LIVE: Abramovich attends Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul

Live news updates: India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4,30,21,982 on Tuesday with 1,259 fresh cases, while the number of active cases of the infection further declined to 15,378, according to the Union health ministry. The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,21,070 with 35 more fatalities, the ministry’s data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases account for 0.04 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said. A special unit of the Ukrainian defence forces, fighting the Ukraine war, has claimed that it has managed to destroy the 40-mile convoy of the Russian army heading towards Kyiv, according to media reports. The drone operators of the 30-strong Ukrainian special forces were drawn from an air reconnaissance unit Aerorozvidka, according to The Guardian. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday his government is “carefully” considering a Russian demand of Ukrainian neutrality, a key point of contention as negotiators for both sides prepare for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending the brutal month-long war.

US President Joe Biden on Monday said that his weekend comment in Europe that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power was a moral outrage for his invasion of Ukraine, and that does not reflect any change in American policy with respect to regime change. As such, Biden refused to apologize for his comments, on which his administration has been having a tough time in explaining over the past few days.