Russia-Ukraine live updates: Abramovich attends peace talks after suspected poisoning

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time last week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 29, 9:41 am
Russia says talks are constructive, Ukraine says more countries will be involved in negotiation process

Tuesday’s talks in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia have concluded.

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky told reporters the talks were constructive.

Alexander Chaly of the Ukrainian delegation told reporters that negotiations will continue, and in two weeks they plan to involve other countries in the negotiation process.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said he believes enough has been covered to now involve the presidents of Ukraine and Russia in the talks.

Medinsky noted, “As a result of today’s substantive conversation, we have approved and offer a solution, according to which a meeting between the heads of state is possible simultaneously with the initialing of the agreement.”

“The proposed format is like this: first an agreement will be drafted, then the agreement will be approved by the negotiators and signed by the foreign ministers at a meeting, and then the possibility of a meeting between the heads of state will be discussed in order to sign this agreement,” Medinsky said.

Ukrainian officials said a military alliance of other countries — including the U.S. — needs to be created to provide security protections to Ukraine.

Mar 29, 9:07 am
Biden to speak with leaders of France, Germany, Italy, UK

President Joe Biden will hold a call at 9:15am ET Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the latest with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the White House.

Macron is also set to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Mar 29, 9:01 am
Russia claims it’s ‘drastically’ decreasing military activity near Kyiv, Chernihiv

Russian forces are “drastically” decreasing military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv to try to improve trust and aid further talks with Ukraine, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin told reporters.

“Due to the fact that the negotiations on elaborating a treaty on Ukraine’s neutrality and nuclear-free status, as well as on providing Ukraine with security guarantees are shifting to the practical field, and taking into account the principles discussed during today’s meeting, the Russian Defense Ministry has decided to decrease its military activity in the areas of Kyiv and Chernihiv drastically in order to increase mutual trust and create conditions required for further negotiations and for achieving the ultimate goal of reaching an agreement on and signing of the aforementioned treaty,” he said.

Mar 29, 8:54 am
Over 3.9 million refugees have fled Ukraine: UNHCR

More than 3.9 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The tally from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to just over 8.8% of Ukraine’s population — which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020 — on the move across borders in 34 days.

More than half of the refugees crossed into neighboring Poland, UNHCR figures show.

Mar 29, 8:27 am
Russia says ‘special military operation’ to continue until ‘objectives are achieved’

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine will continue “until the objectives are achieved,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

Shoigu claimed that Russian troops are “actively providing humanitarian assistance to the population of” the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics as well as Ukraine.

“As many as 684 humanitarian operations have been completed and 6,079 tons of cargo have been supplied to 210 populated localities,” Shoigu said at a teleconference.

Mar 29, 8:24 am
Deadly missile strike leaves gaping hole in Mykolaiv government building

Russian forces struck Mykolaiv’s regional state administration building on Tuesday morning, Ukrainian authorities said.

A video posted on Telegram by Mykolaiv Oblast Gov. Vitaliy Kim and verified by ABC News shows the moment the building was hit. A live webcam over the southern city of Mykolaiv captured the missile crossing the camera. Moments later, smoke from an explosion fills the screen.

Another video posted on Facebook by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and verified by ABC News shows a gaping hole in the building where the missile hit. At least seven people were killed and 22 others were injured. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, according to the State Emergency Service.

An image posted on Twitter by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (Stratcom) also showed the destroyed building.

Mar 29, 7:44 am
Macron to speak with Putin on Tuesday

French President Emmanuel Macron will speak via telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, according to the Elysee Palace.

Their phone conversation is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Paris time.

Mar 29, 7:02 am
Kremlin confirms Abramovich’s involvement in peace talks

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is taking part in Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at the approval of both parties, although he is not an official member of the Russian delegation, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“Abramovich has been engaged in ensuring certain contacts between the Russian and the Ukrainian side,” Peskov said during a daily call with reporters Tuesday. “He is not an official delegation member.”

“Nevertheless, he is also present on our side in Istanbul,” Peskov added, referring to the peace talks currently underway in Turkey’s capital.

Abramovich’s participation in the negotiations has been endorsed by both sides, according to Peskov.

Peskov said it will be clear “today or tomorrow whether [the talks] hold some promise or not.”

Mar 29, 6:59 am
Ukrainian soldiers patrol streets of Irpin after claims of liberation

Ukrainian soldiers were seen patrolling the streets of Irpin on Tuesday, following claims that the besieged Kyiv suburb has been “liberated” from Russian forces.

Video released by the Ukrainian military and verified by ABC News shows their troops driving through Irpin, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv where some of the heaviest fighting near the Ukrainian capital has taken place.

Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn announced in a video posted to Telegram on Monday that “Irpin has been liberated.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government released video on Tuesday showing elderly people who had been evacuated from Irpin arriving in Kyiv, where they reunited with their families.

The footage purportedly shows 86-year-old Irpin resident Olga Molchanova being embraced by her daughter and son. Molchanova’s adult children had evacuated Irpin earlier via a humanitarian corridor, but their parents refused to leave at the time, according to Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (Stratcom).

“Recaptured by Ukrainian army, Irpin remains too dangerous for civilians to stay,” Stratcom said in a post on Twitter alongside the video.

Mar 29, 6:16 am
Abramovich attends peace talks after suspected poisoning

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is taking part in Tuesday’s in-person negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey’s capital, a Turkish presidential source told ABC News.

Abramovich is the owner of the English professional football club Chelsea. The U.K. government has included him among the wealthy Russians targeted in recent sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, that Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after peace talks in Kyiv in early March.

A Turkish presidential source told ABC News that Abramovich suspected he was poisoned after experiencing eye problems.

Turkish officials confirmed there is a discussion regarding the food protocols during Tuesday’s negotiations in Istanbul.

Mar 29, 6:12 am
Ukraine warns delegation not to eat or drink at talks

Ukraine is warning its delegation against eating or drinking while attending in-person peace talks with Russian negotiators, amid fears of potential poisoning.

“I advise to everyone who’s going to any negotiations with Russia, not to eat or drink anything, and also not to touch any surfaces,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement Tuesday.

The warning came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources, that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators had suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning following peace talks in Kyiv in early March.

Mar 29, 3:22 am
Talks between Russia, Ukraine begin in Turkey

The latest round of in-person peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations kicked off in Istanbul on Tuesday morning, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in attendance.

Erdogan addressed both sides with a brief speech before the talks began.

“Establishing a cease-fire and peace as soon as possible will be to everyone’s benefit. We think that we’ve entered a period where we need to achieve concrete results from negotiations,” Erdogan said. “As members of the delegations, you’ve taken on a historic responsibility. The whole world is awaiting the good news that will come from you.”

Footage showing the start of the meeting was broadcast by Russian state-backed television channel RT.

Tuesday’s negotiations are taking place in Dolmabahce Palace in the Besiktas district of Turkey’s capital, according to Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu Agency. It’s the first face-to-face talks to take place between Russia and Ukraine in more than two weeks.

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