Image source, Reuters

The US has not seen "signs of real seriousness" from Russia about pursuing peace since it invaded Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

Blinken made the comments after Russia and Ukraine held peace talks earlier today and Moscow announced it would "drastically reduce" combat operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv in order to "boost mutual trust".

Turkey said the talks had represented the most significant progress yet in discussions between both sides.

But Blinken said there was a difference between what Russia says and what it does and the US was focused on the latter.

He added that Russia should end its aggression now and pull its forces back.

Image source, Alamy

The UK has ordered its first ever detention of a superyacht in British waters, the government says.

It says the £38m yacht, named Phi, is owned by an unnamed Russian businessman, but that its ownership is "deliberately well hidden".

The transport secretary Grant Shapps says the move is "a clear and stark warning to Putin and his cronies".

The UK has already introduced a raft of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Phi was first identified as being potentially Russian-owned on 13 March, the government says.

It added that the company the ship is registered to is based in the islands of St Kitts and Nevis but it carried Maltese flags to hide its origins.

The 58.5m (192ft) long yacht is the third biggest built by shipbuilder Royal Huisman and includes what the builders call an "infinite wine cellar" and patented fresh-water swimming pool.

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Odesa, Ukraine

Amid the whining air raid sirens, the checkpoints, neighbourhood patrols, and enduring fears of Russian attacks, the historic and cosmopolitan Ukrainian resort city of Odesa is gently trying to reconnect with its famously relaxed holiday spirit - as if embracing it were a form of defiance against the Kremlin.

"Music is life. When music is silenced, anything can happen. Music is a way of protecting our minds," said Olexandr Proletarskyi, a music critic, sitting on a bar stool in a dark cellar venue near the city centre.

But the recent reopening of clubs, beach restaurants, and nail salons across Odesa is not simply an expression of defiance, or an economic necessity.

It also reflects growing local confidence in the course of the war against Russia, at least here on the Black Sea coast.

Read more about how hope is resurfacing in the port town of Odesa.

Tom Bateman
BBC Middle East correspondent in Istanbul

The talks broke up an hour earlier than expected. Some of the Ukrainian delegation emerged into the street to talk to the media. At that point it felt like there may be more bad news.

But this has quickly become the most significant diplomatic moment since the invasion begin.

Russia’s statement that it will “drastically reduce” combat operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv shows that there is momentum to these discussions; it will now be watched closely to see what materialises on the ground.

And Ukraine’s delegation spelt out in the clearest way yet how they want security guarantees from the West in exchange for declarations of a neutral status - a key Russian demand.

The war continues and there is very little trust between the countries - but this feels like the most important breakthrough moment yet from these discussions.

Image source, Reuters

The US president is holding a phone call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the UK to discuss the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis.

Joe Biden was in Brussels and Poland last week where he took part in a Nato summit and met the leaders in person.

We'll let you know what comes out of the call as soon as we hear.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

If you are just joining us or in need of a recap here is what has been happening today.

On talks:

• Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin has said Russia will "drastically reduce combat operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in order to boost mutual trust"
• Ukraine's negotiators said it would adopt neutral status in return for security guarantees - meaning it would not join any military alliances, such as Nato, or host military bases
• Turkey said the moves marked the "most significant progress" since the war began

On the ground:

• A strike on a government building in the southern port city of Mykolaiv is said to have killed at least seven people and injured 22

• The city governor Vitaliy Kim, who posted a striking image of the damaged building (see above), was not in the building at the time - he said he had overslept
• The UK's Ministry of Defence said Russian troops had been pushed back from a number of positions to the north west of Kyiv

In other news:

• Russia said the suspected poisoning of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was not true, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it part of the "information war"
• Stock markets in Europe responded positively to progress being made at the Istanbul talks
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Danish parliament, and said what was happening in Mariupol was a "crime against humanity"
• The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Ukraine to see if the organisation can help secure the country's nuclear sites.

Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Lviv

Image source, Getty Images

The news that Russian forces will reduce their activity around Chernihiv will certainly be welcomed by the estimated 140,000 people who remain trapped in the city, effectively surrounded by the invading troops.

Residents and officials have accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian buildings and infrastructure, damaging or destroying hospitals, schools and countless residential blocks.

Hours before the announcement, further shelling was reported in the city.

For weeks, Chernihiv has been without electricity, running water or gas. Between 350 and 400 people have been killed since the start of the war, Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said.

Chernihiv was one of the first targets for Russian troops who invaded Ukraine from Belarus, hoping to quickly reach Kyiv, located just 144km (90 miles) to the south.

Read more about the situation in Chernihiv here.

Image source, .

As news emerges of apparent progress in this morning's talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, stock markets in Europe have been buoyed.

The CAC40 in Paris and the Dax in Frankfurt were both up more than 3% at 12:44 GMT, and London's FTSE100 index is up by 1.34%.

Meanwhile oil prices in international trading have fallen, with the price of Brent crude down by over 6%.

• BBC News market data

Image source, EPA

Turkey has now responded to the peace talks it has been hosting between Ukraine and Russia in in Istanbul today.

The country's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the talks - the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides in more than two weeks - had seen the most significant progress since discussions between the two sides began.

Cavusoglu said Turkey welcomed the two countries reaching compromise and a common understanding on certain issues, reiterating that the war must end as soon as possible.

He said "more difficult issues" were expected to be discussed between Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in the future.

Image source, Reuters

More now from the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that have been taking place in Istanbul today.

Ukraine has said it would adopt neutral status - one of Russia's key demands - in return for security guarantees, its negotiators have said.

Neutral status would mean Ukraine would not join any military alliances, such as Nato, or host military bases.

Poland, Israel, Turkey and Canada could be among the potential security guarantors for Ukraine.

The proposals would also include a 15-year consultation period on the status of annexed Crimea and would come into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire, Ukraine said.

Its negotiators said there was enough material in the current Ukrainian proposals to warrant a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding they were awaiting Russia's response.

Ukraine was previously offered a path to join Nato, which Russia fiercely opposes.

Here's a translation of the comments made by Russia's Alexander Fomin, who's part of the negotiating team in Istanbul.

More from Russia's deputy defence minister - who is speaking after negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for three hours.

Alexander Fomin said the decision to "radically reduce" Russia's military activity in the two cities was taken in order to "increase mutual trust" and help lead to further negotiations and achieving the "ultimate goal" of a signed agreement between the two sides, in comments reported by Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard that Russia plans to reduce military activity around the capital Kyiv.

Russian forces seem to have stalled in this area - earlier the UK's defence ministry, external said that Ukrainian forces had succeeded in pushing back the Russians from a number of positions.

It said Russia remained a serious threat to Kyiv due to its strike capability.

The besieged northern city of Chernihiv has remained under Russian fire today, according to Ukrainian officials.

The city's mayor estimates that 400 residents have been killed there since the war began.

Image source, .

Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin says Russia will "radically reduce" military activity outside Kyiv and Chernihiv - that's according to the news agency Tass.

More on this to come.

Hugo Bachega
BBC News, Lviv

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the Russian siege of the port city of Mariupol constitutes a "crime against humanity".

Addressing the Danish parliament, he said it was "happening in front of the eyes of the whole planet in real time".

Some military experts are suggesting that the fall of Mariupol could be imminent, but it’s impossible to say when or even if this definitely will happen.

What we can say is that the city has seen the worst of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, with tens of thousands of civilians trapped under unrelenting bombardments and shelling with no electricity, running water or gas.

With the city surrounded by the invading forces, people have no safe way out. Even evacuation routes have been targeted.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of human rights group Amnesty International, has accused Russia of war crimes in the city.

"The siege of Mariupol, the denial of humanitarian evacuation and humanitarian escape for the population, and the targeting of civilians, according to Amnesty International’s investigation, amounts to war crimes," she said at a news conference. "That's the reality of Ukraine right now."

Russia denies targeting civilians, although its attacks on non-military facilities and residential buildings across the country, including in Mariupol, have been well documented.

More now from the Kremlin, which has dismissed reports that tycoon Roman Abramovich was poisoned during peace talks earlier this month.

"This is part of the information campaign, part of the information sabotage, this is part of the information war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a media briefing, as reported by state media agency Ria Novosti.

"These reports are certainly not true," he added.

Peskov also said that Abramovich was not an official member of the Russian delegation, but was involved in ensuring "certain contacts" between Moscow and Kyiv, the agency reported.

Abramovich's efforts have been approved by both sides, Peskov reportedly said.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we reported on a missile strike hitting an administrative building in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Authorities have confirmed, external that three people were killed and 22 injured in the attack, which demolished the central section of the building.

Rescuers continue to work at the scene.

It's hard to see hostilities ending at this pointpublished at 11:50 British Summer Time 29 March 2022

11:50 BST 29 March 2022

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

It was President Putin who ordered what he calls his "special military operation" in Ukraine. Is he ready to negotiate an end to it?

You can't help but be sceptical. There's been no let-up in the fighting. Or in the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric in the Russian state media.

Ahead of the Istanbul talks, Volodymyr Zelensky said he is prepared to consider neutral status for his country.

But he insisted a referendum would need to be held on this and only after Russian troops had withdrawn. That could take months. It's hard to imagine the Kremlin agreeing to wait.

And would the promise of Ukrainian neutrality be enough for Putin?

On the eve of the talks, I watched Russian state TV’s flagship weekly news show - it's a useful barometer of what the Kremlin is thinking. The presenter quoted at length a Russian philosopher and theologian from 90 years ago.

"Russia cannot and must not lose Ukraine… it must be part of Russia, even against Ukraine's will… if Ukraine wants to fight with Russia, let it. But whatever price Russia pays for such a war, it will fight to the victorious end."

Is that view shared by Putin? If so, it's hard to see hostilities ending at this point.

As well as calling the suspected poisoning of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich part of the "information war", there have been some more lines coming out of the Kremlin this morning, via Reuters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says:

• Vladimir Putin has the "absolute support" of the population, with "fairly unprecedented" growth in polling data
• Reports that Russia forcefully deports people from Mariupol are 'a lie' that doesn’t correspond with reality
• Dialogue between the US an Russia will eventually be needed but relations would inevitably be affected by "personal insults" from President Joe Biden
• Russia wants to remain a gas supplier but foreign companies will have to pay Roubles
• We will know today or tomorrow if the peace talks, currently taking place in Turkey, are promising.

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in Ukraine for talks with senior government officials about ensuring the safety and security of the country’s nuclear sites.

Rafael Mariano Grossi , externalis to offer urgent technical assistance - including sending experts to key places - in a bid to avert the risk of any accident.

"The military conflict is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger," Grossi says.

"We must take urgent action to make sure that they can continue to operate safely and securely and reduce the risk of a nuclear accident."

There have been fears over the safety of Ukrainian nuclear facilities during the conflict. In early March a fire started at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after Russian shelling near the facility.

And the Chernobyl power station has had power lines cut off, with Ukrainian forces blaming Russian troops who have seized the plant.

Image source, .