Kyiv suburb liberated as delegation arrives in Turkey for talks

A Ukrainian delegation arrived Tuesday morning in Istanbul, Turkey for peace talks with their Russian counterparts. The delegation, headed by Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Chief of Staff of President Mikhail Podolyak, said that their top priority is to ensure a ceasefire, although there are doubts about the possibility of this.

The face-to-face talks were hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for more than the first two weeks and are scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

Before the Istanbul talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was ready to declare neutrality as requested by Moscow. They are also ready to make concessions on the fate of Donbass, a disputed region in the east of the country.

liberation of Kyiv suburb

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces claimed to have recaptured the outskirts of Kyiv and the eastern city from the Russians on Monday.

The city was “liberated” by Russian forces, the mayor of Irbin, a district northwest of Kyiv that has been the scene of fierce battles near the capital, said. Erbin attracted widespread attention after images surfaced of a mother and her two children killed by a bomb while trying to escape with their bodies lying on the sidewalk with luggage and a pet carrier nearby.

Biden: He didn’t apologize for letting Putin go

US President Joe Biden said he “will not apologize” and “will not back down” after commenting over the weekend that Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power” in Russia. The US president insisted not to ask for regime change in Moscow, adding: “I was expressing the moral indignation I felt toward this man. I had no intention of changing policy.”

On Monday, Biden dismissed the idea that his comments might escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine or that they would contribute to Russian propaganda about Western aggression. “No one thought I was talking about overthrowing Putin. The last thing I want to do is a land war or a nuclear war with Russia,” he said.

In other news, President Zelensky used his daily address Tuesday morning to reveal further conversations with several other leaders – most notably Prime Minister Boris Johnson – about his country’s support and Vladimir Putin’s sanctions against Russia.

I spoke with the leaders of the partner countries. It was a very active diplomatic day.

We have agreed with Great Britain to further strengthen our defense and to strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation. Canada also supports the world’s toughest response to the disaster caused by Russian forces in Ukrainian cities.”

1,000 Russian mercenaries are expected to arrive in eastern Ukraine

At home, British defense intelligence analysts have warned that more than 1,000 Russian mercenaries are likely to be deployed to fight in eastern Ukraine.

In an update on Twitter, the Defense Ministry said Russia “may have had to prioritize” Wagner’s paramilitary personnel over operations in Africa and Syria, “due to heavy casualties and, to a large extent, the pending invasion.”

The Wagner Group, which is seen as Putin’s private army, was one of the latest tranches of sanctions imposed by the British government over the Russian invasion last week.

Elsewhere, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Development Office have described allegations that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was poisoned while trying to negotiate peace in Ukraine as “extremely concerning”.

The statement said the UK “continues to assist” in imposing severe sanctions on the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as in defense and humanitarian support, to put Ukraine in “the strongest negotiating position”.

The chief Russian investigator added to the investigation newspaper Bellingcat that the poisoning of the alleged billionaire was not intended to kill him and Ukrainian representatives.

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