The negotiating teams have arrived in Istanbul for the first face-to-face talks in more than a fortnight between Kiev and Moscow, although expectations remain low for any significant progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his side is ready to offer guarantees to Russia and is seeking peace “without delay”. “Security guarantees and neutrality, the non-nuclear status of our state – we are ready to do it. “This is the most important point … they started the war because of that,” he told Russian journalists. The Ukrainian leader has suggested a lot in the past, but rarely so strongly, and the latest remarks could give a new impetus to Tuesday’s talks. Ukraine’s priorities will be, he said, “sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Zelensky said a possible compromise could lead Russia to withdraw its troops to areas before the invasion began on February 24. “I know it is impossible to force Russia to leave the country completely. It could lead to World War III. I completely understand. “I know it completely,” he said. “That’s why I say, yes, this is a compromise: Go back to where it all started and then we will try to resolve the Donbass issue, the Donbass complex issue.” He added: “That is why I say this is a compromise. “Go back to where it all started and then we will try to solve the difficult issue of Donbas,” said Mr Zelensky. “So we meet, we make an agreement and that is enough – we sign an agreement, we seal it or we sign it with blood. This is enough to start the withdrawal process. “The troops must be withdrawn, everyone is signing the guarantees and that is it,” he said. President Zelensky also invited Vladimir Putin to take part in the talks immediately and to meet with him face to face. “We have to come to an agreement with the president of the Russian Federation and in order to reach an agreement, he has to leave on foot… and come to meet me.” His adviser, Alexander Rodnyansky, told the BBC that Ukraine, however, was not prepared to cede territory. “If you ask people living in these areas, they would not want to live in Russia,” Rodnyansky said. “How can we let them go? How much more the whole idea to divide our country “. Russia’s foreign minister said talks could begin only after the key elements of a possible deal were negotiated. Sergei Lavrov said that “the meeting is necessary when we have clarity on solutions to all key issues.” Speaking in an interview with Serbian media, Lavrov said that Ukraine only wants to “imitate talks”, while Russia needs concrete results that will be ensured by the leaders of the countries. The war is in its fifth week and has so far killed thousands, forcing some 10 million people to flee their homes, many of whom have fled Ukraine altogether. Firefighters extinguish fire in warehouse hit by Russian artillery bombing in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine (EPA) On the spot on Monday, the situation continued to deteriorate in the besieged city of Mariupol. Officials say up to 200,000 people are still trapped in the city, which has disappeared after weeks of gunfire and bombardment by Russian forces. Supplies were becoming increasingly scarce, said a resident who had escaped. Alina Beskrovna, who crossed the border into Poland, said desperate people were melting snow for water and cooking in open hearths “under bombardment and bombs just because if you do not, you will have nothing to eat.” . “There is no medicine. “Many people are just, I think, dying of hunger in their apartments right now without help,” he said. “It’s a mass murder at the hands of the Russians.” Ukraine on Monday estimated that the war had cost the country more than 30 430 billion in terms of damaged infrastructure. On the ground, Ukrainian forces claimed to have recaptured the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, although there was no independent confirmation. Kyiv also said it would investigate allegations that Russian troops were tortured after videos on social media apparently circulated. On the diplomatic front, British Foreign Secretary Liz Troy said Putin “must fail in Ukraine” and said Russia was using “disgusting tactics” to kidnap Ukrainian politicians, activists and journalists. Germany’s energy minister says the G7 had rejected a Russian request for some countries to pay rubles for its gas exports. Economists say the demand appears to have been designed to try to support the Russian currency, which is under pressure from Western sanctions in the wake of the invasion. In Moscow, Russia’s leading independent newspaper suspended its online and print work after warning the country’s authorities. Novaya Gazeta announced the decision on Monday, saying it would continue its research work after the end of the war in Ukraine. The former publisher of Novaya Gazeta, Alexander Lebedev, is the father of Evgeny Lebedev, a shareholder in The Independent. The Independent has a proud campaign history for the rights of the most vulnerable and we first launched our “Welcome Refugees” campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and start this report on In the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we call on the government to move faster and faster to secure aid. To learn more about our Refugee Campaign, click here. To sign the application click here. If you would like to donate, click here for our GoFundMe page.
