Live updates: Ukraine leader Zelenskyy skeptical of Russians scaling back

The latest updates on Russia's invasion of Ukraine:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed skepticism Tuesday night about Russia’s announcement that it would significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city.

“Yes, we can call those signals that we hear at the negotiations positive. But those signals don’t silence the explosions of Russian shells,” Zelenskyy said. “Of course we see the risks. Of course we don’t see any basis for trusting the words voiced by those or other representatives of the state that is continuing to fight for our destruction.”

Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

“Ukrainians are not naïve people,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukrainians have already learned during the 34 days of the invasion and during the past eight years of war in the Donbas that you can trust only concrete results.”

Ukraine’s delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, has laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

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Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the “demilitarization of Russia is well under way.”

Since the beginning of the invasion into Ukraine, Kyslytsya said the Russian occupiers have lost more than 17,000 military personnel, over 1,700 armored vehicles and almost 600 tanks.

He also said Russia also has lost 300 artillery systems, 127 planes and 129 helicopters, almost 100 rocket launchers systems, 54 air defence systems and seven ships.

Kyslytsya said that is “an unprecedented blow to Moscow, where the numbers of Soviet losses in Afghanistan pale in comparison.”

Earlier Tuesday, Russia announced it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks.

Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

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Ukrainian military officials said they distrust Russia's announced withdrawal from around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia announced it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine's capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks.

"There are indications that the Russian forces are regrouping to focus their efforts on eastern Ukraine," the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement late Tuesday. "At the same time, the so-called `withdrawal of troops' is most likely a rotation of individual units and is aimed at misleading the Ukrainian military leadership" by creating the misconception that the Russians have decided not to try to encircle Kyiv.

Ukraine's delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

Negotiations were expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

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The UN food chief is warning that the war in Ukraine has created "a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe" and will have a global impact "beyond anything we've seen since World War II" because farmers from the country which was the breadbasket of the world are on the front lines fighting Russia and already high food prices are skyrocketing.

David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that his agency, which was feeding 125 million people before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, was already beginning to cut rations because of rising food, fuel and shipping costs for millions of families around the world. In war-torn Yemen, he said, 8 million people just had their food allotment cut to 50% "and now we're looking at going to zero rations."

The war in Ukraine is decimating the country, "turning the breadbasket of the world to breadlines" for millions of its people, Beasley said. But it is also devastating countries around the world like Egypt which is 85% dependent on Ukraine grain and Lebanon which was 81% dependent in 2020.

Ukraine and Russia produce 30% of the global wheat supply, 20% of the global maize supply and 75-80% of the sunflower seed oil.

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Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations about the naval mines that have been set adrift in the Black Sea, threatening shipping.

The Russian military has alleged that the Ukrainian military has used old naval mines to protect the coast against a Russian landing and some of them have been ripped off their anchors by a storm and left adrift.

Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev reaffirmed Tuesday that "the threat of Ukrainian mines drifting along the coastline of Black Sea states remains."

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded in a statement Tuesday, accusing Russia of using Ukrainian mines it seized after the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and setting them adrift to "discredit Ukraine before international partners."

The Turkish Defence Ministry said Saturday that a naval mine was spotted near the Bosporus and neutralized. It said the mine was of an old type but didn't say to whom it belonged.

The conflicting claims by Russia and Ukraine couldn't be independently verified.

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he wasn't yet convinced that Russia's announcement that it would scale back military operations near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv will lead to a fundamental shift in the war.

During an appearance with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong following bilateral talks at the White House, Biden said he was waiting to see what Russia offers in ongoing talks with Ukraine and how Moscow readjusts its troop presence.

U.S. and Western officials have expressed skepticism about Russia's announcement earlier on Tuesday that it would dial back operations in an effort to increase trust in ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.

"We'll see," Biden said. "I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are."

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield later expressed an even greater skepticism, saying the administration views any movement of Russian forces as a "redeployment and not a withdrawal" and "no one should be fooled by Russia's announcement."

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Russia announced Tuesday it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine's capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks.

Ukraine's delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

Moscow's public reaction was positive, and the negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

The apparent goodwill gesture comes as Russia's troops have become bogged down and struggled to make major advances on the ground recently in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance. Ukraine's military said it had noted withdrawals around Kyiv and Chernihiv, though the Pentagon said it could not corroborate Russia's claim.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the talks with Russian negotiators have given some positive signals but warned Russia can't be trusted.

Russia announced after Tuesday's talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegation in Istanbul, Turkey that it will significantly reduce military operations near Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.

The U.S. and others earlier expressed skepticism in Russia's announcement.

In a video address Tuesday night, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops' "courageous and effective actions" forced Russia to scale down its action around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

He said Ukraine will continue the negotiation process "to the extent depending on us" but emphasized mistrust in "the words coming from representatives of the country that continue fighting to destroy us."

Zelenskyy said Ukraine's negotiators won't compromise "on sovereignty and territorial integrity."

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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon says it has detected "small numbers" of Russian ground forces moving away from the Kyiv area.

Spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the movement appears to be a repositioning of forces, "not a real withdrawal." He said it was too soon to say how extensive the Russian movements may be or where the troops will be repositioned.

"It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over," he said. "They can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv."

He said Russian airstrikes against Kyiv are continuing.

Asked whether the Pentagon assesses that Russian military campaign in Ukraine has failed, Kirby said the Russian forces have failed in their initial objective of conquering Kyiv but remain a threat to the country, including the eastern Donbas region where Russian forces now appear to be focusing more fully.

 

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WASHINGTON -- Members of the Ukrainian parliament visiting the U.S. Congress are urging their American allies to send more military supplies -- air support, tanks and other equipment - to push the Russians out of their country.

As the Ukrainian legislators spoke Tuesday at a Capitol Hill press conference, one of their cell phones blared with the sound of an air raid siren going off in the country back home.

The Ukrainians spoke at a roundtable with members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, a longstanding group from the U.S. House focused Ukrainian issues.

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MILAN -- Italian Premier Mario Draghi has met with Italy's president after a key coalition partner put in question support for Italy's commitment to raise its military spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A government official confirmed the meeting Tuesday evening, after Draghi met privately with the head of the 5-Star Movement, former Premier Giuseppe Conte. Conte reportedly has balked at Italy's intention to raise military spending to 2% of GDP in line with other NATO members.

Draghi's message to Conte was that it would be difficult to sustain the coalition agreement backing the current government if the 5-Star movement puts international commitments into question, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

The official noted that while Conte was premier Italy increased its military spending 17%, from 21 billion euros to 24.6 billion euros.

Conte told reporters Monday that he did not want to put the government at risk but added `'we are the largest party and we have a right to be heard."

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WARSAW -- Poland's government has decided to block imports of coal from Russia, part of an overarching strategy to reduce energy dependence that gained new urgency after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Poland will impose financial penalties on any private entities importing Russian coal into Poland, with Polish customs officials carrying out checks, government spokesman Piotr Mueller said as he announced the new policy on Tuesday.

He added that Poland could no longer wait for the whole 27-nation European Union to embrace the policy.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU, the United States and some other powers imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia. But Europe has historically been dependent on Russian energy sources.

And while Poland produces much of its own coal, it also relies on imports. Russian coal makes up 13% of the fuel used each year, according to Piotr Lewandowski, the president of the Institute for Structural Research in Warsaw.

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HORDYNIA, Ukraine -- A second front line in Russia's war runs through the farmland in western Ukraine, far from the daily resistance against the invasion. It is an uphill battle for farmers to feed not only their country but the world.

Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, leaving millions across North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia facing the potential loss of access to the affordable supplies they need for bread and noodles.

The war has raised the specter of food shortages and political instability in countries reliant on Ukrainian wheat, including Indonesia, Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon.

It is unclear how many farmers in Ukraine will be able to plant or tend to their harvests with the war raging, forcing many to the front lines. Damage to infrastructure also makes it difficult to get critical supplies and export products.

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LONDON -- Britain's government has seized a superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire with ties to Vladimir Putin -- the first vessel to be detained in the U.K. under sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine.

U.K. officials, including Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, boarded the vessel at Canary Wharf in east London on Tuesday. The name of the vessel's owner was not made public.

The 58.5-metre (192-foot) yacht is bright blue and features an "infinite wine cellar" and freshwater swimming pool, according to the National Crime Agency. It is valued at 38 million pounds (US$50 million).

The Phi, named after a mathematical concept, was in London for a "refit" but "won't be going anywhere," Shapps said.

The yacht is registered in St. Kitts and Nevis but carried Maltese flags to hide its origins, the crime agency said.

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LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's authorities have updated the death toll from the Russian strike on the regional government's building in Mykolaiv to 12.

Mykola Ponasenko, a spokesman for the state emergencies service, said 12 bodies have been recovered from the debris of the nine-story regional administration headquarters in Mykolaiv, a key Black Sea port and shipbuilding centre.

He said the search for more bodies was continuing. The authorities previously reported that seven people were killed by a Russian strike on the building on Tuesday.

At least 22 people have been wounded.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden says he's waiting to see how Russia adjusts its troop presence in Ukraine before assessing the intent behind them.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden was asked whether the withdrawal was a sign that negotiations to rein in the month-long invasion might be showing progress, or an indication that Russia was merely trying to buy time to continue its assault on Ukraine.

"We'll see," he said. "I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are."

As for the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Biden said the consensus of Western allies is to "see what they have to offer."

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LONDON -- Western officials say Russia is building up troops in eastern Ukraine, but it's too soon to say whether Moscow's claim to be scaling back operations around Kyiv is true.

Officials familiar with the intelligence picture said Tuesday that Moscow is reinforcing troops in the Donbas in an attempt to encircle Ukraine's best-trained and best-equipped forces, which are concentrated in the eastern region. Moscow has said gaining control of the Donbas is now its main military goal in Ukraine.

A Western official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence said it's clear that Russia's "tactics and strategies are changing" but it's not yet clear what that prefigures.

The British government also expressed skepticism about Russia's claims to be scaling back and its commitment to ending the war through talks.

"We will judge Putin and his regime by his actions, not by his words," said Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

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WASHINGTON -- The White House is rejecting as "false" and "disinformation" assertions by Russia that the U.S. government is launching cyber operations against Moscow that include the theft of personal data and the spreading of false information about the Russian military.

The Russian Foreign Ministry made the assertions in a statement Tuesday. It alleged that the U.S. and other NATO members had trained Ukrainian hackers and blamed what it said was an effort by Ukraine to recruit international hackers.

Emily Horne, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, responded by calling the claims "false" and said the U.S. government has "not engaged in the activity described by Russia." She says "Moscow's statements to the contrary amount to disinformation."

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. will likely need to add more permanent or rotational forces in Europe in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. European Command leader told Congress Tuesday, without detailing when or how many.

Gen. Tod Wolters, who also serves as NATO's supreme allied commander, said decisions will be based on what European nations do, particularly in response to the need to build four additional NATO battlegroups, which are being set up in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The groups are an effort to protect and reassure nations on Europe's eastern flank.

"My suspicion is we're going to still need more," Wolters told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Questioned about early U.S. intelligence that suggested Russia would overwhelm Ukraine quickly, Wolters said that there may have been an "intel gap." He said broader reviews of the U.S. response to the war will consider that element.

On Russia's use of hypersonic weapons in Ukraine, Wolters said there have been "multiple" launches that appeared to be an attempt by Putin to demonstrate his military's capabilities..

"I don't think they were successful," he said.

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MOSCOW -- The Kremlin-backed leader of the Russian province of Chechnya has called for storming the Ukrainian capital.

Ramzan Kadyrov's statement came Tuesday as the Russian military announced after a round of talks with Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul, Turkey that it would scale back its combat operations near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.

Speaking to about 10,000 troops in Chechnya's regional capital of Grozny, Kadyrov said that "we need to complete what we have started and shouldn't stop." He said if Moscow had allowed his fighters to press the offensive, "I'm more than confident that we would have entered Kyiv and established order there."

Kadyrov has posted numerous videos on a messaging app allegedly featuring himself and Chechen fighters on the outskirts of Kyiv and in the besieged Sea of Azov port of Mariupol. Those videos couldn't be independently verified.

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ISTANBUL, Turkey -- The head of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine says that Moscow sees the latest meeting as a step toward compromise.

Vladimir Medinskiy said on Russian RT television that Russia sees Ukrainian proposals made Tuesday during the talks in Istanbul as a "step to meet us halfway, a clearly positive fact."

He added that the two parties have a long way to go to reach an agreement.

Medinsky said that Russia made "two big steps toward peace" during the talks, first by agreeing to reduce military activities around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. He said Russia agreed to a prospective meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once a prospective peace treaty is ready for signing.

The Ukrainian delegation earlier Tuesday said it had laid out a possible framework for a future peace deal based on legally binding security guarantees that would provide for other countries to intervene if Ukraine is attacked.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, at least four European allies expelled a total of dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday.

The expulsions come against a backdrop of relations between Russia and the West that have been plunged into a deep freeze following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The Netherlands said it was expelling 17 Russians who it described as intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats. Belgium said it was ejecting 21 Russians. The Czech Republic gave one Russian diplomat 72 hours to leave the country. Ireland told four senior Russian officials to leave the country because of activities deemed not "in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour."

Poland last week expelled 45 Russians whom the government identified as intelligence officers using their diplomatic status as cover to operate in the country.

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BRUSSELS -- Belgium has decided to expel 21 Russian diplomats for activities related to espionage or unlawful influence peddling.

The diplomats were given two weeks to leave the country, foreign affairs spokeswoman Elke Pattyn told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The Dutch government says it is expelling 17 Russian intelligence officers, calling their presence a "threat to national security."

The foreign ministry said that the Russian ambassador was summoned Tuesday and told the officers, who were accredited as diplomats, are to be removed from the country.

The ministry says it took the decision on national security grounds.

It says that the "intelligence threat against the Netherlands remains high. The current attitude of Russia in a broader sense makes the presence of these intelligence officers undesirable."

The government said it took the decision in consultation with "a number of like-minded countries," citing similar expulsions by the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro.

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ISTANBUL -- Turkey's foreign minister says Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have reached "a consensus and common understanding" on some issues.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said the two sides made "the most meaningful progress" since the start of the negotiations at a meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday. He said the meeting would be followed by a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers.

Cavusoglu said a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders was also "on the agenda," he said. He didn't give a timeframe.

He said that difficult issues "will be taken up at a higher level."

Cavusoglu added that Turkey encouraged the two sides to "secure a ceasefire" and an agreement on the issue of the opening of humanitarian corridors.

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ISTANBUL -- The Ukrainian delegation to talks with Russia has laid out a possible framework for a future peace deal based on legally binding security guarantees that would provide for other countries to intervene if it is attacked.

Delegate Oleksandr Chaly said Tuesday that the guarantees should be similar in character to NATO's Article 5, which pledges members of the alliance to defend each other in case one is attacked.

The delegation said Ukraine is prepared to pledge to be neutral, not to host foreign military forces and to hold talks over the next 15 years on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Delegate David Arakhamia said there would be a peace deal which would be secured by a referendum in Ukraine. That would take place only after all foreign troops have left.

Russia's views on the proposal were not immediately clear.

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ISTANBUL -- Russia's deputy defence minister says that Moscow has decided to "fundamentally ... cut back" operations near the Ukrainian capital and another major city to "increase mutual trust" at talks aimed at ending the fighting.

Alexander Fomin said Russian forces would cut back "military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv."

Fomin's statement comes Tuesday after another round of talks Russia and Ukraine held in Istanbul and appears to be the first major concession the Russians made since the beginning of their invasion in Ukraine more than a month ago.

The Ukrainian military's general staff said earlier it had noted withdrawals around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

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GENEVA -- The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says an estimated 18 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian aid amid the devastation and displacement after Russia's invasion.

IFRC president Francesco Rocca says the Ukrainian Red Cross has reached 400,000 people with items like food, bedding, blankets, tents and water since the invasion on Feb. 24. Ukraine's pre-war population was 44 million.

He told reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva Tuesday that "no one in Ukraine is left unscathed by the ongoing conflict."

At the same briefing, spokesman Ewan Watson of the International Committee of the Red Cross -- a sister organization which focuses on conflict and the rules of war -- said "time is running out" for civilians in Mariupol and other frontline areas that have recently been unable to receive humanitarian aid.

The World Health Organization representative in Ukraine, Dr. Jarno Habicht said the UN health agency has tallied 74 attacks on health care -- including medical facilities, ambulances and health workers -- that have killed 72 people so far in the conflict.

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WARSAW, Poland - Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has met with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to offer support and humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine.

Pichai and Morawiecki also held a remote meeting with the Slovenia Prime Minister Janez Jansa and a representative of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

In addition, Pichai also met with Polish humanitarian organizations and Ukrainian startups. Poland has been the largest single destination for refugees fleeing Ukraine.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says seven people were killed in a missile strike on the regional government headquarters in the southern city of Mykolayiv.

Zelensky, who spoke to the Danish parliament through a translator, said Tuesday's strike also left 22 people injured. The Telegram channel of regional governor Vitaliy Kim showed a gaping hole in the centre of the nine-story building.

Kim accused Russian forces of waiting until people had arrived for work in the building before striking it and said he had a lucky escape because he had overslept.

Zelensky has made online speeches to lawmakers in several countries, including the United States, Britain, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Israel, Japan and the European Union.

He is set to address Norway's parliament on Wednesday. He told the Danish parliament that "the brutality is more violent than what we have seen during World War II."

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MOSCOW -- Russia has expelled a total of 10 diplomats from the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in retaliation for those countries expelling Russian diplomats earlier this month.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was cancelling the accreditation of four Lithuanian diplomats, three Latvians and three Estonians and they would be required to leave the country. That corresponds to the number of Russian diplomats each country previously expelled.

On March 18, the three Baltic countries ordered the expulsion of 10 Russian embassy staff members in a coordinated action taken in solidarity with Ukraine.

Russia said Tuesday that move was "provocative and entirely baseless" and that it had summoned the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian ambassadors in Moscow for an official protest.

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NEW YORK -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected reports that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich may have been poisoned as part of an "information war."

The investigative news outlet Bellingcat reported Monday that Abramovich and two Ukrainian delegates suffered symptoms of poisoning after attending talks between Russia and Ukraine on March 3.

Peskov said Tuesday that Abramovich has been "ensuring certain contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian sides" but is not an official member of the Russian delegation. He said that Abramovich's role has been approved by both sides.

He said of the reports that Abramovich may have been poisoned: "It's part of the information war. These reports obviously do not correspond to reality."

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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- A planned meeting in Hungary of central European defence ministers has been cancelled amid regional disagreements over the response to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The meeting was due to be held Wednesday. Hungary's defence ministry said Tuesday that the meeting of ministers from the Visegrad alliance of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland would "be held at a later date."

The cancellation came after the defence ministers of both the Czech Republic and Poland indicated they wouldn't attend.

Leaders from both countries have criticized Hungary's response to the war in Ukraine, pointing out that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government has refused to supply its embattled neighbour with weapons and lobbied against sanctions on Russian energy imports.

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MOSCOW -- Russia's defence minister says that "liberating" the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is the main goal of Moscow's military operation, underlining a possible shift in strategy announced last week by another Russian military official.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose few public appearances this month raised questions about his health and whereabouts, held a meeting with top military officials on Tuesday and said that "overall, the main tasks of the first stage of the operation have been completed."

He said that "the combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces has been significantly reduced, which makes it possible to focus the main attention and main efforts on achieving the main goal -- the liberation of Donbas."

The minister stressed that the Russian military will continue the operation until "the set goals are achieved."

Shoigu also offered an assurance that Russia will not send conscripts recruited in the upcoming April draft to Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Russian military admitted that a number of conscripts ended up in Ukraine and were even captured there.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The International Monetary Fund's chief says the global lender "has no problems with Russia" and that its board can only suspend the country if the fund's membership says it no longer recognizes the government.

"That is a very tall order," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Tuesday in response to a question about consequences against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

She added that "we all know for this war to end there has to be dialogue." Georgieva spoke at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

The fund approved emergency financing of US$1.4 billion for Ukraine on March 10. That's in addition to a disbursement of $700 million to the country before the war, which was launched by Russia on Feb. 24.

The IMF has said it expects "a bad recession in Russia" and spillover impact on neighbouring countries. The IMF says its Moscow office is not actively operating.

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ISTANBUL -- An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the talks under way with Russia in Istanbul are focusing on security guarantees for Ukraine and hopes of a ceasefire.

Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukrainian media on Tuesday that there are "intensive consultations going on regarding several important issues, the key among those is an agreement on international security guarantees for Ukraine." He said that "only with this agreement can we end the war in a way that Ukraine needs."

He adds that "the second block of issues is a ceasefire so that we could resolve all the humanitarian problems which have piled up and which require urgent resolutions."

Podolyak added the two sides were also discussing breaches of the rules of war.

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MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry says the United States and its allies are involved in hacking Russian data and infrastructure.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that "the U.S. and its satellites are undertaking a massive cyber-operation against our country." It also said the U.S. and other NATO members had trained Ukrainian hackers and blamed what it said was an effort by Ukraine to recruit international hackers.

The ministry said that the attacks include stealing Russians' personal data, putting pressure on the economy and spreading "fake information" about the Russian military.

Russia says it is strengthening its own cyber-security and will seek to bring hackers to justice.

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LONDON -- Britain's Foreign Office says it is concerned about reports that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich may have been poisoned as he participated in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

The investigative news outlet Bellingcat reported Monday that Abramovich and two Ukrainian delegates suffered symptoms of poisoning after attending talks on March 3. Abramovich, whose exact role in the talks hasn't been confirmed, has now recovered.

The Foreign Office said in a statement Tuesday that "the allegations are very concerning."

A Bellingcat investigator said the dosage wasn't lethal and the "most plausible" explanation for the alleged attack is that it was a warning to Abramovich and any other wealthy Russians who might seek to intervene in the negotiations.

"He volunteered to play … this role of (an) honest broker, but other oligarchs had … declared certain independence from the Kremlin position and criticize the war," Christo Grozev told Times Radio. "So it could well be seen as a warning sign to them to not join the ranks of those who dissent, and to not be too much of an honest broker."

Abramovich, owner of London soccer club Chelsea, had his British assets frozen by the U.K. government earlier this month as authorities targeted wealthy Russians with close ties to the Kremlin. Those sanctions also cover Chelsea, limiting ticket sales and spending by the club.

Asked about the alleged poisoning and Abramovich's role in the negotations, a spokesperson for him declined to comment.

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VILNIUS, Lithuania -- Lawmakers in Lithuania are debating a ban on using the `Z' symbol to show support for Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Russian troops in Ukraine have painted the letter Z on the side of vehicles and it has been adopted by some in Russia as a symbol of support for what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation."

Lithuania, which already has outlawed Soviet and Nazi symbols, also wants to ban the black-and-orange ribbon that was originally a military decoration is now used as a of remembrance of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Lawmaker Monika Osmianskiene said the symbols "are becoming a symbol not only of propaganda but also of aggression.

A vote in Lithuania's parliament is expected this week. If it passes, people who violate a ban could face a fine of up to 500 euros (US$550).

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HELSINKI -- Finland's main intelligence agency warns that Russia is likely to carry out cyber and information operations against the Nordic country in the coming months as the government and lawmakers debate possible NATO membership.

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service said in its annual report published Tuesday that it considers "unlawful intelligence operations of Russia" to be among the main current threats to Finland's national security.

Director Antti Pelttari said that "Finnish society as a whole should be prepared for various measures from Russia seeking to influence policymaking in Finland on the NATO issue."

Several polls in recent weeks have shown a majority of Finns now supporting NATO membership, up from 25% at most before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares the longest border of any European Union member with Russia.

Moscow has said it would consider Finland and neighbouring Sweden joining NATO a hostile move that would have serious military and political repercussions.

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ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's defence minister says the country is "on alert" against naval mines after authorities detected and deactivated two explosive devices floating in the Black Sea.

Hulusi Akar told journalists late Monday that authorities were still trying to determine whether the mines had drifted from Ukrainian waters. He had no information on the number of anti-ship devices that may be floating in the sea.

Akar said in comments released by his ministry Tuesday: "Whether the mines that were laid in Ukraine have arrived, or whether other mines were activated -- it would not be right to say anything without being certain about it."

"Our mine-sweeping vessels and maritime patrol planes are on alert," he said. "Detected mines are immediately destroyed in a safe manner."

Akar added that Turkey was cooperating with Romania and Bulgaria to detect mines.

Turkish military teams disabled two naval mines in the past four days, including one on Saturday that forced the temporary closure of the Bosporus Strait. The sighting followed warnings that mines laid at the entrances to Ukrainian ports could break free in heavy weather and cross the Black Sea.

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BERLIN -- The UN nuclear watchdog says its director-general has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior government officials on delivering "urgent technical assistance" to ensure the safety of the country's nuclear facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that Rafael Mariano Grossi's aim is to "to initiate prompt safety and security support" for Ukraine's nuclear sites. That will include sending IAEA experts to "prioritized facilities" and sending "vital safety and security supplies" including monitoring and emergency equipment.

It said that Grossi will travel to one of Ukraine's nuclear power plants this week, but didn't say which one. Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors at four active power plants, and also is home to the decommissioned Chornobyl plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Russian forces have taken control of Chornobyl and of the largest active power plant, at Zaporizhzhia.

Grossi said in a statement that "the military conflict is putting Ukraine's nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger."

He added that "there have already been several close calls. We can't afford to lose any more time."

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's foreign minister has called on countries to ban the use of the letter "Z" as a symbol of the Russian war on Ukraine.

In a tweet Tuesday, Dmytro Kuleba said the letter in some contexts "means Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians."

Russian troops in Ukraine have painted the letter Z on the side of vehicles and it has been adopted by some in Russia as a symbol of support for what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation" in the neighbouring country.

A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry said Monday that security services are aware the symbol is also being used at rallies in Germany. He said the letter can under certain circumstances be considered a sign of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and could make people "criminally liable." Several German states have said they will open investigations into the use of the symbol.

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BERLIN -- Germany's foreign minister says her country is working toward a `de facto' embargo of Russian oil because of the war in Ukraine.

Germany has long relied on fossil fuels from Russia and Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned that suddenly halting imports could have severe economic consequences for his country.

But Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that Germany is nevertheless aiming for a "complete national exit from Russian fossil fuel dependence."

She cited recent efforts to diversify Germany's imports that aim to end the use of Russian oil and coal this year, and natural gas by mid-2024.

"You can (...) call it a national, step-by-step, de facto embargo particularly of oil," Baerbock said at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue conference.

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