Russia will "drastically reduce combat operations" around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, its deputy defence minister says
But US President Joe Biden says "let's see" what happens on the ground
UK PM Boris Johnson also urges caution - saying he will judge Russia by its actions, not words
Ukraine's President Zelensky says the "positive" signs do not "drown out" the sound of Russian attacks
The mayor of Chernihiv says "time will tell" if the Russians stick to their word
And a Russian negotiator warns the de-escalation is "not a ceasefire"
A US official says some Russian troops are leaving Kyiv - but will wait to see if it's meaningful
As we've been reporting, Russia says it will "drastically reduce" attacks in Kyiv and Chernihiv.
Russian troops had advanced on the capital but were repelled by Ukrainian forces outside the city.
This map shows which parts of Ukraine are currently under Russian control - and where Ukraine is counter-attacking.
Image source, ReutersMykhailo Podolyak said the support of society was needed for an agreement
As we've been reporting, earlier today Russia and Ukraine held another round of peace talks in Istanbul.
One of the key developments was Ukraine saying it would accept neutral status - meaning it would not join military alliances, including Nato, or host military bases - in return for security guarantees from other countries.
Now Ukraine has released more details of those proposals (in English), external, which were first announced by the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia.
Arakhamia said Ukraine wanted an international treaty signed by "security guarantor" countries, which includes:
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stressed that all the proposals of the Ukrainian delegation would need the support of Ukrainians.
"That’s the key thing. We need to get the support of society for this agreement to be consolidating for us," he said.
Russia has not yet responded to Ukraine's requests for neutral status.
As we've been reporting, the UK and US have urged caution, after Russia said it would "drastically reduce" attacks in Kyiv and Chernihiv.
Now, President Biden has added to the cautious mood, saying: "I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.
"We’ll see if they follow through what they’re suggesting. There are negotiations that continued today, one in Turkey and others.
"I had a meeting with the heads of state of four allies in Nato - France, Germany, the United States and Great Britain - and there seems to be a consensus that let’s just see what they have to offer."
Biden was speaking to reporters after meeting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.
Official representatives of Russia and Belarus are not invited to an upcoming ceremony at the former Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany, the organisers have said.
The ceremony, on 10 April, will mark 77 years since the camp was liberated.
The Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation said Russian and Ukrainian “civil society” representatives will be invited instead.
Boris Romantschenko, a camp survivor who was killed at his home in Kharkiv on 18 March, will receive a special tribute during the commemoration.
Romantschenko had called for a "world of peace and freedom" at the 2015 Buchenwald liberation ceremony.
The foundation claims there are around 42,000 survivors of Nazi crimes living in Ukraine.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesIn the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, volunteers have been weaving camouflage nets and making bulletproof vests
Many volunteers in the country have been running makeshift operations to supply the army with homemade protective gear.
Image source, Getty ImagesVolunteers stuff bulletproof vests with foam...
Image source, Getty Images...before handing them to seamstresses who sew up the vests
Image source, Getty ImagesOther volunteers slice and cut up strips of cloth for camouflage nets
Ukraine's interior ministry says its police force has been given specialist equipment by British explosive technicians who were due to train them in the UK before Russia invaded.
The kit includes equipment for neutralising explosive devices and first aid kits.
"On their own initiative and at their own expense, the guys from Britain together with their colleagues collected equipment... for us," said Volodymyr Khomenko, head of the National Police's Explosives Service.
"We are very grateful to the guys for their help," he said, quoted in a post on the ministry's Telegram page, external.
Image source, Ukrainian Interior Ministry/TelegramThe Ukrainian interior ministry shared images of donated equipment on its Telegram channel
Image source, ReutersBen Wallace will convene the donor conference
The UK is to hold a donor conference on Thursday, in an attempt to secure more lethal aid for Ukraine.
The conference, which will bring together countries that are willing to donate military equipment to Ukraine, will be convened by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Lethal aid includes weapons and military vehicles.
During a visit to Norway, Wallace said the conference would "see what else we can gather from around the world to make sure that Russia is not successful in its illegal occupation and invasion of a sovereign country".
Earlier this month the UK said it was preparing to send more portable missile systems to help destroy Russian tanks and aircraft - the graphic below sets out the type of weapons sent so far.
Image source, ReutersIf you're just joining our live coverage, or want a quick recap, the main news today has been from the face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia, taking place in Istanbul.
Hopeful signs?
Note of caution
Image source, Getty ImagesWith Russia promising to "drastically reduce" its military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine, how close were the Russians to actually seizing the capital city?
Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine on 24 February with Vladimir Putin aiming to "demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine".
In response, Ukrainian officials said they handed out 18,000 guns nationwide to volunteers on the second day of fighting - many in the capital - as well as issuing instructions on how to make petrol bombs. Anti-tank spikes also appeared on Kyiv's streets, in preparation for any attack.
Russia tried to encircle Kyiv for weeks - but Ukrainian forces remain in control of large areas around the city. Russian troops got as close as 20km (12km) outside of Kyiv, advancing to the suburb of Irpin.
Image source, .Kyiv came under regular attack with missile strikes, explosions and gunfire around the city from the start of the invasion.
But on Tuesday, the UK Ministry of Defence said that Ukrainian forces had succeeded in pushing back the Russians from a number of positions.
Ukraine launched a series of counter-attacks on the outskirts of Kyiv in the past week and regained some territory that had been occupied by Russian troops.
Yet the Russian attacks, and the Ukrainian rearguard action, have come at a cost.
There have been more than 100 deaths in the Kyiv since Russia's invasion began, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Monday.
As we've been reporting, Russia has said it will "drastically reduce" attacks around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.
Now, a US official has told the BBC that some Russian forces are moving away from the Ukrainian capital.
"Yes, we have seen the Russians begin to draw away from Kyiv," said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
"But we have little confidence at this stage that it marks some significant shift or a meaningful retreat. The Russians are still pounding Kyiv with airstrikes. Time will tell."
Surveillance footage caught the moment a Russian rocket hit an administrative building in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine.
Local authorities confirmed at least seven people died in the attack, while rescuers continue trying to free people trapped under the rubble.
Image source, .
Image source, Getty ImagesT-shirts with the "Z" symbol are being sold in Russia
Ukraine has called on countries to criminalise the use of the "Z" symbol that shows support for the war.
Initially used to mark Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine, the letter Z - thought to stand for "za pobedu" (for victory) - has been adopted by Russians to signal approval of the invasion.
Three German states - Berlin, Bavaria and Lower Saxony - have already said anyone brandishing the symbol to promote the war could be punished with up to three years in jail.
And Germany's interior ministry has warned that those displaying the symbol to "endorse" the invasion could be "liable to prosecution".
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitry Kuleba has called on other countries to follow Germany's lead.
"'Z' means Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians," Kuleba tweeted., external "Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden."
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak wore the symbol on a podium
The symbol has been daubed on a number of buildings in Germany, and has already been seen on T-shirts, flags and cars, according to the interior ministry.
Lithuania is among other countries considering a ban on the symbol. If approved there, offenders could face a fine of up to €500 (£423).
Some of the first Ukrainian refugees to arrive in the UK have been talking about their experience of fleeing the war.
Alla said her life in Ukraine was perfect before the war - she had a business and a home, but that all changed overnight.
Here's her story.
Ukrainian refugees describe having to flee their homes
Image source, Getty ImagesEuropean countries have been expelling diplomats in recent days. Here's that latest:
It follows a string of similar moves made by the United States and several European Union member states since the war began.
Jeremy Bowen
Reporting from Kyiv
The Istanbul talks seem to have made more progress than outside observers expected. The head of the Ukrainian delegation David Arakhamia said enough had been done to make a meeting between presidents Zelensky and Putin possible.
But at this early diplomatic stage, it is best to be cautious. For a ceasefire that works, followed by a peace agreement, many big questions need to be settled.
One is Ukraine’s proposal to become a neutral state, with its security guaranteed by a range of powerful countries. Another is Ukraine’s demand that all Russian troops leave the country.
That would mean Russia giving up its most tangible military achievement of the invasion, which is the land connection between Crimea, eastern Ukraine and Russia itself.
Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent
Poland has approved a bill that would ban the import of Russian coal, government spokesman Piotr Muller says.
The country has been urging its European Union partners to impose an embargo on purchasing Russian energy, but it has failed to convince them to do so.
Muller says the government cannot wait for the EU any longer and so has decided to act unilaterally.
Poland is the EU’s largest hard coal producer, but its mines do not produce sufficient quantities of the larger-lumped coal used in heating homes, schools and hospitals. Some heating plants also burn Russian coal.
In 2020, Poland bought three quarters of its 12.8 million tonnes of coal imports from Russia.
Earlier this month, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he had held talks with his Australian counterpart about buying coal from Australia.
Chernihiv's mayor tells the BBC Russia's announcement would be good news if "you could trust" Moscow
Time will tell if Russia really does intend to scale back combat operations around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, Chernihiv's mayor has said.
Earlier today, Moscow announced it would "drastically reduce" combat operations in these areas in order to "boost mutual trust".
Chernihiv's Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko told the BBC the announcement would be good news if "you could trust at least one word by the Russians".
Atroshenko said on Monday Russia had carried out "inhumane artillery shelling" of several residential areas, adding that some people were killed and 35 were hospitalised.
Chernihiv has been almost completely encircled by Russian forces and left without electricity, gas or running water. Tens of thousands of residents remain trapped.
Atroshenko added: "And often the Russians say one thing, but a different thing actually happens. Only time will show how much truth is in those words. We are treating those words very cautiously at the moment."
You can listen to the full interview tomorrow on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, which is being presented by the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet from Kyiv.
Image source, EPABritain wants Russian forces to fully withdraw from Ukraine and will judge provisional steps towards a possible peace deal by actions rather than words, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Asked if Johnson was encouraged by Russia's promise to scale down military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine, his spokesperson said "we will judge Putin and his regime by his actions, not by his words".
They added that there has been some reduction in Russian bombardment around Kyiv, largely because Ukrainian forces have been "successfully pushing back the Russian offensives" in the northwest of the city.
However, they said fighting continues and there's heavy bombardment in Mariupol and other areas.
"So we don't want to see anything less than a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory."
As we reported earlier, the US Secretary of State said America had not seen "signs of real seriousness" from Russia about pursuing peace since it invaded Ukraine.
Reality Check and BBC Monitoring
Ukrainian authorities are investigating video footage which has been claimed to show Ukrainian soldiers shooting Russian prisoners of war in the legs.
The grainy video has been circulating on social media after first appearing in the early hours of Sunday morning (27 March). Since then, it's been widely reposted by pro-Russian accounts on various platforms.
Ukrainian armed forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Russia was "filming and distributing staged videos" in order to discredit Ukraine's treatment of Russian prisoners.
However, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said there would be an immediate investigation and added: "I would like to remind all our military, civilians and defence forces that abusing prisoners of war is a war crime."
So when and where was it filmed, what's being said, and who are the soldiers? The BBC has been analysing the video - here is what we have found out so far.
Russia's promise to scale down military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine does not represent a ceasefire, Moscow's lead negotiator in talks with Ukraine has said.
"This is not a ceasefire but this is our aspiration, gradually to reach a de-escalation of the conflict at least on these fronts," Vladimir Medinsky said in an interview with the TASS news agency.
We've been reporting that Russia plans to "radically reduce" military activity outside the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv.