As war rages on, Ukraine forces have "liberated" Kyiv suburb Irpin, its interior minister has said. AFP
Kyiv:
As Russia continues to face stiff resistance from Ukraine a month after it invaded the country, negotiators from the two sides are set to meet in Turkey today for their first face-to-face talks in weeks.
Here are the 10 latest developments on the Ukraine War
- The fresh round of discussions will take place against the backdrop of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that they are considering a Russian demand for Ukrainian neutrality.
- Russia's foreign minister has said direct talks between Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin, something the Ukrainian leader has regularly demanded, would be "counterproductive" for now.
- As the war rages on, Ukraine forces have "liberated" the Kyiv suburb Irpin, the country's interior minister has said. Ukraine soldiers have cleared Russian troops from the village of Mala Rogan on the outskirts of Kharkiv. Russian attacks near Kyiv cut power to more than 80,000 homes, officials say.
- A Ukraine official has said that at least 5,000 people have been buried in the southern city of Mariupol since the invasion began, but the bodies have gone uncollected for the past 10 days amid Russian shelling. The foreign ministry describes the city's humanitarian situation as "catastrophic".
- Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said on Facebook that the invasion has cost her country an estimated $564.9 billion, including immediate damage and expected hits to trade and economic activity.
- Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and Ukraine negotiators were targets of a suspected poison attack at peace talks earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Abramovich and the negotiators reportedly developed symptoms, including red eyes and peeling skin, though they later recovered.
- Ukraine officials decline to confirm the poisoning incident, advising people to follow "only the official information", and warning about "various conspiracy theories."
- US President Joe Biden has unveiled a budget proposal with a 4 per cent increase in defence spending and a $6.9 billion infusion of funding for Ukraine and NATO, with another $1 billion allocated to Washington's efforts to counter Moscow's influence.
- Joe Biden was again forced to defend his remarks that Putin "cannot stay in power", saying the comments were not a policy change but expressed his "moral outrage."
- Russia says it is preparing to restrict entry to the country for nationals of "unfriendly" countries, including Britain, EU members and the United States, in retaliation for Western sanctions on the country.
