LAST UPDATE | 29 Mar 2022
THE MAIN DEVELOPMENTS in the war in Ukraine as they unfolded today.
Good morning, Lauren Boland here. We’ll be bringing you all the latest developments in the war in Ukraine as they happen today as Ukraine and Russian negotiators meet again in Turkey
Here’s a look at what’s happening so far this morning:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Ukrainian and Russian negotiators this morning as the two sides meet for face-to-face talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire.
The president urged them to “put an end to this tragedy”.
“We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace. Prolonging the conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
“As members of the delegations you have taken on a historic responsibility. The whole world is awaiting the good news that will come from you.”
Ahead of the negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country would be prepared to hold a referendum on neutrality and removing an impetus to seek Nato membership from its constitution.
As the talks commence, Ukrainian and Russian forces appear to be in a back-and-forth stalemate.
Ukrainian forces recaptured the Kyiv suburb of Irpin yesterday and have retained control of Mariupol despite fierce Russian attacks on the besiged port city.
Experts say the loss of Irpin is a setback for Russian forces who are still trying to regroup after a failed attempt to encircle Kyiv.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has warned people involved in negotiating with Russia against eating or drinking following suspected poisonings.
Roman Abramovich and at least two Ukrainian negotiators are believed to have suffered symptoms of poisoning following a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month.
A report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), confirmed by investigative journalism group Bellingcat, said Russian oligarch Abramovich and the two Ukrainian officials had suffered red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands.
In a subsequent interview with the Ykpaiha 24 news channel, translated by Sky News, Kuleba said: “I advise anyone going through negotiations with the Russian Federation not to eat or drink anything, and preferably avoid touching any surface.”
A Russian strike has hit a regional government building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, according to the regional governer.
“The regional administration building was hit,” governor Vitaly Kim wrote on Facebook.
He said that most people inside the building “escaped miraculously”.
However, several civilians and soldiers are still unaccounted for.
Mykolaiv is a key port city that has been under heavy assault for weeks.
At least 144 children have died in the war in Ukraine and 220 have been wounded, according to the Office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General.
That excludes children who have died in Mariupol, whose mayor puts the local figure at 210 child deaths, the Kyiv Independent reports
The governer of Mykolaiv said that half the regional government building hit by a Russian strike was destroyed.
“We’re clearing the rubble. Half the building was destroyed. My office was hit,” governer Vitaly Kim said in a video statement.
The governer said that eight civilians are still under the rubble.
“We hope to be able to get them out,” he said.
“We are also looking for three soldiers”.
After closing yesterday in fear of attacks by Russia, humanitarian corridors have reopened in Ukraine today.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed that three humanitarian corridors have been agreed on today, the first of which is from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia using private cars.
A second corridor stretches from the Russian-occupied town of Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia, while a third will start in Energodar, where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant captured by Russian troops is located, and also head to Zaporizhzhia.
France, Greece and Turkey intend to launch a mass evacuation of civilians from Mariupol in the coming days, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking agreement from Putin.
The Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is in Ukraine to meet senior government officials on plans to make sure the country’s nuclear facilities are safe and avoid dangerous incidents.
In a statement, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said:
The military conflict is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger.
We must take urgent action to make sure that they can continue to operate safely and securely and reduce the risk of a nuclear accident that could have a severe health and environmental impact both in Ukraine and beyond
Ukraine has requested our assistance for safety and security. We will now start delivering it.
Ukraine has one of Europe’s largest nuclear power programmes. The IAEA’s presence, where needed to ensure safety and security, is of paramount importance. We are ready to provide the necessary support now.
There have already been several close calls. We can’t afford to lose any more time. This conflict is already causing unimaginable human suffering and destruction.
The IAEA’s expertise and capabilities are needed to prevent it from also leading to a nuclear accident.
The Russian strike on a government building Mykolaiv has killed at least two people.
AFP journalists on the scene saw the bodies of two people pulled from rubble this morning.
The city’s regional governor Vitaly Kim said earlier that while most of the people who were inside building escaped injuries, eight civilians and three Ukrainian soldiers were unaccounted for.
The funeral of an Irish cameraman who died in Ukraine took place in Dublin this morning.
The funeral mass at The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Foxrock this morning remembered Pierre Zakrzewski, a cameraman for Fox News who was capturing the war in Ukraine.
Pierre Zakrzewski, aged 55, was killed alongside Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, on 14 March.
His family asks that donations, if desired, are made to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In Mykolaiv, emergency teams are trying to clear the rubble after the Russian attack on a regional government building that has killed at least two people.
That’s it from me for the moment – here’s Jane Moore to take you through the next few hours.
Hello, Jane here, bringing you the latest on Ukraine.
We’ll start with the news that Russia is expelling ten diplomats from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in a tit-for-tat move after the Baltic countries expelled Russian diplomats over the invasion.
The foreign ministry said it summoned the ambassadors of the three EU and Nato member countries and “strongly protested” the “unjustified” expulsion of Russian diplomats.
“Based on the principle of reciprocity”, Moscow will be expelling four diplomats from the Lithuanian embassy and three each from the Latvian and Estonian embassies, the ministry added.
These countries had expelled Russian diplomats earlier this month.
Decathlon becomes latest brand to suspend operations in Russia
French sporting chain Decathlon has become the latest brand to announce that it is pulling out of Russia.
The chain announced today that it was suspending operations of its stores in the country, days after Ukraine called for a global boycott of the company and other French retailers.
“In strict compliance with international sanctions, Decathlon notes that the supply conditions are no longer met to continue its activity in Russia. Decathlon has to suspend the operation of its stores,” the company said in a statement.
At least 7 dead, 22 injured in Mykolaiv attack
At least seven people were killed and 22 injured in a Russian strike on a regional government building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
“As far as we know now seven people were killed, 22 were wounded, and people are still going through the rubble,” Zelenskyy said in a video address to the Danish parliament.
The UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said that more than 3.9 million Ukrainians have now fled Russia’s invasion of their country, with the Red Cross saying refugees were arriving exhausted and feeling “hopeless”.
UNHCR said 3,901,713 Ukrainians had fled the country – a figure up 38,916 from Monday’s update.
The daily flow of refugees has slowed to around 40,000 in recent days.
Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), added: “We are seeing millions of people arriving at borders, their coping capacities stretched by what they have experienced and witnessed.
“People are understandably tired and stressed, physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.
More photos of the damage done to the regional government headquarters in Mykolaiv following a Russian strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that at least seven people were killed and 22 people were injured in the attack. Emergency teams are continuing to try to clear the rubble.
Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks conclude in Istanbul
Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul have concluded for the day. A joint statement is expected to be issued later today.
Speaking to reporters, Ukrainian negotiators who attended the talks in Turkey said they were calling for an international agreement under which other countries would serve as guarantors of Ukraine’s security.
“We want an international mechanism of security guarantees where guarantor countries will act in a similar way to NATO’s article number five – and even more firmly,” David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian negotiator, said after the meeting ended.
Russia will “radically” reduce its military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv, after “meaningful” talks in Istanbul, Moscow’s negotiators have said.
“Given that the talks on the preparation of an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine have moved into a practical field… a decision has been made to radically, by several times reduce the military activity in the areas of Kyiv and Chernigiv,” Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said.
Chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said there had been a “meaningful discussion” at the talks and that Ukrainian proposals would be put to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy ‘possible’ following peace talks
Ukraine’s top negotiator said enough progress had been made at today’s talks in Turkey to resolve the conflict with Russia to enable a meeting between the presidents of the two countries.
“The results of today’s meeting are sufficient for a meeting at the leaders’ level,” Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said, raising the possibility of a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin that Russia had shot down as recently as Monday as being “counterproductive”.
Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said there had been a “meaningful discussion” at the talks and that Ukrainian proposals would be put to Putin.
He also raised the possibility that Putin could meet Zelenskyy.
“After today’s meaningful discussion we have agreed on and propose a solution, according to which the meeting of the heads of state is possible simultaneously with the foreign ministers initialling the treaty,” Medinsky added.
“On the condition of quick work on the agreement and finding the required compromise, the possibility to make peace will become much closer,” he said.
Biden to discuss Ukraine war in phone call with European leaders
US President Joe Biden will discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine today in a phone call with key western European allies, the White House has said.
Biden convened the call for 9.15 am (1.15pm GMT) with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy “to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” a spokesman said.
Superyacht owned by Russian businessman detained in London
A £38 million (€44 million) superyacht has been detained in London as part of sanctions against Russia, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
UK officials boarded Phi – owned by a Russian businessman – in Canary Wharf, east London, this afternoon.
The vessel is the first to be detained in the UK under sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine.
Phi – named after the mathematical concept – made her maiden voyage last year after being built in the Netherlands.
She is 58.5 metres long, bright blue and features what is described as an “infinite wine cellar” and a freshwater swimming pool.
Shapps told the PA news agency the ship was in London for a “refit” but “won’t be going anywhere”.
It’s just another indication that we will not stand by whilst Putin’s cronies are allowed to sail around the world in these kinds of yachts and people in Ukraine are suffering.
When you see what he’s doing to Ukraine, when you see what he’s doing to people’s lives, it can’t be right to have a yacht like this here in London, able to just sail away, and that is why we’ve impounded it and denied its ability to go anywhere right now.
The UK Department for Transport said it worked with the National Crime Agency and the Border Force Maritime Investigation Bureau to identify and detain Phi.
It refused to reveal the name of her owner, stating that he is “a Russian businessman”. The department described Phi’s ownership as “deliberately well hidden”.
She is registered to a company based in the Caribbean dual-island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and carries a Maltese flag.
The DfT said it is “looking at a number of other vessels” and hopes its “strong stance sends an example to international partners”.
That’s it from me for now – my colleague Garreth MacNamee will take you through the latest developments for the next while.
Looks like it’s a bit of positive news coming out of Turkey today.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul marked the “most significant progress” since Russia’s invasion.
Speaking after three hours of talks between delegations from both Moscow and Kyiv, Cavusoglu said the discussions represented “the most significant progress since negotiations began”. Talks would not resume on Wednesday, he added.
Johnson & Johnson has become the latest large company to suspended many of its operations in Russia as a result of the war.
J&J said it is stopping the supply of its personal-care products in Russia due to the “increasing scale of the humanitarian crisis”.
This means it will stop supplying products such as Aveeno skin lotion and Listerine mouthwash.
However, the firm will still supply pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The Dutch government is also making moves against Russia.
Its government announced this afternoon that it is to expel 17 Russian nationals for alleged espionage.
“Today, the ambassador of Russia was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and informed of the expulsion, the Hague-based ministry said in a statement.
“The reason is that there is information… showing that the persons concerned, accredited as diplomats, are secretly active as intelligence officers,” it said.
Some breaking news this afternoon.
Four senior Russian officials have been asked to leave the State. The ambassador, Yuri Filatov, is staying as of now.
The statement reads: ”
This afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian Ambassador to Iveagh House to advise him that four senior officials have been asked to leave the State. This is because their activities have not been in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour. This action is being taken under Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Government continues to believe that diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open. This is in the interests of our citizens as well as to ensure that we can continue to have a diplomatic channel of communication between Ireland and the Russian Federation in the future. This channel of communication has been important in the context of conveying our strong views on the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, which we regard as a serious breach of international law.
Another EU nation has announced it is expelling diplomats.
The Belgian government said it is sending 21 Russian officials out of their country.
Our full story on Ireland expelling officials is here.
The move comes as a number of other EU nations have also today expelled Russian diplomats due to alleged espionage.
Blinken: US still doubts Russia’s ‘seriousness’ in Ukraine talks
The United States still doubts that Russia is serious in talks with Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, after reports of progress at a meeting in Turkey.
“I’ve not seen anything to suggest that this is moving forward in an effective way because we have not seen signs of real seriousness” from Russia, Blinken said at a press conference in Morocco.
“There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does. We’re focussed on the latter,” he said.
What Russia is doing is the continued brutalisation of Ukraine and its people, and that continues as we speak.
Blinken was addressing journalists alongside Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita during a regional tour.
His comments came hours after Russia said it would scale down fighting around two Ukrainian cities – including the capital Kyiv – following “meaningful” talks with Ukraine today in Istanbul.
Blinken said that “as a result of this aggression committed by Russia… fully half of the children of Ukraine have been displaced from their homes.”
He called on Russia to “end the aggression now, stop firing, pull its forces back and, of course, engage in talks.”
He said Ukrainians were engaging in the negotiations “with a gun literally to their heads”.
Downing Street has said that agreeing on a ceasefire would not be enough for the UK to withdraw sanctions on Russia.
The British Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Boris Johnson told his Cabinet that “a ceasefire alone would not be cause for UK sanctions to be removed in Russia”.
“He said the pressure on Putin must be increased both through further economic measures and providing military aid to ensure Russia changes course completely,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman suggested a full withdrawal would be a good start but a ceasefire was only the first step towards that.
“But it cannot be a ceasefire alone,” he said. “That would not be the significant step we’d need to remove the pressure.”
He said: “I think as ever, we will judge Putin by his actions.”
The spokesperson also said that the Government’s view on sanctioning Roman Abramovich has not changed in light of his involvement in peace talks in Turkey today.
“Our positions as regards to sanctioning him has not changed,” the spokesperson said.
“It is the Ukrainian government that is leading the diplomatic work there and we are supporting them in that.”
The spokesman said he did not have any information on why Abramovich was involved in the peace talks.
“It’s, that’s not something that we’ve facilitated or played any part in,” he said.
“Because it is the Ukrainian government who have representatives working on the negotiations, I can’t speak to what role he may or may not be playing beyond that.”
On reports the oligarch had been poisoned, the spokesman added: “Obviously, these allegations are obviously very concerning. We’re working with international partners to establish more information.”
The Russian Embassy in Ireland criticised the “groundless decision” to expel four Russian officials from the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the four senior officials have been asked to leave the State because their activities have not been “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour”.
In a statement, the Embassy said the move will “only deteriorate further Russian-Irish relations, already damaged by the Irish participation in illegitimate EU sanctions against Russia”.
“The Embassy proceeds from the assumption that such a step by the Irish side will not go unanswered,” the statement ends.
#Statement by the Embassy of Russia pic.twitter.com/sEdQizOGVx
— Russia in Ireland (@Rus_Emb_Ireland) March 29, 2022
A Nato summit will take place in Brussels on 6-7 April.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister has been invited to attend, alongside his counterparts from Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Sweden.
⚡️NATO says Ukraine invited to its summit scheduled for April 6-7.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 29, 2022
The summit will be held in Brussels. Other non-member states invited are Georgia, Finland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Hello. Hayley Halpin here taking over from my colleague Jane Moore for the rest of the evening.
Romania’s health minister has said the country would distribute potassium iodine tablets free of charge to prepare in case of a nuclear emergency amid Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
European countries have seen stocks of iodine fly off the shelves due to fears it may be needed to counter the risks of thyroid cancer if Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causes a nuclear incident.
Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said the government would start distributing the tablets from next week through family doctors though he warned they should not be taken preventively.
“They should be taken if there is a nuclear incident in the vicinity. Otherwise, they should not be taken,” he told reporters.
The ministry will also launch an information campaign to guide the population on how to obtain the pills, how to store them and how to administer them.
Rafila said a nuclear incident was “not probable” but “possible”.
“We cannot absolutely rule it out … We have to prepare for such a situation,” he said, adding the pills had a shelf-life of three years.
Several doctors have warned of the dangers of taking iodine without proper precautions, pointing at the serious side effects.
International health authorities say the tablets must be taken at precise times just before or after exposure with an incident occurring within a distance of some 20 kilometres.
They are recommended in particular for pregnant women, babies, children and young people.
A total of 14,611 Ukrainian refugees have now arrived in Ireland as of last night.
14,611 Ukrainian refugees have now arrived in Ireland as of last night.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) March 29, 2022
Two thirds are female and one third are children. Around 600 are arriving each day.
30,000 refugees are expected here by the end of April.
11,613 PPS nos. have been issued, 2,909 child benefit claims
Taoiseach Micheál Martin gave a comprehensive update to Cabinet today on Ireland’s humanitarian response to the Ukraine situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that Ukrainian “nationalists” in the embattled city of Mariupol must lay down their arms as he discussed the conflict with French leader Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin said.
“It was stressed that in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation in this city (Mariupol), Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resisting and lay down their arms,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The conditions for carrying out a humanitarian operation sought by France to help citizens in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol are not met “at this stage,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
The comments came after the French leader spoke by telephone with Putin.
Macron outlined the mission sought alongside Turkey and Greece to Putin, who responded that “he was going to think about it” before responding, an Elysee Palace official said.
Russian forces have struck a military airfield in a west Ukraine town destroying fuel supplies, its mayor said.
“We have been showered with missiles since the first day of the war, but today the attack was very serious and caused significant damage,” Starokostyantyniv Mayor Mykola Melnychuk wrote on Facebook, noting there were no casualties.
He added the bombardments had destroyed fuel and lubricant stocks in the city of around 35,000 between the capital Kyiv and Lviv.
US President Joe Biden and key western European allies agreed today in a phone call to keep punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.
“The leaders affirmed their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its brutal attacks in Ukraine, as well as to continue supplying Ukraine with security assistance to defend itself,” a statement said after Biden spoke with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
That’s all from us on the liveblog today. Thanks for sticking with us throughout the day.
Contains additional reporting by AFP and Press Association
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