With that it's a wrap to the LIVE updates from the Russia-Ukraine war for today. Do join us tomorrow for the top developments from the crisis between the two countries. Until then stay tuned to CNBCTV18.com for more news, views and other updates.

Mar 29, 2022 11:35 PM

West remains wary of Russia's scale back claim

Western officials say Russia is building up troops in eastern Ukraine, but it's too soon to say whether Moscow's claim to be scaling back operations around Kyiv is true. Officials familiar with the intelligence picture said Tuesday that Moscow is reinforcing troops in the Donbas in an attempt to encircle Ukraine's best-trained and best-equipped forces, which are concentrated in the eastern region. Moscow has said gaining control of the Donbas is now its main military goal in Ukraine. A Western official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence said it's clear that Russia's tactics and strategies are changing but it's not yet clear what that prefigures. The British government also expressed scepticism about Russia's claims to be scaling back and its commitment to ending the war through talks. We will judge Putin and his regime by his actions, not by his words, said Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mar 29, 2022 11:29 PM

Russia-backed Donetsk People's Republic will consider joining Russia, says leader

The Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine may consider joining Russia once it controls all of Ukraine's Donetsk region, its news outlet cited separatist leader Denis Pushilin as saying on Tuesday. "The main task is to reach the constitutional borders of the republic. Then we will determine that," Pushilin was quoted by the Donetsk News Agency as saying.

Mar 29, 2022 10:53 PM

Bit of dancing on a tightrope: Tharoor on India's stand on Ukraine-Russia conflict

India has gone through a very "complicated and challenging time" in negotiating its diplomatic stand on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and because of its multiple interests with other countries, it's been a "bit of dancing on a tightrope," Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday. He was responding to a question during an interaction in New Delhi after inaugurating a three-day photo exhibition, 'Ukraine Untold (Glimpse)', on how the country looked barely a month before the war began. "India has gone through a very complicated and challenging time in negotiating as it were its own stand on the (Ukraine-Russia) crisis. There is no doubt that India in its very first statement seemed to be a little unwilling to say anything that the Russians will be upset about," he said. On India's stand on the conflict, Tharoor said, "In our subsequent statements while we have continued to abstain at UN, we have been a little more vocal on reiterating the principles and our diplomacy has taken into account the multifarious interests we have to look after". While with Russia, India has the "dependency" on military relationship, with the West, we have a "warning relationship" and "we can't antagonise them". "We are a member of Quad and we don't want US to take its eyes off the Indo-Pacific and focus purely on Europe. And then with Ukraine itself, we had to pull out 23,000 Indian citizens, mainly students, in the first few weeks," the Lok Sabha MP said. "So, because of all these interests, there is a bit of dancing on a tightrope," he added.

Mar 29, 2022 10:37 PM

Gujarat power generation cost spiked due to Russia-Ukraine war, coal prices, minister tells Assembly

Gujarat's electricity generation costs went up significantly due to the Russia-Ukraine war and rise in coal prices but the financial burden was borne by the state government and was not passed on to citizens, state energy minister Kanubhai Desai told the Assembly on Tuesday. Desai was addressing the House on the budgetary demands of the state's energy department. "Due to the Ukraine war and rising cost of coal in recent times, our electricity generation cost went up to Rs 3,000 crore. However, the entire cost was borne by the government without increasing power tariffs of citizens, farmers etc," he said.

Mar 29, 2022 10:21 PM

In villages near Kyiv, how Ukraine has kept Russia's army at bay

The burnt wreckage of two Russian tanks with blown off turrets and several armoured personnel carriers attest the ferocity of last week's clashes in Lukyanivka village just outside Kyiv. The charred corpse of a Russian soldier lies in a field nearby. "There were mortars so strong that it was scary even in the cellar," Valeriy Hudym told Reuters on Sunday, two days after Ukrainian soldiers seized back control of Lukyanivka in a five-hour battle with the Russians. "Tanks were firing, artillery, and machine guns. Everything possible was there." More than a month since Russia's invasion, the defence of Ukraine's capital Kyiv has played out in ferocious fighting in places like Lukyanivka and the nearby town of Brovary to the east, Irpin and Bucha to the northwest and Makariv to the west.

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Mar 29, 2022 9:42 PM

Russia has repeatedly fired hypersonic missiles at Ukraine targets, says US general

Russia has repeatedly fired hypersonic missiles at Ukrainian military targets, the top U.S. military commander in Europe, Air Force General Tod Wolters, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. "Most of those strikes have been designated at specific military targets," Wolters said. Russia announced on March 19 that it used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Mar 29, 2022 9:35 PM

UK says it wants "complete withdrawal" of Russian forces from Ukraine

Britain does not want to see anything less than a “complete withdrawal” of Russian forces from the Ukrainian territory and will judge Russia by its actions rather than words, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, Moscow said it will “drastically reduce military activity” on two fronts — Kyiv and Chernihiv. The British government acknowledged that there has been a reduction in Russian bombardment around Kyiv, the spokesperson added. (CNN)

Mar 29, 2022 9:14 PM

Russia draws up two cases against Google for not removing banned content

Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Tuesday said it had drawn up two administrative cases against Alphabet Inc's Google for failing to remove banned information, accusing it of blatantly promoting false content. Roskomnadzor said Google could be fined up to 8 million roubles ($91,533), or as much as 20% of the company's annual revenue in Russia for repeat offences. It said YouTube had become one of the key platforms involved in the "information war" against Russia. Google did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Mar 29, 2022 9:10 PM

Oil, Iran, Ukraine top agenda as Blinken meets UAE leader

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates in Morocco on Tuesday in a bid to ease disagreements with Washington's traditional Gulf allies over oil, Iran and the Ukraine crisis. The meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan will be his most important during a regional trip that unusually for a secretary of state did not include any stops in Gulf monarchies or talks with Saudi officials.

Mar 29, 2022 9:00 PM

Shares surge after "encouraging" Russia-Ukraine talks

World share markets surged and global borrowing costs climbed on Tuesday, as the first face-to-face talks between warring Russia and Ukraine in nearly three weeks yielded signs of progress. US stock indices jumped over 0.5%, Europe's main bourses enjoyed 1% to 2.5% gains, and oil tumbled 4% as Russia's deputy defence minister emerged saying Moscow has decided to drastically cut military activity around Ukraine's capital Kyiv and also Chernihiv.

Mar 29, 2022 8:53 PM

Russia says promised de-escalation falls short of ceasefire

Russia's promise to scale down military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine does not represent a ceasefire, Moscow's lead negotiator in talks with Ukraine said on Tuesday. "This is not a ceasefire but this is our aspiration, gradually to reach a de-escalation of the conflict at least on these fronts," Vladimir Medinsky said in an interview with the TASS news agency, referring to the promise to scale down operations near the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Mar 29, 2022 8:46 PM

Karjakin mulling appeal against six-month ban for pro-Russia comments

Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin is considering appealing against his six-month ban from competition for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he told Russian news agency TASS on Tuesday. The 32-year-old, who challenged Magnus Carlsen for the world title in 2016, has defended his country's actions on social media in recent weeks, drawing intense criticism from the chess world. The ban puts Karjakin's participation in the Candidates Tournament, which starts on June 16, in doubt.

Mar 29, 2022 8:37 PM

There is a difference between what Russia says and does, Blinken says

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". (BBC)

Mar 29, 2022 8:31 PM

UK to detain superyacht for first time

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. (BBC)

Mar 29, 2022 8:23 PM

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