What impact of Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates

BREAKING | Russia promises to scale down operations; Ukraine proposes neutrality 

Russia promised at peace talks on Tuesday to drastically scale down its military operations around Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine proposed neutral status with international guarantees to protect it from attack. Ukrainian negotiators said they had proposed a status under which their country would not join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have its security guaranteed in terms similar to "Article 5", the collective defence clause of NATO. They identified Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that could help provide such guarantees. The proposals would include a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea, and could come into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire, the Ukrainian negotiators told reporters in Istanbul. Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said Russia had decided to scale down fighting near Kyiv and Chernihiv to create the conditions for dialogue. Top Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said he would examine the Ukrainian proposals and report on them to President Vladimir Putin. 

Gold hits two-week low as yields rise; eyes on Russia-Ukraine meet 

Gold prices fell to a near two-week low on Tuesday as elevated U.S. Treasury yields continued to impede zero-yield bullion's appeal, with investors also tracking key talks between Russia and Ukraine. Spot gold had dipped 0.5% to $1,914.52 per ounce by 1046 GMT, touching $1,908.91, its lowest since March 16, earlier in the session. US gold futures GCv1 dropped 1.5% to $1,910.10. "$1,900 is probably a good support line, regardless of what happens today." ActivTrades senior analyst Ricardo Evangelista said, adding only a concrete de-escalation on the ground in Ukraine would trigger a sharp fall in prices. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Turkey on Tuesday for face-to-face talks, with Kyiv seeking a ceasefire without compromising on territory or sovereignty. Russia's invasion of its neighbour has gone on for over a month, albeit stalled on several fronts. 

UN nuclear watchdog chief in Ukraine to talk safety support 

The UN nuclear watchdog’s director-general arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for talks with senior government officials on delivering “urgent technical assistance” to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities, the agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Rafael Mariano Grossi’s aim is to “to initiate prompt safety and security support” for Ukraine’s nuclear sites. That will include sending IAEA experts to “prioritized facilities,” which it didn’t identify, and sending “vital safety and security supplies” including monitoring and emergency equipment. It said that Grossi will travel to one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants this week, but didn’t say which one. Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors at four active power plants, and also is home to the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Russian forces have taken control of Chernobyl and of the largest active power plant, at Zaporizhzhia. 

Russia expels 10 Baltic diplomats in tit-for-tat response 

Russia announced on Tuesday the expulsion of 10 diplomats from the three Baltic states in a tit-for-tat response, including three diplomats each from Estonia and Latvia, and four from Lithuania. The three Baltic nations expelled a total of 10 Russian diplomats in a coordinated move earlier this month. Latvia said the Russian diplomats' activities had been at odds with their diplomatic status and that the decision to expel them had also taken into account Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's foreign ministry said in its statement on Tuesday that it had called in the ambassadors of the three countries to complain about what it described as the "provocative" and "groundless" action taken against its diplomats. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were all once part of the Soviet Union and are now members of both NATO and the European Union. They have strongly backed Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine. 

Bloomberg News suspends operations in Russia, Belarus 

Bloomberg News says it has suspended its operations in Russia and Belarus, citing international condemnation and sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The financial news company said customers in both Russia and Belarus will be unable to access any of Bloomberg's financial products including terminals, data licenses, data feeds and electronic trading platforms. Trading functions for Russian securities were disabled in line with international sanctions, it said. Earlier, Bloomberg suspended the work of its journalists in Russia and removed Russian stocks from its global equity indexes. Russian bonds will be removed with the month-end rebalancing, the company said in a statement. It said Bloomberg Philanthropies had pledged $40 million to the International Rescue Committee and the World Central Kitchen to help Ukrainians and refugees in the region and elsewhere. 

India buys Russian sun oil at record high price as Ukraine supplies halt 

India has contracted 45,000 tonnes of Russian sunflower oil at a record high price for shipments in April as edible oil prices in the local market surged after supplies from rival Ukraine stopped because of the war, five industry officials told Reuters. 

Sunflower oil from Russia could help the world's biggest edible oil importer in easing the shortfall at a time when the availability of vegetable oils is stretched because of Indonesia's decision to restrict palm oil supplies and lower soybean crops in South America. 

"As vessel loading is not possible in Ukraine, buyers are trying to secure supplies from Russia," said Pradeep Chowdhry, managing director of Gemini Edibles & Fats India Pvt. Ltd, which contracted 12,000 tonnes of Russian sunflower oil for April shipments. 

Gold steady on firm dollar, yields; Ukraine talks in focus 

Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar held firm and Treasury yields climbed, while market participants looked forward to Russia-Ukraine peace talks starting later in the day. Spot gold was unchanged at $1,921.74 per ounce by 0723 GMT, having fallen as much as 2.1% on Monday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.9% at $1,922.60. 

"The lingering geopolitical risk is offering a little bit of support, but the big elephant in the room would be the U.S. Federal Reserve moving into a more restrictive territory given the inflation angst that's hitting the markets right now," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. 

Oil drops on Ukraine peace talk hopes, China demand fears 

Oil prices dropped on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous day as Ukraine and Russia headed for peace talks and on fears of a drop in fuel demand in China after the financial hub of Shanghai shut down to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

Brent crude futures were trading down $1.18, or 1.1 percent, at $111.30 a barrel at 0348 GMT, having dipped as low as $109.97. Ukraine and Russia are set to meet in Istanbul on Tuesday for their first peace talks in over two weeks. Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine have curtailed oil supply and earlier this month sent prices to 14-year high. 

War impact on coal: High global prices may lead to domestic crunch 

A sharp uptick in both international and domestic coal prices due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict is set to impact import-dependent power producers as well as steel, cement and aluminium producers. 

Talks between Ukraine and Russia began in Turkey on Tuesday without a handshake, Ukrainian television reported. "There was a cold welcome, no handshake," a Ukrainian reporter said, without making clear whether he had witnessed the delegation's meeting or had been told this by officials. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to President Volodymr Zelenskiy, said on Twitter the delegations were discussing "the fundamental provisions of the negotiation process. Delegations are working in parallel on the entire spectrum of contentious issues." 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its 34th day today, even as negotiation talks between the two sides so far have not yielded any positive results. 

The more than month-long invasion, the biggest of a Western nation since World War Two, has seen over 3.8 million people flee abroad, left thousands dead or injured, and brought the isolation of Russia's economy. Nearly 5,000 people have been killed, including about 210 children, in the port city of Mariupol amid heavy Russian bombardment, according to figures from the mayor.