– Irpin recaptured –
Ukrainian forces have “liberated” the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the country’s interior minister says in televised remarks.
But fighting appeared to be continuing around the area, with AFP journalists hearing around 20 shell explosions in quick succession by the road leading into Irpin.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian soldiers finish clearing Russian troops from the village of Mala Rogan on the outskirts of second-largest city Kharkiv.
– Russian strike on March 29 am hits regional administrative building in Mykolaiv, the city’s maoor reported –
– New peace talks open in Turkey-
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Russian and Ukrainian delegations to “put an end to this tragedy” as he hosted talks in Istanbul on Tuesday.
The face-to-face talks at the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul are aimed at trying to end a war has killed an estimated 20,000 people and forced more than 10 million from their homes.
It is the first time that the two countries’ delegations, who arrived in Turkey on Monday, met after several rounds of talks by videoconference.
“The two parties have legitimate concerns, it’s possible to reach a solution acceptable to the international community,” Erdogan said.
“It’s up to the two parties to put an end to this tragedy,” he insisted, adding that the “extension of the conflict is in no one’s interest”.
– Wagner group in Ukraine: UK –
Britain’s defence ministry says Russia’s Wagner Group has deployed its mercenaries to eastern Ukraine, adding that more than 1,000 fighters were expected to participate in the war after Russian setbacks.
Reputed to be close to President Vladimir Putin, the Wagner Group and its mercenaries are suspected of abuses in Mali, Libya and Syria.
“Due to heavy losses and a largely stalled invasion, Russia has highly likely been forced to reprioritise Wagner personnel for Ukraine at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria,” the UK defence ministry said.
– UN seeking humanitarian ceasefire –
The United Nations is seeking a humanitarian ceasefire, chief Antonio Guterres says, announcing he has tasked UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths to “explore… possible agreements” with both sides on trips to Moscow and Kyiv.
– US budget includes Ukraine aid-
US President Joe Biden unveils a budget proposal with a four-percent 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.
Biden meanwhile is 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.”
