Good morning. Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to compromise as ceasefire talks begin. The Australian government will release its pre-election budget today. And heavy rains in NSW and Queensland have forced residents in recently flooded areas to evacuate again.
Ukraine’s neutrality and the status of contested areas in the east could be on the table in ceasefire talks due to start on Tuesday, but with Russia’s invasion largely stalled, Kyiv will make no concessions on territorial integrity, officials have said. As negotiators arrived in Istanbul for their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, both sides played down the chances of a major breakthrough and a senior US official said Putin did not appear ready to compromise. Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russian authorities of disrespect towards the families of their own dead soldiers, criticising Moscow for not agreeing on a scheme to have the remains of those killed in action returned to Russia. Meanwhile, billionaire Roman Abramovich and a Ukrainian peace negotiator suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning earlier this month, according to a source with direct knowledge of the incident.
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