A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Istanbul, Turkey for peace talks with their Russian counterparts on Tuesday morning. The delegation, led by defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, as well as the head of the president's office, Mikhail Podolyak, said their top priority was to secure a ceasefire, although there is scepticism about whether this is likely.
The face-to-face talks, the first in more than two weeks will be hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and are scheduled to begin at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
Ahead of the Istanbul talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded. They are also open to compromise on the fate of the Donbas, the contested region in the country’s east.
Kyiv suburb 'liberated'
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces claimed they had retaken a Kyiv suburb and an eastern town from the Russians on Monday.
The mayor of Irpin, a north-western Kyiv region that has been the site of some of the heaviest fighting near the capital, said the city has been “liberated” from Russian troops. Irpin gained wide attention after photos circulated of a mother and her two children who were killed by shelling as they tried to flee, their bodies lying on the pavement with luggage and a pet carrier nearby.
Biden: No apology for saying Putin must go
American President Joe Biden said he would make “no apologies” and was not “walking anything back” following comments he made at the weekend that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” in Russia. The US president insisted he was not calling for regime change in Moscow, adding: “I was expressing the moral outrage that I felt toward this man. I wasn’t articulating a policy change.”
On Monday Mr Biden rejected the idea that his comment could escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine or that it would feed Russian propaganda about western aggression. “Nobody believes… I was talking about taking down Putin,” he said, adding: “The last thing I want to do is engage in a land war or a nuclear war with Russia.”
In other news, President Zelensky used his daily address on Tuesday morning to reveal further talks had been held with several other leaders - most notably Prime Minister Boris Johnson - regarding support for his nation and sanctions against Vladimir Putin's Russia.
"I spoke with the leaders of the partner countries. It was a very active diplomatic day," he said.
"We agreed with Britain to further support our defence and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation. Canada also supports a tougher response from the world to the catastrophe created by Russian troops in Ukrainian cities."
1,000 Russian mercenaries expected in eastern Ukraine
Back home, British defence intelligence analysts warned that more than 1,000 Russian mercenaries are expected to deploy to eastern Ukraine to undertake combat operations.
In an intelligence update on Twitter, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia had “highly likely been forced to reprioritise” personnel from the paramilitary Wagner Group, at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria, “due to heavy losses and a largely stalled invasion”.
The Wagner Group, seen as Mr Putin’s private army, was among the latest tranche of entities sanctioned by the UK Government over the Russian invasion last week.
Elsewhere, claims that Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich suffered suspected poisoning during attempts to aid peace talks in Ukraine were described as “very concerning” by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
In a statement it said the UK will “continue to assist” by implementing tough sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime as well as by providing defensive and humanitarian support to put Ukraine “in the strongest possible negotiating position”.
The suspected poisoning of the billionaire was not intended to kill him and the two Ukrainian representatives, the lead Russia investigator with investigative news outlet Bellingcat added.
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