TOP HEADLINES

• Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected to start in Turkey on Tuesday.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone call that Istanbul would host the talks.

• Ukraine says Turkey is among countries that could offer Kyiv security guarantees as part of any deal with Russia.

• Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should only meet once agreement is closer, said the Russian foreign minister.

• The mayor of Mariupol said all the city's civilians must be evacuated to escape a humanitarian catastrophe. The mayor's office said almost 5,000 citizens had died during the fighting, while Kyiv's mayor said the capital had suffered more than 100 deaths.

• Ukraine's deputy PM said the country has no plans to open any humanitarian corridors because intelligence reports had warned of possible Russian "provocations" along the routes.

• Ukraine's deputy Defense Minister claimed Russian forces are regrouping to reinforce their positions without advancing.

• The Kremlin vowed to investigate a video alleging mistreatment of captured Russian soldiers by Ukrainian forces. 

• The EU's agency for criminal justice cooperation supports the creation of a joint investigation team into alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.

• Zelenskyy revealed details of his conversations with the leaders of Germany, Italy, the UK and Azerbaijan.

• The Kremlin expressed concern at U.S. President Joe Biden's comments that Putin could not remain in power.

• The conflict has so far cost Ukraine $564.9 billion in infrastructure damage and lost economic growth, the country's economy minister said.

• Dutch brewing giant Heineken has decided to exit its business in Russia at an expected cost of $438 million.

• Britain has instructed public sector bodies to review any contracts they have with Russian firms and consider switching suppliers.

• Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said that it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. 

• Apple is planning to cut the output of its iPhone and AirPods devices as the Ukraine crisis and looming inflation cut demand for consumer electronics.

• British pension fund managers are writing off billions of pounds of frozen Russian assets held for their members as they run out of options to sell them safely, adding to the risks to their funding positions.

IN DETAIL: 

PEACE TALKS SET FOR TUESDAY

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected to start in Turkey on Tuesday. The Kremlin said it was important that the talks would be held face-to-face, despite scant progress in negotiations so far.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone call on Sunday that Istanbul would host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Turkey is among countries that could offer Kyiv security guarantees as part of any deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

"Turkey is among those countries that could become guarantors of our security in the future," said Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office. Kyiv has said it wants legally binding security guarantees that would offer Ukraine the protection of a group of allies in the event of a future attack.

Turkey said the talks could begin as early as Monday, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that was unlikely as the negotiators would only be arriving in Turkey on Monday.

Peskov told reporters that no progress had been made on the idea of a potential meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Serbian media outlets that the presidents should only meet once the two sides are closer to agreeing on key issues, warning that the pair exchanging views on the conflict right now could be counter-productive.

However, a senior Ukrainian official struck a pessimistic note ahead of even the preliminary talks. "I don't think there will be any breakthrough on the main issues," interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said.

MILITARY ACTION UPDATES

The mayor of Mariupol said on Monday that all civilians must be evacuated from the encircled Ukrainian city to allow them to escape a humanitarian catastrophe.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said 160,000 civilians were still trapped in the southern port city on the Sea of Azov without heat and power after weeks of Russian bombardment.

He said 26 buses were waiting to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, which normally has a population of about 400,000 people, but Russian forces had not agreed to give them safe passage. He did not say where they were waiting.

"The situation in the city remains difficult. People are beyond the line of humanitarian catastrophe," Boichenko said on national television. "We need to completely evacuate Mariupol… The Russian Federation is playing with us. We are in the hands of the invaders."

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the country has no plans to open any humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities on Monday because intelligence reports had warned of possible Russian "provocations" along the routes.

Almost 5,000 people have been killed in Mariupol since Russian forces laid siege to it, a spokesperson for the mayor said on Monday. Data released by Vadym Boichenko's office suggested 90 percent of buildings had been damaged and 40 percent destroyed, including hospitals, schools, kindergartens and factories.

About 140,000 people had fled the city on the Sea of Azov before the Russian siege began and 150,000 have exited since then, leaving 170,000 still there, according to the data, which Reuters could not immediately verify.

Meanwhile, Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said his city had suffered more than 100 deaths during the conflict, with 82 multistory buildings destroyed.

In an address to city councilors of Florence, which is twinned with Kyiv, Klitschko said more than 20 corpses could not be identified and four of the victims were children, while another 16 injured children are in hospital.

Ukraine's deputy defense minister said Russian forces are regrouping and trying to reinforce positions they already hold, but are unable to advance anywhere in the country. "As of today, the enemy is regrouping its forces, but they cannot advance anywhere in Ukraine,"  Hanna Malyar told a briefing, without providing evidence of Russian troop movements.

British military intelligence said on Monday that the disposition of Russian forces in Ukraine during the last 24 hours has seen no significant change. However, the defense ministry added that Russia has gained more ground in the south, in the vicinity of Mariupol.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian investigators would look into a video circulated on social media that purported to show Ukrainian forces mistreating captured Russian soldiers. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the video, which he said contained "monstrous images", needed to be legally assessed and for those who took part in what he described as torture to be held responsible.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the video cited by the Kremlin. The Ukrainian military has previously said its forces respect international norms and has accused Russia – again, without providing evidence – of producing such videos in order to discredit Ukrainian soldiers.

Eurojust, the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation, said on Monday it supported the creation of a joint investigation team (JIT) into alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.

"The responsible national authorities of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed a JIT agreement on 25 March to enable the exchange of information and facilitate investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity and other core crimes," Eurojust said in a statement.

GLOBAL REACTION AND BUSINESS ROUNDUP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed he had been conversing with the leaders of several countries on Monday as he sought support for his country. 

He said he had discussed the progress of peace talks with Russia in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "Pressure on Russia must continue, sanctions must be intensified," Zelenskyy said on Twitter, while Scholz insisted Germany and its partners had more options they could implement if necessary.

Zelenskyy also revealed he had spoken to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi about giving Ukraine security guarantees to protect it from future threats. "Ukrainian people will remember this. We appreciate Italy's willingness to join the creation of a system of security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on Twitter.

Zelenskyy also said he had spoken to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson about intensifying sanctions and strengthening defensive cooperation – and to Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev, whom he said had offered fuel for Ukraine's crop-sowing campaign.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has directed the world body's aid chief "to explore with the parties involved" the possibility of a humanitarian ceasefire.

UN Secretary-General Guterres appealed for a ceasefire "to allow for progress in serious political negotiations, aimed at reaching a peace agreement based on the principles of the United Nations Charter."

The Kremlin has expressed concern at U.S. President Joe Biden's comments that Vladimir Putin could not remain in power.

Biden made the comments to a crowd in Warsaw on Saturday. The White House later clarified that that the United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would continue to closely follow Biden's statements.

The conflict has so far cost Ukraine $564.9 billion in terms of damage to infrastructure, lost economic growth and other factors, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Monday.

In an online post, she said the fighting had damaged or destroyed almost 5,000 miles of roads and 10 million square meters of housing.

Dutch brewing giant Heineken has decided to exit its business in Russia at an expected cost of $438 million, after previously saying it would only halt new investment and exports to the country.

The company joins a raft of Western brands shuttering businesses in Russia following the fighting in Ukraine, with Heineken's move likely to dial up pressure on Danish rival Carlsberg, the owner of Russia's biggest brewer, Baltika.

"We have concluded that Heineken's ownership of the business in Russia is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment," the company said in a statement, adding that it would not profit from any transfer of ownership. Heineken is the third-largest brewer in Russia.

Britain has instructed public sector bodies to review any contracts they have with Russian firms and consider switching suppliers, noting that most existing contracts were for energy and could benefit the Russian state.

"Public money should not fund Putin's war machine," government minister Steve Barclay said in a statement. “We are asking hospitals, councils and other organizations across the public sector to urgently look at all the ways they can go further to sever their commercial ties to Russia.”

The government is searching for alternative energy suppliers to replace Russian gas, which makes up less than 4 percent of Britain's supply.

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said that it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 109.5 million cubic meters (mcm) for March 28 after 109.6 mcm a day earlier.

Russia is working out methods for accepting payments of its gas exports in rubles and said it would take decisions in due course should European countries refuse to pay in the Russian currency. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there would be a clear framework for making such payments.

EU leaders on Friday failed to agree a short-term solution to the energy market crunch, exacerbated by Russia's actions in Ukraine. No common position emerged either on Russia's demand last week that "unfriendly" countries must use rubles to pay for its gas.

Apple is planning to cut the output of its iPhone and AirPods devices as the Ukraine crisis and looming inflation start to weigh on demand for consumer electronics, the Nikkei reported on Monday, citing sources.

The company plans to make about 20 percent fewer iPhone SEs next quarter, due to weaker-than-expected demand, the Nikkei said. The U.S. tech giant also reduced orders for its AirPods wireless headphones by more than 10 million units for all of 2022.

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled 5G connectivity to its iPhone SE, its low-cost model aimed mostly at buyers in emerging markets.

British pension fund managers are writing off billions of pounds of frozen Russian assets held for their members as they run out of options to sell them safely, adding to the risks to their funding positions.

The funds have in many cases marked those assets down in value, since the conflict has led to rounds of sanctions by Western governments and countermeasures by Russia.

There are around $2.64 trillion of assets in defined benefit, or final salary pension funds, which provide a guaranteed income in retirement for millions of workers including refuse collectors, supermarket staff and bank tellers. Russia investments are thought to account for up to 0.5 percent of pension holdings in Britain, or $13 billion.