As it happened: UK and US urge caution on Russian pledge​

Here's some of the latest images from the front lines and beyond:

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is very concerned about what it calls a widespread and targeted campaign of misinformation about its work in Ukraine.

An ICRC spokesman in Geneva said the campaign had appeared across multiple social media platforms, in various languages.

Some social media have accused the ICRC of facilitating "forced evacuations" of Ukrainian citizens to Russia, a claim both the ICRC and the Red Cross Federation said was completely untrue.

There has also been criticism of ICRC president Peter Maurer's visit to Moscow last week, where he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

On Tuesday the Red Cross reminded journalists that Maurer had visited Ukraine first, and that talking to all parties in the conflict was "part of his job".

The ICRC, the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, is mandated to assist victims of war impartially, civilians as well as prisoners of war.

The fear at ICRC headquarters in Geneva is that the "surge of misinformation" will undermine trust in the very communities it is trying to help.

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The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces says that Russian troop withdrawals are likely a ruse.

In a daily operational update posted to Facebook, the general staff said that Russian units were continuing to move away from both Kyiv and Chernihiv. Russia has said it will now focus on operations in the eastern region of Donbas.

The general staff, however, also believes the withdrawals "are probably a rotation of individual units" aimed at misleading Ukraine's military and creating a "misconception" about the meaning of their deployment.

The update echoes statements made by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who said that a threat to Kyiv remained despite Russian troop movements away from the city.

Additionally, the update noted the enemy continued to "fire and storm" near Donetsk, in the east.

In two settlements - Novokarlivka and Luhivske, both near Zaporizhzhia - the Ukrainians believe Russian forces are fortifying their position and planting minefields.

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A British televised fundraising concert featuring pop stars like Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Nile Rodgers and Emeli Sandé has raised £12.2m ($16m) for the UK Disasters Emergency Committee's humanitarian appeal for Ukraine.

Snow Patrol, Anne-Marie, Becky Hill, Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith, Tom Odell and The Manic Street Preachers also gave their time for the two-hour show in Birmingham.

"Thank you so much for coming," Sheeran told the 8,000-strong audience and millions more on ITV. "It's such an important cause and I'm so honoured to be here."

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He then joined Cuban-American superstar Camila Cabello, who said: "We're all praying tonight for the peace and the safety of the people in the Ukraine.

"Thank you guys so much for being a part of this super-important fundraiser."

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Despite talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul ending on an optimistic note, experts are split on whether they will ultimately end the fighting.

During the negotiations, Russia said it would "drastically reduce" combat operations near Kyiv, while Ukraine said it would accept a "neutral" status in return for security guarantees.

Political scientist Grigory Golosov told the BBC's Russian service, however, that he sees "no real result" from the talks.

"Both sides can declare victory," he said. "And both sides are trying to demonstrate commitment to the negotiation process."

Golosov said he believes Russia is being "louder" at the negotiations in a bid to avoid further sanctions.

Another political scientist, Kirill Rogov, however, said he believes the talks are a "turning point" in the war.

"[This] is the beginning of de-escalation on the Russian side," he said.

Samuel Green, the director of the Russian Institute at King's College London, said it remains unclear "what exactly the negotiation process is about".

"There is talk of a truce to stop killing people, and this is good," he said. "But this is not a conversation about peace and the settlement of the conflict in general."

Russia says it is "drastically reducing" its attacks near Kyiv - and UK intelligence says it is "almost certain" the Russians have failed in their attempt to encircle the capital.

But how close are Russian forces to Kyiv? This map shows their advances - and Ukrainian counter-attacks.

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US troops are "liaising" with Ukrainian forces in Poland as they distribute weapons to them, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he had visited troops who were helping "train" Ukrainian forces in Poland.

Kirby, however, said that the interactions are "not training in the classic sense that many people think of training".

"I would just say it's liaising," he added. No further details were provided.

The US military withdrew its training detachment from Ukraine just before Russia invaded on 24 March. The site was later struck by Russian missiles.

Additionally, Kirby said that additional US forces - including 10 fighter jets and 200 personnel - would be headed to eastern European allies, including Lithuania.

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We have been reporting throughout the day that Russia has said it will scale back its operations around Kyiv, and the northern city of Chernihiv.

But in a report from the Ukrainian capital, the BBC's Jeremy Bowen said there was still the sound of shelling coming from battlefields to the north-west of the city.

"It's probably 10, 15 miles from here and I can't tell if it's coming from the Ukrainians, or if it's coming from the Russians, but the fact is it's still happening.

"So if there is a plan to reduce the levels of military activity on the edge of this city it has not kicked in yet."

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It's nearly 22:40 BST here in London. Here is a recap of the main news from our live coverage of the Ukraine war today.

Hopeful signs?

• Russia has said it will "drastically reduce combat operations" around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, during negotiations in Turkey
• Ukraine's team said they would accept a "neutral" status for the country - which would mean not joining alliances like Nato, a key demand of Moscow - in return for security guarantees
• Turkey said the moves marked the "most significant progress" in peace talks since the war began

But...

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that while initial signs from the talks were "positive", they do not "drown out" the explosions of Russian shells

• And the leaders of the United States, UK, France, Germany and Italy all urged the West not to drop its guard. The US and UK said they would judge Moscow on its actions rather than its words

• The mayor of Chernihiv told the BBC the announcement was good news - but "time will tell" if the Russians stick to their word

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And here's more from Ukrainian President Zelensky's address on Tuesday night - he said there can be "no talk" of lifting sanctions on Russia until the war ends.

"The question of sanctions cannot even be raised until this war is over, until we get back what is ours," he said.

On Monday, Zelensky criticised the "passive" threat of additional sanctions in the event of certain Russian actions, such as the use of chemical weapons.

"Doesn't everything the Russian military has done to date warrant an oil embargo? Don't phosphorous bombs warrant it?" he asked.

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Russia insists that “militants” must lay down their weapons in the embattled city of Mariupol, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone call earlier today with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

According to a Telegram post by Russia's foreign ministry, the two leaders discussed "current developments" in Ukraine, with a focus on humanitarian efforts.

With regards to Mariupol, Putin "emphasised that in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation...Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resisting and lay down their weapons".

An official from the French presidency said Macron brought up the subject of carrying out a humanitarian mission in Mariupol - but the conditions were not in place for one now.

Additionally, the two leaders discussed rouble payments for Russian gas supplies to the European Union.

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Football fans and players across Europe have been expressing solidarity with Ukraine at tonight's international matches:

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Snow Patrol are among the acts that have performed at a star-studded fundraising concert for Ukraine in Birmingham.

The chart-topping band opened the show with their hit Run, before appearances from artists including Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Nile Rodgers, Emeli Sandé and Jamala – who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine in 2016.

They would “send messages of solidarity and hope to the people of Ukraine”, co-host Roman Kemp told viewers.

The show is raising funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)’s humanitarian appeal, and is being watched by 8,000 fans in person and millions more on ITV and STV.

The broadcasters are donating an estimated £3m of advertising revenue, with £250,000 generated by ticket sales.

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And here's more American reaction to the Russian announcement: despite a shift in focus to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, Russia continues to pose a threat to Kyiv, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says.

Kirby says Russia is likely to have changed its focus as a result of a failure to swiftly take Ukraine's capital - which he claims was a key objective of Russia's operations.

Kirby adds that while "small numbers" of Russian troops have been moving away from Kyiv, the Pentagon believes this is a "repositioning", rather than a withdrawal.

"We are not - and nobody should be - fooling ourselves by the Kremlin's recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce attacks near Kyiv.

"It does not mean that the threat to Kyiv is over. [Russia is] still inflicting massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv even today, and continued airstrikes."

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Earlier today, Russia said it would "drastically reduce combat operations" around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv after "meaningful" progress was made in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

Here's a round-up of some of the international reaction to that pledge:

• Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the talks yielded the "most significant progress" since the war began
• But the leaders of the United States, UK, France, Germany and Italy urged the West not to drop its guard against Russia. "They agreed there could be no relaxation of Western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine is over," they said, according to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office
• Separately, Joe Biden said: "I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are", while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was a difference between what Russia says and does

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The shelling of a local government building came just after a short period of “relative calmness”, as locals put it.

Relative calmness here in southern Ukraine means some days without blasts and shooting in the city.

That temporary serenity felt so reassuring that the local authorities had encouraged local businesses to reopen and come back to work.

But then this morning a cruise missile hit a nine-storey block that housed the Mykolaiv region's administration.

The blast wave from that strike broke the windows and doors of residential and administrative buildings nearby.

“This is just horrible,” says Nina, a seller at a grocery store where glass windows were destroyed because of the blast.

“But the main thing is that we are alive. We will repair all this,” she adds.

The cabinet room of Vitaliy Kim, regional governor, was destroyed, too. He said he survived because he overslept.

Having gained Ukraine-wide popularity thanks to his viral videos that start from a phrase “Good morning, we are from Ukraine”, today he added: “Not so good after all.”

The attack at the port city on the Black Sea came hours before the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations got under way on the other side of the sea, in Istanbul.

To the locals, it casts doubts over the “progressive” nature of the peace talks.

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The number of people known to have died in a Russian rocket attack on a government building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has risen to nine, up from seven, officials say.

"According to information currently available, nine people have been killed and 28 have been injured," the regional prosecutor's office said.

Watch footage of the attack, and the aftermath, below.