Russia-Ukraine live news: In-person talks to resume | Russia-Ukraine war News
Ukrainian and Russian officials have confirmed a new round of face-to-face talks will take place despite ongoing hostilities.
- New face-to-face talks are set to take place in the coming days, Ukrainian and Russian officials have confirmed. Turkey said the meeting will be held in Istanbul.
- Russia is considering splitting Ukraine in two after failing to seize the capital Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence chief.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his government is “carefully” considering a Russian demand of neutrality.
Here are the latest updates:
Russia blockades Ukraine’s Black Sea coast: UK military intelligence
Russia is maintaining a distant blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast which is effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade, British military intelligence has said.
Russian naval forces are also continuing to conduct sporadic missile strikes against targets throughout Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence added.
Ahead of new talks, Zelensky considers Russia neutrality demand
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his government is “carefully” considering a Russian demand of Ukrainian neutrality, a key point of contention as negotiators for both sides prepare for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending the brutal month-long war.
“This point of the negotiations is understandable to me and it is being discussed, it is being carefully studied,” Zelensky said during an interview with several independent Russian news organisations.
Read more here.
Russia plans a ‘Korean scenario’ for Ukraine: Intelligence chief
Russia is considering “a Korean scenario” for Ukraine and splitting the country in two after failing to seize the capital Kyiv and overthrow its government, the Ukrainian military intelligence chief has said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “will try to impose a dividing line between the unoccupied and occupied regions of our country”, General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ministry of Defence’s Intelligence Directorate, said on Sunday as reported by the ministry’s Telegram account.
Read more here.
Next round of negotiations to be held in Istanbul
The next meeting of Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the Turkish and Russian presidents have agreed.
No dates were given for the meeting. Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia said talks would resume on Monday, while Russian delegation leader Vladimir Medinsky said they would kick off on Tuesday.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine. Read all the updates from Sunday, March 27 here.
