discussing a humanitarian ceasefire,” stressing there are “many places where humanitarian corridors are needed.”

Another member of the Ukrainian team, David Arakhamia, also spoke about security guarantees. “We insist that this be an international treaty, signing all the guarantors of security, which will be ratified.”

He said this would be comparable to NATO’s Article 5, which enshrines the principle of collective defense. The arrangement, he said, would be similar to Article 5, “but even with a stricter activation mechanism.”

“We say that consultations should take place within three days. They need to find out if this is war, aggression, a military operation. … After that, the guarantor countries are obliged to help us. And military aid, and the armed forces, and weapons, and the closed sky — all that we need so much now, and we cannot get it. This is our proposal,” he said.

Arakhamia named the guarantors as “the [permanent] countries of the UN Security Council” as well as Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Israel.

“We have stipulated in this agreement that the guarantor countries must not only not deny Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but also help with it,” he said.

Arakhamia added: “Of course, we have unresolved issues with the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with Crimea and Sevastopol. And international security guarantees will not work temporarily in these territories.”

A third member of the Ukrainian delegation, Oleksandr Chalyi, also stressed the three-day deadline for consultations in the event of “any aggression, military attack or military operation.”

“And if these consultations do not lead to a diplomatic solution to the problem, the guarantor countries must provide us with military assistance, weapons, and even we include such a situation as closed airspace over Ukraine,” Chalyi said.

Speaking to Ukrainian television, he said: “Doing everything possible to restore Ukraine’s security is a key requirement. If we manage to consolidate these key provisions, which is the most fundamental requirement for us, Ukraine will in fact be in a position to fix its current status as a non-aligned and non-nuclear state in the form of permanent neutrality.”

“Accordingly, these guarantees, which are in fact in line with NATO Article 5, as required by our country’s Constitution. [We] will not deploy foreign military bases or military contingents on our territory, and we will not enter into military-political alliances. Military trainings in our country will be conducted with the consent of our guarantor countries,” Chalyi said.

“However, it is fundamental for us that nothing in these provisions will deny our accession to the EU. The guarantor countries are also committed to facilitating these processes,” he added.

The Russian delegation to Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul announced two steps to de-escalate the conflict toward Ukraine following a first day of talks, Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti reported. 

RIA, citing the Russian delegation, said the steps included a “drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions,” and also the possibility of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky simultaneously with the initialing of the peace treaty by the foreign ministers of both countries.

The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, called the negotiations “constructive,” RIA reported.

The Russian General Staff will announce more details on steps to reduce hostilities in Ukraine after the Russian delegation to talks in Istanbul returns, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Tuesday in remarks carried by Russian state news agency TASS. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said enough progress was made during talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on Tuesday in Istanbul to allow Putin and Zelensky to meet. Speaking in Istanbul after talks wrapped between the two sides on Tuesday, Podolyak said there was now a “likelihood” that the two presidents may meet. 

Talks between the two parties will “continue online 24/7,” Podolyak said, adding that Ukraine needs “clear legal wording.” 

“The Russian delegation is constructive and aware. This doesn’t mean that negotiations are easy. They are very difficult. But the Russian side is paying attention to the Russian proposals, to the Ukrainian proposals,” he added. 

After the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that it has decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions, the United States is already observing these movements underway — a major strategy shift, according to two senior US officials.

Russia is beginning to withdraw some forces, including Russian Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) leaving the surrounding areas around the Ukrainian capital. The Russian forces now pulling back in some areas of the north to focus on gains in the south and east.

The US assesses Russia will cover their retreat with air and artillery bombardment of the capital, one of the officials said. US officials caution that Russia could always reverse again if the battle conditions allow.

The move follows peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Tuesday. 

In the US view, this is not a short-term adjustment to regroup, but a longer-term move as Russia comes to grips with failure to advance in the north. The official said one consequence the US is concerned about, is keeping the European allies unified on economic pressure and military support as Washington expects some of them to press Ukraine to accept a peace deal to end the fighting. 

Ukraine’s military intelligence head says Russian President Vladimir Putin could be looking to carve Ukraine in two – like North and South Korea. 

Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency, said Russia’s operations around Kyiv had failed and it was now impossible for the Russian army to overthrow the Ukrainian government. Putin’s war was now focused on the south and the east of the country, he said.

US President Joe Biden will convene a call with European allies to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the White House, via pool reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are expected to be on the call.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after Russia indicated it will dial back its assault in parts of Ukraine.

The developments eased energy supply fears that sent oil prices skyrocketing earlier this month. 

US oil tumbled 6.4% to $99.25 a barrel in recent trading. Brent crude, the world benchmark, lost 5.4% to $106.43 a barrel. 

Following peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said the Russian Ministry of Defense has decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” in the Kyiv and Chernigov, according to state media RIA. 

The Russian official said the changes are part of an effort to “increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiation,” RIA reported. 

“I wouldn’t say peace is breaking out, but there’s a glimmer of hope apparently,” said Robert Yawger, vice president of energy futures at Mizuho Securities.

However, Yawger stressed that sanctions on Russia aren’t going away overnight, nor is the stigma that has caused many energy companies, banks and shipping companies from doing business with Russian energy firms. And there is no guarantee a ceasefire will be reached between Russia and Ukraine.

“You could easily take this all to mean Russia is just pulling back to regroup and give it another shot,” Yawger said. “I wouldn’t trust them.”

Oil prices plunged on Monday on concerns that lockdowns in Shanghai will sharply cut China’s demand for energy.

Moscow says it will “drastically reduce military activity” on two fronts — Kyiv and Chernihiv — according to the Russian Ministry of Defense Telegram channel.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin confirmed “to radically, at times, reduce military activity,” according to state media RIA.

The move follows talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Tuesday.  

“Due to the fact that negotiations on the preparation of an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine, as well as on the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine, are moving into practice, taking into account the principles discussed during today’s meeting, by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing on the signing of the above agreement, a decision was made to radically, at times, reduce military activity in the Kiev and Chernigov direction,” Fomin told reporters.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier claimed “certain units” of Russia’s military are withdrawing from battlefronts in the capital, Kyiv, and from the northern city of Chernihiv. 

“The Russian enemy did not meet the goal of its offensive operation,” it said in an official Facebook update Tuesday.

However, it warned of a “high risk” of Russian troops attacking military and civilian infrastructure. The Russian military, it claimed, is struggling to reinforce and rotate in new soldiers, due to the “refusal of personnel to participate in the so-called special operation,” and are “not able to staff even one battalion-tactical group.”

In the fifth week of the Russian invasion, the “heroic” Ukrainian resistance is “conducting a defence operation in the eastern, southeastern and northeastern directions, restrains the enemy in all directions, in some directions - displaces the enemy,” it said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for even tighter sanctions against Russia and warned that almost all of the besieged city of Mariupol has been destroyed in an address to the Danish Parliament on Tuesday.

“We ask you and the whole democratic community in the world: We need to step up sanctions against Russia. We must give up Russian oil. No trade with the Russian Federation. Close ports to Russian ships. And this must be a policy of solidarity in the European Union among all member states,” he said. 

More than 100,000 people are still trapped in Mariupol and are forced to “have to melt snow to drink water,” he added.

Russia, he warned, wants to “ensure nothing remains of Ukraine but ruins and refugees.” 

Zelensky accused Russian forces of forcibly deporting people, as well as committing rape and looting.

He claimed the whereabouts of more than 2,000 Ukrainian children is unknown and said they have been abducted and taken into Russia.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Ukrainian government estimated the number of Ukrainians forcibly deported to Russia since the invasion was nearly 40,000.

Some background: The port city of Mariupol has reported thousands of deaths as a result of Russia’s constant bombardment. Before the invasion on February 24, the city was home to more than 400,000 people. Around 160,000 people remain, living without water, electricity and heat, said the mayor Vadym Boichenko.

Dialogue between Russia and the US is still needed, despite recent statements from US President Joe Biden that “damage the relations,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday.

“Nevertheless, dialogue between Russia and the United States is necessary in any case, not only in the interests of our the two countries but also in the interests of the whole world,” he added.

“One way or another, sooner or later, [Russia and the US] will have to talk about issues of strategic stability, security, and other issues that only we can discuss,” he said.

On Sunday Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” but on Monday he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he was “talking to Russian people” with the line, rather than announcing a change in policy.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he is not aware of cases of missing Ukrainian journalists and activists, or of reports of arrested officials in Russian-held territories of Ukraine.

Peskov’s comments come after CNN reported that local Ukrainian officials had been arrested, and journalists and civil society members had disappeared and are still missing. 

Commenting on CNN’s reporting, Peskov said the Kremlin is unaware of such cases but said they needed to be examined carefully individually.

“It is very important to consider each specific case, each name and surname,” Peskov told CNN. “Nobody contacted us [about it] and we do not have such information,” he added.

In addition to CNN reporting, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said that dozens of Ukrainians, including local officials, activists and journalists, are being arbitrarily detained and subjected to forced disappearances.

At least 45 cases of civilian detentions have been recorded by the HRMMU since the war began on February 24, according to a HRMMU spokesperson.

On Monday the mission said it had so far documented 24 cases of conflict-related detentions of local officials in Russian-occupied regions, 13 of whom have subsequently been released. 

Its monitors have also recorded the disappearances of 21 journalists, civil society activists, protesters and civilians, who “vocally opposed the invasion in Kyiv, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.”

Some of those who have disappeared were taken during protests against the Russian invasion or for openly expressing their support for Ukraine.

A handful have subsequently been released, the spokesperson said, although exact numbers are still being verified by the mission. 

“Information regarding the number of released individuals is pending verification. HRMMU has received many complaints about missing civilian persons, which are also pending corroboration,” said the spokesperson.

“There are grounds to believe that some of them may have also been detained, and possibly subjected to enforced disappearance,” they added. 

Families are often denied any information about the fate of those being held. Many are often too terrified to speak out about the disappearance of their relatives, for fear that it could trigger a backlash against themselves or their loved ones.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, is in Ukraine for urgent talks with the Ukrainian government about the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities. 

In a statement Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the talks with senior government officials will center on the agency’s plans to deliver “urgent technical assistance to ensure the safety and security of the country’s nuclear facilities and help avert the risk of an accident that could endanger people and the environment.” 

Grossi posted a photo of himself on Twitter standing in front of an official UN vehicle on Tuesday, saying he had “just crossed the border into Ukraine to start the IAEA’s mission to ensure the safety and security of the country’s nuclear facilities.” 

In the statement, Grossi said that “the military conflict is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger.”  

“Ukraine has requested our assistance for safety and security. We will now start delivering it. Ukraine has one of Europe’s largest nuclear power programmes. The IAEA’s presence, where needed to ensure safety and security, is of paramount importance. We are ready to provide the necessary support now,” he continued. 

Grossi, who is set to visit one of the country’s power plants during his trip, warned that “there have already been several close calls” when it comes to the country’s nuclear facilities. 

“We can’t afford to lose any more time,” he continued, adding that the IAEA’s expertise is needed urgently to prevent a nuclear accident taking place. 

Russian forces have occupied Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, since March 4, and the site of the infamous 1986 accident, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, since February 24. 

The watchdog has drawn up “concrete and detailed plans for safety and security assistance” to Ukraine’s nuclear sites, which include 15 nuclear power reactors at four plants as well as the Chernobyl NPP, according to the statement. 

Eight of the country’s 15 reactors continue to operate, “including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya NPP, three at Rivne, one at Khmelnytskyy, and two at South Ukraine,” the IAEA said in its latest update posted Monday. The other reactors remain closed for regular maintenance, they added. 

An explosion could be heard during a CNN interview with Vladyslav Atroshenko, the mayor of Chernihiv, on Tuesday.

Atroshenko described how his city, which is about 90 miles northeast of Kyiv, had been under constant attack since the Russian invasion began.

He spoke to CNN from in front of a bombed-out cinema, which he said was struck by a missile.

Chernihiv has been under sustained attack from air strikes and mortar shelling, he said, adding that the Russians are not using high-precision weapons.

Some 300-400 people are estimated to have been killed in the city, but the exact figure is unclear, said the mayor. CNN cannot immediately verify any death toll.

The vast majority of the dead are civilians, Atroshenko said.

About 100,000-110,000 of the city’s 290,000 residents remain in Chernihiv, said the mayor, who said the city would continue to hold off the Russian armed forces.

“We shall not surrender,” he said as an explosion could be heard in the background. The noise was from a Russian munition, Atroshenko said.

“Absolutely nowhere is safe in the city now,” he said. “The enemy is striking everywhere.”

Watch the interview:

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02:20 - Source: cnn

The conflict in Ukraine is going to cause a “significant change in the international order” and will have “prolonged” and “deep” repercussions, according to Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates diplomatic adviser to the president.

“But I think we do really need to find a political solution. And it starts with a ceasefire and a political solution ASAP. We need to do that because the danger of horizontal or vertical escalation is real,” Gargash told CNN on Tuesday.

The UAE has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Gargash said that “the [Middle East] region … is witnessing the sort of upper structure changing, but it has to catch up and it has to catch up by emphasizing, in my opinion, non-political issues.”

Gargash, who previously served as the Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, spoke at the landmark regional meeting in Israel’s Negev desert, where top diplomats from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt, Israel and the United States met to discuss security issues.

At the meeting on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke about the effect the new regional alliance will have on deterring Iran, but Gargash said the “Middle East is not really only about Iran … and Israel.”

“Our whole intention is to find a way of functionally working with Iran … our whole intention is that there is an agenda of stability or prosperity in the region that includes Iran and others.”

Abu Dhabi has worked to improve ties with its regional neighbors, including Turkey and Iran, and normalized relations with Israel in 2020.

“We need to turn the page and start a new page. And that new page is basically reaching out to friends of course, but adversaries also. And to make sure that you know, we rebuild these bridges, we were not going to agree with everything they want to do,” Gargash added.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Tuesday outlined some of the issues that were discussed in talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Tuesday — which have now ended — saying there were “intensive consultations” on several issues.

“The key one is the agreement on international security guarantees for Ukraine. Only with this agreement we can end the war as Ukraine needs,” Podolyak said, referring to a longstanding position of the Ukrainian government that Ukraine would adopt neutral status only if provided binding security guarantees. 

The second set of issues, Podolyak added, “is the issue of a ceasefire, so that all humanitarian problems can be resolved.”

Ukrainian officials have said there is a major humanitarian crisis in cities that have been under heavy Russian bombardment, including the besieged port of Mariupol.

Podolyak also alluded to videos and other evidence that have surfaced of the apparent mistreatment of prisoners and other potential violations of the laws of armed conflict.

“I also would like to emphasize that today we have another problem that is growing, the problem of escalation of war, escalation of hatred, escalation of violations of customs and rules of war, not only on the battlefield,” Podolyak said.

“Sometimes calls on air from both sides to destroy one or another nation. All this leads to conflicts, to videos of violating the Geneva Convention regarding the prisoners of war,” he added, saying that the Ukrainian military is committed to making sure that it does not happen again, and “that it has legal consequences for people who violate the rules of war.” 

Local officials are working to evacuate people living in towns suffering heavy Russian shelling despite the failure of fighting parties to formally agree a humanitarian corridor, the regional governor of Luhansk in Ukraine’s far east said.

Thirty people had been moved out of Rubizhne on Tuesday morning, as well as people from other nearby towns, Gov. Serhii Haidai said. 

Photos posted on the governor’s Telegram channel showed people gathered round a small bus ready to board, with their belongings packed in bags. 

The governor said people were being taken to the town of Sloviansk where they could get a train to take them to the west of Ukraine. 

Earlier, Haidai reported that about 20 residential buildings had been damaged by recent Russian artillery fire. Each destroyed building could mean anything from 30 to 100 homeless families, he added. 

One person had been killed by shelling in Nyzhnie, while rescuers had managed to pull 20 people alive from the rubble of a building strike in Severodonetsk, the governor said.

Evacuation corridors linking Mariupol, Melitopol and Enerhodar with Zaporizhzhia were agreed Tuesday, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Residents of the three cities should be able to reach Zaporizhzhia, which remains in Ukrainian hands and has become the key transit point for people looking to escape fighting in the southeast. 

But logistics around Mariupol remain complicated, with buses unable to make it into the besieged city to take out residents.

Instead, people must make their own way out as far as Berdyansk, where they can then pick up buses to complete the journey. 

Some 75,000 people have been evacuated from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, Vereshchuk said. 

The number of corridors announced each day continues to fluctuate. On Monday, none were announced after Ukraine said it had intelligence suggesting possible Russian “provocations” along the routes.

Other days have seen up to nine evacuation routes announced, serving towns and cities in the north of the country and the far east, as well as those in the southeast. 

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are meeting for in-person talks today in Istanbul, as Ukraine continues to launch counterattacks against Russian forces.

Here’s the latest:

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is attending the current talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, but is not an official member of the Russian delegation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Abramovich is “facilitating” to “ensure certain contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian sides,” he added.

“In order to hold contacts between the two parties, it is necessary to obtain approval from both parties. In the case of Abramovich, he has approval [of his participation] from both sides.”

Some background: Abramovich, who was sanctioned earlier this month by the UK government along with other Russian oligarchs following Russia’s invasion, has been acting as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, shuttling between Moscow, Kyiv, Istanbul, Warsaw and beyond amid a whirlwind of talks aimed at ending the conflict, his spokesman confirmed last month.

On Monday, a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team told CNN that Abramovich and two Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered minor skin peeling and sore eyes during Ukraine-Russia talks “a few weeks ago” in Turkey, adding the incident was not regarded as serious.  

The “main tasks” of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have been completed, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday. 

“The Ukrainian army has suffered significant damage, this allows us to focus efforts on achieving the main goal - the liberation of Donbas,” Shoigu said.

Russia will “respond adequately” in the event NATO supplies aircraft and air defense systems to Ukraine, Shoigu added.

Some background: The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserts the two separatist-controlled regions in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, known as the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, are in effect Russian-occupied, where unmarked Russian forces have been propping up separatist fighters since 2014.

The Ukrainian army has shown resistance to the invasion, with Ukrainian officials reporting potentially significant gains in parts of the south, as well as around Kyiv.

Russia’s death toll has not been released by the Kremlin since March 2 when they put the dead Russian military personnel at 498. The US Department of Defense said last week there had been up to 10,000 deaths. The Russian Defense Ministry on March 22 said it “does not have the authority” to publicize a count of Russia’s military deaths while the “military operation” is still ongoing.

Russia’s most significant battlefield achievement in south Ukraine has been the capture of Kherson in the first week of March – seen as the first important gain towards a possible offensive against Odesa, the country’s third largest city. 

But in recent days, CNN has reported on Russia’s struggles to hold its front line northwest of the city, as well as Ukrainian successes targeting Russian attack helicopters at nearby Kherson airport. 

Now, Ukrainian officials are reporting potentially significant gains elsewhere in the south, pushing Russian forces back as much as around 31 miles (50 kilometers) in fighting near the city of Kryvyi Rih. 

“The enemy is no longer just stopped in all directions - but has actually been pushed back from the distant approaches to the city,” Oleksandr Vilkul, the top official in Kryvyi Rih, said late Monday.

“Today, several more settlements in the Kherson region have been liberated. The invaders are at a distance from Kryvyi Rih of at least 40 kilometers (25 miles), in some directions as much as 60 kilometers (37 miles).”

Previously, Ukrainian officials said Russian troops were within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the city, which has a population of more than 500,000 and lies between Kherson and Dnipro. 

“The contact line is no longer on the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region, and it is already in the Kherson region. Our military shows real bravery and inflicts serious damage on the enemy,” Vikul said.  

Most residents had remained in Kryvyi Rih since the start of the war, Vikul added. “You can see for yourself that the city lives and works,” he said on a video statement posted on Facebook.  

In a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by Russian attacks, regardless of any changes in control of territory, the top official in the nearby city of Nikopol reported a missile strike close to his city. There were no reports of casualties, Eugen Evtushenko said on Facebook.

Ukrainian forces have started counterattacks in parts of Kyiv while Irpin to the west of the capital has come under shelling, after the Ukrainian government claimed to have retaken the suburb on Monday, a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official said Tuesday. 

Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to the Interior Minister of Ukraine, said in a live television broadcast that Ukrainian forces were counterattacking to the east of the capital. 

“In Kyiv region, after the village of Lukianivka, where there were very fierce battles a few days ago, we liberated Rudnytske village,” he said. “That is, we are entrenching. We are beginning to move on to certain counterattacks.”

CNN was not immediately able to verify that claim, but Ukrainian media have broadcast images from Lukianivka. 

On Monday, local authorities said the suburb of Irpin, to the west of Kyiv, had been retaken by Ukrainian forces.

“We are entrenching there and clearing the city,” Denysenko said. “At night, unfortunately, the shelling took place again. We saw that rocket artillery was being fired. Now we are clarifying the information.”

The meeting in Istanbul between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations has started, says the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey.

Russia and Ukraine both have “legitimate concerns” heading into the next round of talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Erdogan said it “is possible to reach an agreement that can address both countries’ legitimate concerns,” in a speech before the meeting between the delegations started.

The Turkish President also passed on his “sincerest greetings” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called “valuable friends of mine.”

In an interview Sunday with Russian journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at length about an important point in potential peace negotiations: the possibility of neutrality for Ukraine. 

“We are ready to accept this,” Zelensky said. “This is the most important point.”  

Zelensky and Ukrainian officials have long said they are willing to talk about neutrality for Ukraine if NATO is not ready to accept the country as a member of the alliance. 

That, in theory, would meet one of the demands of Russian President Vladimir Putin: that Ukraine gives up its NATO aspirations. 

But it’s not as simple as that. Zelensky has also made it clear that Ukraine would reject “neutrality” without legally binding security guarantees. And with Ukraine under invasion by Russia, the Ukrainian leader has said he isn’t interested in empty promises. 

“I’m interested in making sure it’s not just another piece of paper a la the Budapest Memorandum,” he said. 

Zelensky was referring to a little-remembered moment in post-Cold War history. With the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine – on paper at least – came into possession of the world’s third-largest nuclear stockpile.

Russia did maintain operational control of those weapons, but Ukraine signed an agreement in 1994 to give up the nuclear weapons stationed on its territory in exchange for security guarantees, including the protection of the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine. That’s something Russia, a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, decisively trampled on with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in February. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, has said that security guarantees must, in essence, include a commitment from guarantors to assist Ukraine in the event of aggression.  

And it’s important to add that neutrality – of a sort that Putin might find palatable – is not something Zelensky can simply offer up. Aspiration to NATO membership is enshrined in Ukraine’s constitution. 

That’s where Zelensky gave Russian interviewers a bit of a lesson in Ukraine’s democratic processes. Security guarantees, he explained, would have to be followed by a referendum in Ukraine.  

“Why? Because we have a law about referendums,” Zelensky said. “We have passed it. Changes of this or that status… And security guarantees presuppose constitutional changes. You understand, don’t you? Constitutional changes.” 

And therein lies the difference. Russia has a political system built around one man — Putin — and Zelensky is the head of a democratic state. Even if neutrality is on the negotiating table, the Ukrainian people will have to have their say.  

The heads of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are meeting now in Turkey ahead of the latest round of talks at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

Russia’s deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin is leading the Russian delegation, which also includes negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, while David Arakhamia is the head of the Ukrainian delegation.

Correction: This post has been updated to more accurately reflect the latest developments in negotiations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that now is the time to “expect solid outcomes” from the latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking in Istanbul as talks commenced on Tuesday, Erdogan stressed that “it’s up to both sides to stop this tragedy.”

“We think we’re in a period where we should expect solid outcomes from negotiations. You’re laying the foundations of peace with the directives of your leaders,” he said, emphasizing that an “immediate ceasefire and peace would benefit all.”

Some context: While Turkey is a NATO member and Erdogan characterized the invasion as “unacceptable” at its onset, the president has tried to position himself as a potential broker for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Erdogan told reporters Friday that Ukraine and Russia seem to have reached “an understanding” on four out of six topics discussed during negotiations, including Ukraine staying out of NATO as well as the acceptance of Russian as an official language.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week any constitutional changes that relate to security guarantees would need to be decided through a referendum and not by him alone.

When there was a knock on Yulia Olkhovska’s front door at 5:30 a.m., she knew who would be waiting for her in the pre-dawn darkness outside. But she was still terrified.

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, rolling tanks into several small cities in the country’s southeast, including her hometown Melitopol, there had been a steady, grim drumbeat of disappearances.

Journalists like herself, as well as activists, politicians, public figures and residents in Russian-occupied areas were being picked up off the street and snatched from their homes. She had conferred with her husband in hushed tones about what to do if they came for her; the pair decided they would try to remain calm.

So when five armed men in military uniform turned up at her house in the suburbs of Melitopol on March 21, she took a deep breath and let them in. After carrying out a room-by-room search, startling their sleeping teenage daughter and four cats, the Russians told Olkhovska to come with them.

Read what happens to Olkhovska and other Ukrainians here:

Russian military vehicles seen in Kherson.

Related article They tried to reveal what life was like under Russian occupation. Then they disappeared

With Russia’s troops stalled in many parts of Ukraine, delegations from both countries are set to resume in-person talks today in Istanbul.

Here’s the latest:

Russian troops and armed individuals recently took part in a propaganda video that suggests Melitopol is no longer part of Ukraine.

The video was published in a pro-Russian “news” Telegram channel for Melitopol, a city located in the southern portion of Ukraine and occupied by Russia since the first days of the invasion.

In the video, the armed individuals and Russian troops are seen writing on a Ukrainian flag in Melitopol’s central square. A large Ukrainian flag that flew over the square was taken down on March 14.

The troops and armed individuals were seen on the video writing on the flag, “From the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation … the Russian National Guard … the people’s militia … the Cossacks.” The flag is then seen being taken to the post office and claimed to have been sent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A “Z” and “V” are also written on the flag, which are markings seen on Russian military vehicles participating in the invasion.

The Russian-installed government in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol is trying to move on with daily life as the invasion rages nearby, including restarting schools.

Russian-installed mayor Galina Danilchenko also said that power would be restored to a nearby captured Ukrainian air force base in a video message published on Melitopol’s Russian-installed government’s Telegram channel. 

But Ivan Fedorov, Melitopol’s elected mayor, claimed that to reopen the schools, the government drummed up embezzlement charges against the city’s education chief, Irina Shcherbak.

It’s not the first time a Melitopol elected official was detained or had charges brought against them during the Russian occupation. 

When the Russians installed Danilchenko as Melitopol’s new mayor on March 11, she immediately dissolved the elected government and mandated that Russian news be broadcast.

Fedorov himself was detained earlier this month by armed men and then charged with terrorism offenses by the Russian-backed rebels prosecutor’s office in the Luhansk region. He was later freed as part of a prisoner swap. 

Fedorov also claimed on Instagram that the Russians have cut off all cell phone communications in Melitopol. Danilchenko in a video message claimed it was the Ukrainians who had cut off communications. 

Melitopol is located in southern Ukraine, between the besieged city of Mariupol and Russian-occupied Kherson.

Russia would only use nuclear weapons when there is a threat to the country’s existence — and not as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told PBS Newshour in an interview Monday.

“Any outcome of the operation (in Ukraine), of course, is not a reason for usage of a nuclear weapon,” Peskov said. “We have a security concept that very clearly states that only when there is a threat for existence of the state, in our country, we can use and we will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat for the existence of our country.”

When asked about US President Joe Biden’s comments calling Vladimir Putin a “butcher” and declaring the Russian President should no longer remain in power, Peskov said “it is quite alarming.”

“It is personal insult,” Peskov said. “Of course, it is completely unacceptable. It is not for the United States’ President to decide who is going to be and who is the president of the Russian Federation.”

Some context: At an address in Poland on Saturday, Biden made an improvised comment — “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power” — that caught American and international officials off-guard, sending the White House into clean-up mode over the weekend.

Civilian targets denial: In the PBS interview, Peskov denied that Russian forces had deliberately targeted civilians in Ukraine — despite Ukrainian forces, journalists, and refugees fleeing the country describing brutal bombardments striking civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals and more.

“They are not shelling houses. They are not shelling apartments. They are not shelling civil objects,” Peskov said. “They are only shelling and they’re aiming of military infrastructure.”

The US officially declared last week that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has also launched an investigation into the invasion.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered minor skin peeling and sore eyes during Ukraine-Russia talks “a few weeks ago” in Turkey, a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team told CNN, adding the incident was not regarded as serious.  

Reuters on Monday cited an unidentified US official saying intelligence suggests Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators were sickened due to an environmental factor, not poisoning. “The intelligence highly suggests this was environmental,” the official said.

It comes after the Wall Street Journal and investigative group Bellingcat reported on Monday that Ukrainian negotiators and Abramovich suffered from suspected poisoning earlier this month on the sidelines of talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Wall Street Journal and Bellingcat reported the poisoning occurred during the sidelines of talks in Kyiv while a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team told CNN the incident occurred on the sidelines of talks in Turkey.

Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak did not outright deny the incident, saying instead that all Ukraine’s negotiators were working as usual. Podoliak told CNN: “There is a lot of speculation, various conspiracy theories and elements of different information games in the media field now. Therefore, I repeat once again — the members of the negotiation group are working today in a regular mode.”

A spokesperson for Abramovich would only say “No comments from us, thank you”, when contacted by CNN on Monday. 

Abramovich, who was sanctioned earlier this month by the UK government along with other Russian oligarchs following Russia’s invasion, has been acting as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, shuttling between Moscow, Kyiv, Istanbul, Warsaw and beyond amid a whirlwind of talks aimed at ending the conflict, his spokesman confirmed last month. 

Abramovich’s role as interlocutor in Russia-Ukraine talks is not in an official capacity. He is not acting as part of a Russian delegation or as a Russian mediator. 

Ukrainian forces “continue to maintain circular defense” in the besieged city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian general staff said early Tuesday, even as Russian forces consolidated control around the southeastern port city.

On Monday, the mayor of Mariupol said evacuation corridors had come largely under the control of Russian forces, after weeks of bombardment left the city in pieces, killed an unknown number of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands of residents from their homes.

Boichenko called for a complete evacuation of the remaining population of Mariupol, which was home to more than 400,000 people before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“According to our estimates, about 160,000 people are in the besieged city of Mariupol today, where it is impossible to live because there is no water, no electricity, no heat, no connection,” he said. “And it’s really scary.”

It was unclear if there was still active fighting inside the city.

Ukrainian officials have alleged that Russian forces have prevented humanitarian convoys from safely approaching or exiting the city.

Read more:

Local resident Valentina Demura, 70, reacts next to the building where her apartment, destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict, is located in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 27, 2022.

Related article Mariupol mayor says Ukrainian city 'in the hands of the occupiers'

President Joe Biden reiterated on Monday that he was not announcing a change in US policy when he had said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” — a remark that caught American and international officials off-guard, sending the White House into clean-up mode over the weekend.

“I just was expressing my outrage. He shouldn’t remain in power, just like, you know, bad people shouldn’t continue to do bad things,” Biden said in response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at the White House. “But it doesn’t mean we have a fundamental policy to do anything to take Putin down in any way.”

Two days after Biden’s return from Europe, the improvised comment made at the end of an address in Warsaw about Putin — “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power” — has hovered over the White House.

The White House and Biden have repeatedly tried to downplay the remark. The administration and allies say Biden wasn’t calling for regime change to remove Putin from power. Rather, they argue that Biden was saying Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over neighboring nations.

“The last part of the speech was talking to Russian people,” he said. “I was communicating this to, not only the Russian people but the whole world. This is … just stating a simple fact that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. And the way to deal with it is to strengthen and keep NATO completely united and help Ukraine where we can.”

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President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle, Saturday, March 26, in Warsaw.

Related article Biden's improvised comment on Putin during Warsaw speech looms over White House

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of being “frightened” by journalists “who can tell the truth” after the Kremlin attempted to prevent Russians seeing an interview he gave about the war in Ukraine.

Moscow’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor issued a statement Sunday warning Russian news outlets against rebroadcasting or distributing the interview between Zelensky and some of Russia’s most prominent independent journalists.

“Roskomnadzor warns the Russian media not to publish this interview,” the agency said in its statement. “The media outlets conducting the interviews will be subject to scrutiny to determine the extent of responsibility and the appropriate response to be taken.”

The journalists who interviewed Zelensky were Ivan Kolpakov from Meduza, a website based in Latvia, Vladimir Solovyov of Moscow newspaper Kommersant, Tikhon Dzyadko from recently shuttered channel TV Rain and the prominent writer Mikhail Zygar. Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, submitted questions for Zelensky ahead of the interview.

Some of the outlets that participated have been formally labeled as “foreign agents” by the Russian government, Roskomnadzor said in a statement on social media app Telegram. On Monday, Novaya Gazeta announced that it would stop publishing online and in print following a warning from the regulator.

During the interview, Zelensky harshly criticized Moscow but also discussed a potential deal to end the war. Ukraine is ready to accept neutral non-nuclear status, he said.

Zelensky said Sunday that Moscow was “frightened” by the truth.

“[They] destroyed freedom of speech in their state — [and are] trying to destroy the neighboring state. They portray themselves as global players. And they themselves are afraid of a relatively short conversation with several journalists,” he said during a video address.
“Well, if there’s such reaction — then we are doing everything right. [It] means they are nervous,” added Zelensky.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN Monday that Russia was not afraid.

“We have laws in ​place, and it is very important not to publish information that would amount to a violation of these laws,” Peskov added.

Moscow has cracked down on independent media in the weeks after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, and many Russian journalists have left their home country. Access to foreign media such as the BBC has been restricted.

Russian lawmakers have also criminalized the spread of “fake” information that discredits the Russian armed forces or calls for sanctions against the country.