Turkey’s Erdogan opens latest Russia-Ukraine talks; Moscow said to be resetting its forces

A spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry has told NBC News that talks between Russia and Ukraine will begin at 10:30 a.m. Istanbul time (4:30 a.m. ET). He added that it was possible there may be some delays.

Japan has announced it will ban the export of luxury goods to Russia from April 5.

Goods in the export ban will include luxury cars, cosmetics and art.

— Chloe Taylor

Face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates are set to resume in Istanbul today.

Delegations from both countries touched down in Turkey on Monday.

But both sides have suggested officials are not yet close to securing an agreement.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Ukrainian television yesterday that “nothing is agreed upon unless everything is agreed upon.”

He said the minimum Ukraine was hoping to secure was a solution to the humanitarian crises arising from the war, while the maximum the country’s officials were hoping to achieve was a cease-fire.

“Everything can change at any moment,” he said. “At the moment the principal points do not have solid agreements. There is an exchange of thoughts, positions, creative ideas, but there are no decisions yet. Moreover, agreeing on one point does not mean the agreement as a whole will work in integral format.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a televised interview on Monday that the delegations “still don’t have a clear understanding on our main points.”

— Chloe Taylor

Ukrainian forces are continuing to carry out localized counterattacks to Kyiv’s northwest, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.

“These attacks have had some success and the Russians have been pushed back from a number of positions,” the ministry said in an intelligence update. “However, Russia still poses a significant threat to the city through their strike capability.”

The ministry added that the besieged port city of Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control, despite continuous Russian shelling.

“Elsewhere, Russian Forces are maintaining blocking positions while attempting to reorganize and reset their forces,” British officials said.

— Chloe Taylor

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacted a heavy toll with a total 2,975 civilian casualties recorded since the conflict began more than a month ago, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Among those 1,151 were killed, including 103 children, between Feb. 24 and March 27, the UN agency said in its Monday update.

The agency said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the “use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.”

UNHCR cautioned, however, the actual figures are considerably higher since the information from “some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”

—Sumathi Bala