ah, ah ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin, ukraine and russia are again holding direct talks to try and end the war in ukraine, posted by turkish president, russia type as the one negotiators for the 2 sides are sitting down together for the 1st time in over 2 weeks, also coming up, ukraine says its forces have retaken a key town near the capital cave, but you, france, president. warren's russian troops are regrouping to seize it back to elsewhere. the country continues to suffer heavy damage. we also take

a look at the situation on the streets of cave. people have prepared themselves for a possible russian assault. but as the russians are stored in front of the city, confidence is returning to the capital. ah, i am pablo foliage. welcome to the program. peace talks between ukrainian and russia. negotiators are underway in istanbul, turkey, turkish president. russia tie up at the one welcome to delegations, saying both sides had legitimate concerns. it's the 1st face to face these fire discussions in more than 2 weeks delegations from ukraine and russia previously met 3 times in the border region of better. bruce. well, let's go to our correspondent hulahan, who's in istanbul outside the dorm, a bachelor palace where the talks are taking place,

how you look good to see you. what's the latest you can tell us. well the talks continue, a member of the ukrainian delegations said he wants to talk to the press later. so we hope to get an update on what's been happening there in the building. right. so behind me, the dorm, a bunch of presidential office here in istanbul, a where the talks are taking place. it is, as you mentioned, the 1st face to face talks in nearly 3 weeks. and the fact that they all taking place here in tub, he has already been hailed as a success by the turkish government, the government that has emerged and is trying to act as a mediator. in this crisis. president edward personally welcomed the delegations earlier today and he told them that it was now up to them and i quote him to prevent to stop this tragedy. now the question is, of course, what can these talks achieve? what are the expectations?

and while we heard the turkish president say that some progress has been made, we also know that previous rounds of talks have made no progress. so i guess it's fair to say that the expectations for this week's works here in istanbul aren't too high. you good, do we know what's on the table as they negotiate? well, the ukrainian government, the biggest goal, and that's what they said earlier was to is to achieve a ceasefire, an immediate cease fire to protect civilians inside a ukraine. but we also heard a senior ukrainian officials say that he doesn't think any breakthrough will be made on the main issues. and these main issues are those concerning ukraine's long term political future, ukraine's aspiration, aspirations for nato membership. the neutrality of the country. russia wants to drop ukraine, wants them to drop these aspirations and presents the lensky said he might be

willing to declare ukraine's neutrality. and these are issues according to the turkish govern where an agreement can be found eventually. but the main sticking point, according to present edwin spokesperson is the fate and the future of crimea, which russia next and 2014, and the eastern ukrainian don boss region where russia ones ukraine and the international community to recognize these territories as russian. but of course, that touches the territorial integrity of ukraine. that is something they are not willing to do as far as we know. we heard the ukrainian foreign minister say earlier today, we're not trading people land or sovereignty. and that shows just how difficult these talks hadn't been and still off. how high level are the delegates in attendance? well, we are, don't have any official list on who is part of each of the delegations,

but we do know on behalf of ukraine. the defense minister is here, the majority leader, all the ukrainian, paul humans on the russian side is chief negotiator. mr. medina. sky you for example, but interestingly, and very interestingly, roman abramoff which is also here, the russian oligarch who was sanctioned by the west. and as far as we know he has been part in previous weeks of unofficial talks. also involving a president ed, one spokes person. so he seems to be a very important figure in these talks, and it's interesting he's here, especially since these talks here in istanbul or overshadowed by these allegations that mr. brockovich and members of the ukrainian delegation delegation had allegedly been poison during earlier talks at the ukrainian bella, russian border. so that is certainly something we'll watch out for today. that is what i can tell you right now from here. julia, honey stumble, money,

thanks. now to some of the other stories we're following for you, this, our a kremlin spokesman that says russia has no plans to use nuclear weapons in the war against ukraine. in a t v interview to meet the pascal of said, russia would only use nuclear weapons if it faced a threat to its existence. vladimir putin has stoked fears of new care war after warning. western intervention in ukraine would trigger, quote, consequences you have never seen. because the u. s. president joe biden says he makes no apologies for saying the russian president vladimir putin cannot remain in power while insisting he's not quoting for regime change in russia. biden says he was expressing quote, moral outrage towards over the war in ukraine. amnesty international has accused russia of committing war crimes in ukraine, likening the situation to its actions in the syrian war. the human rights

organizations denounced russia's deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country. amnesty also accused moscow of turning humanity, a humanitarian car, doors into quote, death traps on the ground in ukraine. the situation is a mixed picture. tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in dire humanitarian conditions and the besieged port, city of matthew pal and authorities in the southern city of mich alive, say the regional government has been badly damaged by russian strikes, leaving several people unaccounted for. but ukrainian forces also appeared to be winning back territory. the gains include the embattled keep suburb of pain, which blocks the path to the capital for russian forces. ah, gunfire on the ukrainian town of air pin here, ukraine says it is made new gains in repelling russia's invasion. the town on the outskirts of keith was taken off to fierce battles. and heavy shelling presents

lensky announced the recapture, but worn. the situation is still tense, over budget, if the occupiers are being pushed away from your pin movie, he pushed away from kiva, loaded the co operatives too early to talk about a secure situation. the fighting continues. ukrainian soldiers are expecting further attacks and have been preparing to hold a ground. one soldier explained, they were able to push back russian forces 3 to 4 kilometers from their position, the cypress worker. when we were clear this barbara's were shooting at us. within 60000 people used to live in our pin, many of them were forced to flee. some manage to escape fighting on the front line to get to keith. oh, do you think when you shut my chest, pray to god for salvation. worsley then why pray? every day for the soldiers who defend us, let them have courage. god,

let them have strength failed. ho. ukrainian troops said they were also able to retake control of the town of toes dentist in the northeast, close to the border with russia. russian army tanks and artillery were left behind after counter attacks by ukrainian forces. and in nearby car keys, the war has left homes and streets in ruin. the besieged city of mar, your pole is still contending with a major humanitarian crisis. 160000 people are trapped without food, water and power. at least 5000 have been killed. officials have renewed their appeal for people to be evacuated. even with peace talks underway, russian troops continued to bombard defense facilities in ukraine. and ukrainian

soldiers are determined to stand firm against russia's aggression. well, while fighting continues on caves outskirts in the capital city center, regular life has cautiously but slowly been returning. for those who decided to stay enjoying a coffee again in a cafe provides a stark reminder of how things used to be. our correspondent in cave sent us this report. this is how most streets and kia looked like these days before the war kia was one of europe's party destinations. this street was full of young people, spending the evenings, and not far from here. you would hear the constant drum of the bass from technol clubs. now the only drum you hear is from artillery from the outskirts saving statues from war. the fighting has left its mark on the city, even though downtown keith has so far been spared heavy shelley. it's mostly the elderly was still in the capital yet. gillis,

i was born here. my mother was born here and my grandmother. my great grandmother, lived here. i was here yesterday and i am here today. i am out and about with chris bull hadn't been in this, i have memories of every corner here. boy and i pray to god that i and all other residents of keith will be all right. sampled the doping stillness. yes. and we, we have everything there is heating, there's water, there's electricity, it would be a sin to complain. of course, there are restrictions. the very fact that there is a war is a terrible psychologically. but physically we're managing. we're few teachers that give according to official estimates, half of the population has left on the ground. it feels like more than that, those that remain have been anxiously following the fighting. so far. the outer defenses have held on key of center my dance, where things are come for weeks give has been fortified. people have prepared

themselves for a possible russian thought. but as the russians are stored in front of the city, confidence as returning to the capitol. people are slowly returning to the streets . they're feeling more comfortable being outside. businesses are now reopening some never close their doors like this coffee shop in the trendy padilla neighborhood. on the very 1st day of the war, the owner decided to yet to stay. in bristol, they can come today a proposal, it got amazon hollywood at 8 a. m people came in and asked whether they could get a coffee. some of them usually we open at 12, but they looked at me in a way that i couldn't say no. then even more people came and that's when i understood many are leaving, but there are those who want to stay just and they need something to look for, which is great. but i didn't look what it was. my inclin, i knew though, often since then,

the cafe has remained open. the staff have been donating meals to those and shelters and to the military in the city where so many civilians have left those in uniform. i know among the most regular client actor will smith has apologize to chris rock for slapping him on stage during sunday nights academy awards ceremony and instagram post smith said violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive my behavior at last night's comment academy awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. earlier the u. s. film academy condemned smith's behavior and announced an investigation into the incident. will smith hit chris rock after the committee and made a joke about smith's wife, j to pink at the group stage, draw for the world cup finals in katara takes place this coming friday, and peru are among the nation. still vine for a spot at the tournament. fans in lima are going the extra mile. and on monday,

a group of shannon's did their bait for the cause. casting spells that they believe will bring their team for to peru, phase paraguay on tuesday, in their last qualifier. and only victory will guarantee them a chance to book their ticket to guitar in a final play or friend to be held in june. you're watching d w news. here's a recap of our main story. ukraine and russia are holding direct peace talks in istanbul, turkey their 1st in 2 weeks turkish president, russia tie up at the, i'm welcome to delegations, saying both sides had legitimate concerns. the negotiations come as the mayor of you, pope says russia c h has left nearly 5000 dead in the city, including over 200 children. he's warned mighty. you pull it on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. and accused moscow of committing a genocide. you're watching video news from berlin.

don't forget you can always keep up to date on our website. that's d, w dot com and you can follow up on our social media. kinds of next rob walks is here with dw business on pub. odious, thanks for watching. see you at the top of the next hour, take care. ah ah, what people have to say matters to us. mm. mm. that's why we listen to their stories reporter every weekend on d w.