Ukraine is seeking concrete security guarantees during peace negations in Turkey, including promises of military assistance during a future conflict from the world's "leading armies," including those with nuclear weapons, in exchange for adopting neutral status.
"The Treaty on Security Guarantees essentially assumes, not in theory, but in practice, to obtain an effective instrument for protecting our territory and sovereignty," Mihailo Podolyuak, top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said of the talks. "The guarantor countries become, so to speak, the leading armies of the world, including those with a nuclear component, which take on specific legal obligations — to intervene in any conflict on the territory of Ukraine, to immediately supply weapons."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expresses caution during nightly address.
"The signals we hear from the negotiating platform can be called positive. But these signals do not drown out the ruptures of Russian shells," he said after 34 days of warring with Russia.
{{#rendered}}A funeral service was held on Tuesday for veteran Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed while reporting on the ground in war-torn Ukraine.
FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott told staff that a small group from the company would be attending the service held at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Dublin suburb of Foxrock.
Over 100 of Pierre's colleagues and loved ones from around the world wrote messages in an online condolence book.
Read more: Funeral held for Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski in Ireland
{{#rendered}}Russian media acknowledged Tuesday that two border villages had to be evacuated because of shelling from Ukraine, one of the first signs that Ukraine has begun to take the fight across the border and into Russia.
Interfax, a Russian government controlled publication, reported that a possible shell from Ukraine exploded in the village of Zhuravlyovka, resulting in some injuries and a home being destroyed.
The shelling forced evacuations of Zhuravlyovka and nearby Niekhoteyevka to the Russian town of Belgorod, displacing about 180 people.
The report indicated that the explosion was not an accident, though it did not confirm that the explosion was due to hostile fire from Ukraine.
RIA Novsti, another Russian publication friendly to the Kremlin, also reported on an explosion near the two towns that injured four, people saying the attack originated from Ukraine.
Fox News cannot independently verify the reported attacks within Russia, though the reports are originating from Russian media outlets.
{{#rendered}}Russian forces have kicked up radioactive dust and disturbed a highly toxic zone around the area of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site known as the "Red Forest" since capturing the defunct power plant early on in its invasion of Ukraine, workers at the site said.
Reuters spoke with workers who said Russian soldiers in a convoy did not use anti-radiation gear and inhaled toxic dust that will most likely cause internal radiation in their bodies. In the weeks after Russia took the site on Feb. 24, soldiers were still not wearing any protective gear, they said.
Two workers were on duty when Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl power plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster that's considered the worst in history and became an international embarrassment for the Soviet Union. The Red Forest, a small area surrounding the power plant, is still highly contaminated.
Ukrainian forces shelled a Russian military camp inside Russia, according to reporting from the New York Post. Such a strike would be the first time Ukraine struck Russia on the other side of the border.
The strike hit the military camp near the Russian city of Belgorod, which sits about 50 miles from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border.
Video posted online of the reported attack appeared to show ammunition blowing up, though the source of the explosion has yet to be confirmed.
Four people were reportedly injured in the explosion.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. has seen "increased activity" and "offensive activity" by Russian forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The Donbas region, which has a large population of Russian-speaking citizens, has been at the center of tension in Ukraine for much of the conflict. Before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia moved to acknowledge claims of independence by separatists groups in the region.
{{#rendered}}Ukraine is seeking concrete security guarantees during peace talks in Turkey, saying they want countries to promise to intervene during conflicts in Ukraine.
"The Treaty on Security Guarantees essentially assumes, not in theory, but in practice, to obtain an effective instrument for protecting our territory and sovereignty," Mihailo Podolyuak, top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said of the talks. "The guarantor countries become, so to speak, the leading armies of the world, including those with a nuclear component, which take on specific legal obligations - to intervene in any conflict on the territory of Ukraine, to immediately supply weapons."
Ukraine and Russia said they have made progress in the talks, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, with Ukraine willing to take on a "neutral status" militarily while looking for admission into the European Union's free-trade zone.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that the Russians have failed to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which he said was an objective for their forces.
Kirby said that a small number of Russian troops are now moving away from Kyiv, though he wouldn't classify it as a retreat or withdrawal of forces and Kyiv continues to be the target of air strikes.
The press secretary also noted that the Russians have failed in their objective to take most Ukrainian population centers, in large part because of fierce Ukrainian resistance.
{{#rendered}}President Biden said the United States will continue to provide the Ukrainian military with "the capacity to defend themselves" and will monitor whether Russia will "follow through" on its claims early Tuesday that they are beginning to withdraw forces from Ukraine’s Kyiv region.
The president, during a joint press conference at the White House Tuesday with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was asked about Russia’s announcement that it would "fundamentally scale back" its military operations near Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.
"I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are," Biden said. "We'll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting."
The young Ukrainian couple who captured hearts around the world when they married early amid Russia's invasion and immediately joined the war effort continue to be optimistic about Ukraine's future, but they are asking for help to gather supplies.
Yaryna Arieva, 21, and her 24-year-old husband, Sviatoslav Fursin, married as soon as Russia's invasion began in February, months ahead of their planned wedding date, and joined Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces immediately after their wedding. The couple live in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, where Russian officials say they plan to scale back military operations after more than a month of fighting.
"We will still be fighting until the last drop of blood, but if Ukraine falls, then someone will be next. Russia never stops," Arieva told Fox News Digital. "They have nothing. They have nothing to feed their people, but still, they will try to take other countries and bring their Russian world – and the Russian world looks like complete [destruction] and fear."
For more on this story: Optimism in Kyiv: Ukrainian newlyweds say they will fight until the 'last drop of blood'
{{#rendered}}President Joe Biden, during a 53-minute phone call Tuesday with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, "affirmed their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its brutal attacks in Ukraine, as well as to continue supplying Ukraine with security assistance to defend itself against this unjustified and unprovoked assault," the White House says.
"They reviewed their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the millions affected by the violence, both inside Ukraine and seeking refuge in other countries, and underscored the need for humanitarian access to civilians in Mariupol," the White House added. "They also discussed the importance of supporting stable energy markets in light of current disruptions due to sanctions."
Biden, when asked by a reporter Tuesday for his reaction to Russia's claims that it will draw down its military presence in two Ukrainian regions including Kyiv, said "We'll see if they follow through. ... Let's just see what they have to offer."
Fox News' Paul Connor contributed to this report.
A U.S. official tells Fox News' Mark Meredith Tuesday that "any movement of Russian forces from around Kyiv is a redeployment, not a withdrawal, and the world should be prepared for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine."
“No one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements," the official said. "It also does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over. Russia has failed in its objective of capturing Kyiv, and failed in its objective of subjugating all of Ukraine, but it can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including Kyiv.”
Russia announced earlier today that it was withdrawing forces from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions in hopes of laying the groundwork for a peace deal with Ukraine.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of the Russian province of Chechnya, is calling Tuesday for troops to storm the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv hours after Russia claimed it was withdrawing forces there in hopes of brokering a peace deal.
Speaking to about 10,000 troops in Chechnya’s regional capital of Grozny, Kadyrov, according to the Associated Press, said “we need to complete what we have started and shouldn’t stop.”
He said if Moscow had allowed his fighters to press the offensive, “I’m more than confident that we would have entered Kyiv and established order there.”
Kadyrov has posted numerous videos on a messaging app allegedly featuring himself and Chechen fighters on the outskirts of Kyiv and in the besieged Sea of Azov port of Mariupol, but those videos couldn’t be independently verified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Ukraine's Ministry of Defence announced Tuesday that the Snake Island soldier who infamously was heard telling Russian warship to "go f--- yourself" has been released.
"Roman Hrybov, the author of the famous 'Russian Warship, Go F*** Yourself' phrase, returned from Russian captivity to his native Cherkasy region. Glory to the Hero!," it tweeted alongside an imaged purportedly showing Hrybov accepting an award.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly rejected a note from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking peace in the more than a month-long conflict. When the note was hand-delivered to him by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, Putin reportedly replied instead: "Tell him I will thrash them."
The Times of London reported Monday that Abramovich, a close ally of Putin acting as Russia’s envoy to Ukrainian negotiators, last week met Putin in Moscow and presented him with a handwritten note from Zelenskyy outlining the conditions he would consider in order to reach a cease-fire agreement.
Though the newspaper did not disclose the exact contents of the alleged note, The Times said Putin’s response was unequivocally clear: "Tell him I will thrash them." Fox News has not verified the report.
For more on this story: Putin outraged by Zelenskyy note delivered by Russian oligarch Ambramovich
Four European countries have expelled a combined 43 Russian diplomats on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
The Netherlands said it was expelling 17 Russians who it described as intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats. Belgium said it was ejecting 21 Russians.
The Czech Republic gave one Russian diplomat 72 hours to leave the country, while Ireland told four senior Russian officials to leave the country because of activities deemed not “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behavior.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Lt. Col. Daniel Davis joins 'Fox News Live' to discuss Russia's strategy as troops continue to invade Ukraine.
NATO announced Tuesday that foreign ministers will convene at its headquarters in Brussels on April 6 and 7 -- and that Ukraine is one of the countries invited.
"There will be two sessions on 07 April. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Sweden and Ukraine, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, are invited to join the first session," NATO said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Tuesday that the White House is taking a wait and see approach to Russia’s major announcement this morning that it is withdrawing its troops from some parts of Ukraine in hopes of reaching a deal to end the war.
“There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does. We are focused on the latter,” Blinken told reporters after meeting with Morocco’s foreign minister. “And what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine and its people and that continues as we speak. As a result of this aggression... fully half of the children in Ukraine have been displaced from their homes.”
Blinken said what Russia “should do is end the aggression now, stop firing, pull its forces back and of course engage in talks.”
“I can’t tell you whether these statements reflect some reorientation of the aggression to focus on 'only' eastern and southern Ukraine or whether this is a means by which Russia once again is trying to deflect and deceive people into thinking it’s not doing what it is doing," Blinken continued. "Whether it’s simply trying to regroup given the heavy losses that it suffered -- I don’t know.”
But Blinken also said if Russia "somehow believe that an effort to subjugate 'only' the eastern part of Ukraine and the southern part of Ukraine can succeed, then once again they are profoundly fooling themselves.
"We have seen the will and the determination of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future, not to have Russia or anyone else determine it for them," Blinken said. "And I think that will continue to be expressed one way or another in all parts of the country."
{{#rendered}}The Ukrainian delegation to talks with Russia on Tuesday has laid out a possible framework for a future peace deal based on legally binding security guarantees that would provide for other countries to intervene if it is attacked, according to the Associated Press.
Delegate Oleksandr Chaly said the guarantees should be similar in character to NATO’s Article 5, which pledges members of the alliance to defend each other in case one is attacked.
The delegation said Ukraine is prepared to pledge to be neutral, not to host foreign military forces and to hold talks over the next 15 years on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Delegate David Arakhamia said there would be a peace deal which would be secured by a referendum in Ukraine. That would take place only after all Russian troops have left.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Connecticut restaurant owner Jamie McDonald shares his experiences from serving food to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Moscow appeared to walk back its imminent threat of deploying a nuclear weapon as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on.
"No one is thinking about using — about even the idea of using a nuclear weapon," chief spokesman to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said in a Monday night interview with PBS.
Peskov’s comments are a reversal to veiled threats he and other Kremlin officials issued in recent weeks.
"Any outcome of the operation, of course, is not a reason for usage of a nuclear weapon," Peskov said. "We have a security concept that very clearly states that only when there is a threat for existence of the state in our country, we can use and we will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat."
For more on this story: Russia backs off threat of using nuclear force amid Ukraine war
{{#rendered}}Click here to watch on Fox News.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that seven people have been killed after Russian forces attacked a state administration building in Mykolaiv.
"This morning the Russian missiles hit one of our southern cities -- Mykolaiv. The city of shipbuilders," Zelenskyy said during an address to Denmark's parliament.
"As a result of this strike, the building of the regional administration was destroyed. It is known that seven people were killed and 22 were wounded," Zelenskyy added. "Debris removal continues."
The Ukrainian president described Mykolaiv as an "absolutely peaceful city, which dreamed of only one thing -- to regain the glory of the center of shipbuilding in the Black Sea region."
Fox News' Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.
The White House said Tuesday that President Joe Biden will "convene a call with President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Draghi of Italy, Prime Minister Johnson of the United Kingdom to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."
The call is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. ET.
{{#rendered}}Russian troops reportedly have been losing ground near Ukraine's capital before Moscow announced Tuesday that it is going to "reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv direction" in hopes of reaching an agreement aimed at ending the war.
On Monday, Fox News reported that Ukrainian troops reclaimed the town of Irpin on the outskirts of the city.
"Ukrainian forces have continued to conduct localized counterattacks to the northwest of Kyiv -- including at Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel," the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Tuesday. "These attacks have had some success and the Russians have been pushed back from a number of positions."
"However, Russia still poses a significant threat to the city through their strike capability," it added.
In a Facebook post this morning, Ukraine's military said it has observed the "withdrawal of certain units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation from the territory of Kyiv and Chernihiv."
But while Russia is now claiming to be reducing its military presence in those two regions, it's continuing to attack the port city of Mariupol and other targets in the eastern half of Ukraine.
"Russian Forces have maintained their offensive on Mariupol with continuous heavy shelling of the city, however the center of the city remains under Ukrainian control," the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Tuesday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was also quoted Tuesday as saying that "liberating Donbas" in eastern Ukraine -- a region home to Russian-backed separatists -- is Moscow's primary objective.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Tuesday that his country has agreed to "reduce military activity in the Kiev and Chernihiv direction" in hopes of reaching an agreement aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
"Due to the fact that negotiations on the preparation of an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine, as well as on the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine, are moving into practice, taking into account the principles discussed during today's meeting, by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing on the signing of the above agreement, a decision was made to radically, at times, reduce military activity in the Kiev and Chernihiv direction," Fomin was quoted by Russian state media as saying.
"The talks were constructive. We received proposals from Ukraine for consideration," added Russian delegation member Vladimir Medinsky, according to state media. "These proposals will be considered in the near future, reported to the president, and our corresponding response will be given."
Medinsky also said Russia is "proposing a solution according to which the meeting of the heads of state is possible simultaneously with the initialing of the treaty by the foreign ministers."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been asking for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days.
For more on this story: Russia to scale back military activity toward Kyiv, Chernihiv as part of peace talks: Putin defense official
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on countries Tuesday to "criminalize the use of the 'Z' symbol as a way to publicly support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
"'Z' means Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians. Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden," he said in a tweet.
Russian troops in Ukraine have painted the letter Z on the side of vehicles and it has been adopted by some in Russia as a symbol of support for what the Kremlin describes as a “special military operation” in the neighboring country.
A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry said Monday that security services are aware the symbol is also being used at rallies in Germany. He said usage of the letter can under certain circumstances could make people “criminally liable.”
Lithuania, which already has outlawed Soviet and Nazi symbols, also wants to ban the symbol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday is accusing the United States and its allies of "undertaking a massive cyber-operation" against Moscow.
The ministry claimed attacks include stealing Russians’ personal data, putting pressure on the economy and spreading “fake information” about the Russian military.
It also said the U.S. and other NATO members had trained Ukrainian hackers and blamed what it said was an effort by Ukraine to recruit international hackers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukraine's military said Tuesday that Russian forces have destroyed at least 60 religious buildings since their invasion began last month.
"The vast majority of them are Orthodox [churches]," it said in a Facebook post. "Mosques, synagogues, Protestant churches, religious educational institutions and important administrative buildings of religious organizations were also destroyed."
The attacks happened in the Kiev, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, the military added, posting a map of the damaged facilities.
Roman Abramovich, the sanctioned Russian oligarch reported to have suffered symptoms from a suspected poisoning attack, is said to be observing ongoing peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said "intensive consultations are underway right now on some important issues, the most important of which is agreement on international security guarantees for Ukraine, because with this agreement we will be able to end the war as Ukraine needs," according to Reuters.
"The second issue is a ceasefire to solve all the humanitarian problems that have accumulated," Podolyak added.
Ukrainian media reported that both sides did not shake hands before sitting down at the negotiating table.
{{#rendered}}Russian forces attacked a state administration building in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, Tuesday morning, just as employees were arriving, according to an official.
Vitaliy Kim, the head of regional administration, shared a photo of the administration building as the sun was still rising. The photo shows a massive hole in the building, reportedly from aircraft that entered the Nikolaev area from Crimea.
Most of the staff who were working in the administration building evacuated safely, though eight people remain trapped in the rubble.
Read more: Russian forces bombed Ukrainian administration building, 8 civilians missing
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning outside Kyiv.
Turkish President Erecep Erdogan also joined the delegations.
"Continuing war will not benefit anyone. Restoring peace will benefit your countries and all the others. You, as delegations, bear historical responsibility for the decisions made today," Erdogan said.
{{#rendered}}Ukraine's defense intelligence ministry released a list of more than 600 alleged Russian spies working in Europe in an apparent attempt to burn them and weaken Russia's intelligence operations across the continent.
The intelligence wing of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine released the "list of employees of the FSB of the Russian Federation registered at the address: Moscow, St. Bolshaya Lubyanka" on Monday. The FSB is the successor agency to the KGB, Russia's notorious spy arm.
The list, released in Russian and apparently unavailable on the English version of the ministry's website, provides names, phone numbers, passport numbers, "registration addresses," license plate numbers, and occasionally financial details for 620 alleged Russian spies. In a few cases, the list includes a home address.
Read more here: Ukrainian intelligence releases names of more than 600 alleged Russian spies
{{#rendered}}Alina Beskrovna, a refugee who fled Ukraine and now lives in Poland, said she witnessed Ukrainian melt snow to have drinkable water.
She also said Ukrainians were forced to cook on open fires despite giving away their position to potential Russian forces, "because if you don’t, you will have nothing to eat.”
“A lot of people are just, I think, starving to death in their apartments right now with no help," she said. "It’s a mass murder that’s happening at the hands of the Russians.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned during his nightly address that Russian forces were attempting to regroup ahead of a potential next assault on Kyiv.
"Today we have good news," Zelenskyy said. "Our defenders are advancing in the Kyiv region, regaining control over Ukrainian territory."
"Irpin was liberated. Well done!"
"I am grateful to everyone who worked for this result. The occupiers are pushed away from Irpin. Pushed away from Kyiv," he added.
"However, it is too early to talk about security in this part of our region. The fighting continues," the Ukrainian president said.
The nightly address came as U.S. intelligence officials believe the Ukrainian military has retaken the Irpin suburb of Kyiv and the town of Trostyanets from Russian occupation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Biden held a "cheat sheet" of prepared answers for a key question during his White House news briefing Monday – a question about why his remarks on Saturday suggested support for regime change in Russia.
Several reporters asked the president to address his comment, "For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power," which he made at the conclusion of a Saturday speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
Biden insisted he is not "walking back" his comments, seeking to separate his wish for Putin not to be leading Russia from an official policy that would seek to remove him.
"I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man," Biden said, calling the Russian president's behavior "outrageous" and that his comments about him were "more an aspiration than anything."
{{#rendered}}Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that a remark made by President Joe Biden over the weekend about Vladimir Putin, in which Biden said "for God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," is a "statement that is certainly alarming," Reuters reports.
"We will continue to track the statements of the U.S. president in the most attentive way," Peskov said.
Biden claimed that he is not "walking back" the comment, even though the White House clarified that Biden does not support regime change in Russia.
"I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man," Biden said, calling the Russian president's behavior "outrageous" and that his comments about him were "more an aspiration than anything."
The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that they destroyed eight planes, four UAVs, three helicopters, and two missiles.
Click here for Monday's live coverage.
{{#rendered}}Coverage for this event has ended.