Avoid eating or drinking anything during peace talks, negotiators with Russia have been warned after the suspected poisoning of Roman Abramovich.
The Chelsea FC owner and at least two senior Ukrainian negotiators reportedly suffered peeling skin and temporary blindness following a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month.
Now Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has warned: “I advise anyone going for negotiations with Russia not to eat or drink any thing, (and) preferably avoid touching surfaces.”
The UK’s Foreign Office described the suspected poisoning of the Russian oligarch as “very concerning”.
It comes as Russian and Ukrainian delegations are on Tuesday resuming face-to-face peace talks for the first time in more than a fortnight, hosted in Istanbul, Turkey.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:52 AM
What is the latest with fighting around Kyiv?
Ukrainian forces have succeeded in retaking control of the town of Irpin, the local mayor has confirmed.
Oleksandr Markushyn said the satellite town of 60,000 on Kyiv’s north-west fringe was back in Ukraine’s full control. It had been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.
In a video post on Telegram on Monday, he said: “Today Irpin is liberated. Now the sweep is under way.”
However, he cautioned that the citizens of Irpin “understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously”.
06:49 AM
Actor Sean Penn seeks peace in Ukraine
The actor Sean Penn says he has joined the humanitarian effort in Ukraine by working with charity workers in Lviv, the Ukrainian city closest to the Polish border.
He tweeted a picture on Monday alongside Maksym Kozytskyy, the governor of the Lviv regional state administration.
I was in Lviv, Ukraine today with CORE team, strategizing with local governance & NGO’s to scale up our in-country programs. Good meeting with Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy. To learn more go to https://t.co/snKeUz99Fm or text “CORE” to 24365 to donate. pic.twitter.com/ASHavYHlvy
— Sean Penn (@SeanPenn) March 28, 2022
06:38 AM
Watch: Joe Biden says he ‘makes no apologies’ for calling for removal of Putin
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06:30 AM
Here are some developments from overnight
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Ukraine’s prosecutor general said at least 144 children have died in the war so far, most in Kyiv. The tally did not give a number for the besieged eastern city of Mariupol.
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Bloomberg News said it has suspended its operations in Russia and Belarus. Customers in both countries won’t be able to access any Bloomberg financial products and trading functions for Russian securities were disabled in line with international sanctions, it said. Bloomberg Philanthropies pledged $40 million, meanwhile, in support for Ukrainians and refugees.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched an effort to achieve a humanitarian cease-fire that would allow aid to be brought in and people to move around safely.
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G7 major economies rejected a Kremlin demand that some countries pay in rubles for Russia’s natural gas. That demand appeared designed to support the Russian currency, which is under pressure from Western sanctions.
06:27 AM
New round of talks aims to stop the fighting in Ukraine
Another round of talks aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine was scheduled for Tuesday as the fighting appeared to hit a stalemate on the ground, with the two sides trading control of a town in the east and a suburb of the capital.
Ukrainian forces retook Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, from Russian troops, who were regrouping to take the area back, president Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday as he sought to rally the country.
“We still have to fight, we have to endure,” Mr Zelensky said in his nighttime video address to the nation. “We can’t express our emotions now. We can’t raise expectations, simply so that we don’t burn out.”
Ahead of the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian president said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, in comments that might lend momentum to negotiations.
06:20 AM
‘Poisoning’ reveals Roman Abramovich’s secret role as Russia and Ukraine’s go-between
Sightings of Roman Abramovich have become increasingly rare but, when he was caught on camera at an airport in Israel earlier this month, the change in his appearance was striking.
His hair had turned snowy white, his eyes looked puffy and pink, and the skin on his hands was blotched and scaly.
As we now know, the owner of Chelsea FC believes he had been the victim of a poison attack 11 days earlier, which left him temporarily blind and led to fears for his life and those of two other people.
The three had suffered from peeling skin on their faces and hands, red eyes and constant and painful tearing, sources said, in what was possibly a nerve agent attack.
Mr Abramovich, whose mother is Ukrainian, has been acting as a go-between in peace talks to end the war. His allies suggested he was targeted by hardliners in Moscow intent on sabotaging negotiations to end the war.
05:42 AM
MoD update: ‘Russia still poses a significant threat’
Ukraine has conducted counter attacks northwest of Kyiv, across the cities of Irpen, Bucha and Hostomel, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday morning.
“These attacks have had some success and the Russians have been pushed back from a number of positions,” the statement read on Twitter.
“However, Russia still poses a significant threat to the city through their strike capability.”
05:35 AM
Ukraine wakes to air raid sirens ahead of peace talks
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine before dawn on Tuesday as negotiators prepare to meet in Turkey for the first round of peace talks in two weeks.
The face-to-face talks in Istanbul come as Amnesty International on Monday night accused the Kremlin of committing war crimes in Mariupol, where Ukrainian officials estimate 5,000 people have been killed in the brutal Russian siege.
“The minimum programme will be humanitarian questions, and the maximum programme is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on national television, which showed the delegation arriving in Istanbul on Monday night.
“We are not trading people, land or sovereignty.”
A senior US official told Reuters on Monday that Vladimir Putin does not appear ready to make compromises to end the war.
Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said on Monday that Ukraine must not be sold out in peace talks.
05:03 AM
In pictures: How the war is affecting Ukraine
04:52 AM
US says companies are self-sanctioning
The United States has not seen any indications of non-compliance in Asia with export controls on Russia – and companies are even self-sanctioning, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
Major players know there is a significant risk to their business if they don’t comply because of actions the US could take, including fines or criminal penalties, said Matthew Borman, the US Commerce Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
“We know that Russia is quite dependent upon foreign supplies for some key inputs like semiconductors so I think it will be relatively readily apparent if there is non-compliance and the task will be to trace that back to its origin,” he said.
In Asia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have joined in the Western-led sanctions effort.
03:21 AM
UN chief calls for Ukraine humanitarian cease-fire
The United Nations chief has launched an initiative to immediately explore the possibility of a “humanitarian cease-fire” in Ukraine.
The ceasefire would allow for desperately-needed aid to be delivered and pave the way for political negotiations to put an end to Russia’s invasion.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday advised he asked Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the head of the UN’s worldwide humanitarian operations, to explore the possibility of a cease-fire.
It is understood Mr Griffiths has already made some contacts.
The UN General Assembly has previously called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ukraine twice – on March 2 and on March 24.
03:06 AM
Japan to ban export of luxury goods to Russia
Japan will ban the export of luxury goods to Russia in its latest response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ban is effective April 5, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Prohibited items include luxury cars, motorcycles, liquors, cosmetics, fashion items and art pieces.
01:50 AM
Zelensky urges urgent sanctions
Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western nations to toughen sanctions quickly against Russia, including an oil embargo, to stop Moscow having a free hand to escalate its measures against his country.
In his nightly video address to Ukrainians, a clearly irritated Mr Zelensky said the West had miscalculated last year in delaying sanctions and the invasion had followed.
“A full-scale war has begun. Now there are many hints and warnings that supposedly tougher sanctions, such as an embargo on Russian oil supplies to Europe, will be put in place if Russia uses chemical weapons,” Ukraine’s president said, occasionally banging his hands on a table.
“There are simply no words… We, people who are alive, have to wait. Doesn’t everything the Russia military has done to date warrant an oil embargo? Don’t phosphorous bombs warrant it? A shelled chemical production facility or a shelled nuclear power plant doesn’t warrant it?”
01:48 AM
Today’s top stories
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Joe Biden said he made “no apologies” for calling for Vladimir Putin’s removal, but claimed he was expressing his “personal feelings” not a new US policy as he defended his off-the-cuff remark
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Roman Abramovich was the suspected victim of poisoning while trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month, it was claimed on Monday night
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Ukraine has released a list of what it claims are the identities of more than 600 Russian spies, including one who appears to fancy himself as James Bond, in a bid to embarrass Moscow
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Russian fighter pilots are unable to handle the high-risk tactics of their Ukrainian counterparts, according to the Kyiv pilots battling them in the skies
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Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said on Monday that Ukraine must not be sold out in peace talks with Russia, which were restarting in Turkey this week, as Mr Zelensky criticised France and Germany for being too soft on Putin
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Mr Zelensky accused Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, of “mistakes” in his dealings with Moscow and said Emmanuel Macron, the French president, had refused to send him tanks because he was “afraid of Russia”
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Ukrainian forces succeeded in retaking control of the town of Irpin, the local mayor announced on Monday
