March 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview Sunday that Russia’s demands to recognize the annexation of Crimea and the independence of the Donbas region is “very maximalist” and “not realistic”.

“These are the red lines for the Ukrainians in the Crimea and Donbas, and rightly so, because they pertain directly to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We have not recognized the annexation of Crimea as, like the rest of the world, even China has not recognized the annexation of Crimea …They [the Russians] should really come up with some other ideas,” he told CNN on the sidelines of the Doha Forum.

Turkey has been offering to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and has hosted several meetings, including a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian Foreign Ministers on March 10. The next round of talks between the two sides will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Tuesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan relayed a message to Moscow urging the negotiating teams to agree on the final sticking points in order to transition to a meeting at the leadership level between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin, Kalin told CNN.

“President Zelensky is ready to meet President Putin, it’s President Putin who has said no so far. And our president has said, I'm ready to facilitate bringing the two of you together, in Turkey or somewhere else… We believe that it's only through that meeting, that this war will come to an end,” he added.

The spokesperson emphasized that President Erdogan is keeping his line of communication open with both his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to help achieve to end the war, especially with Russia. When asked if President Putin listens to Erdoğan, Kalin said the two have a “long-standing relationship.”

“Certainly President Putin is listening to President Erdoğan and to his advice and to his ideas and suggestions. You can understand from their point of view that they don't trust most of the NATO countries, they don't want to talk to them anymore, right or wrong. But the reality is that someone has to talk to the Russian side, someone whom the Russians can also trust. Otherwise, this war can go on for months, for years, and the world cannot afford another prolonged war like that, and certainly, we cannot afford another Cold War.“

An expo center in Warsaw, Poland, is now the largest refugee hub in all of Europe for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, CNN's Kyung Lah reported as she showed viewers inside the building.

Lah said 95% of the refugees being housed in the temporary shelter are women, children and the elderly.

"They're the ones who have left safely out of Ukraine, but the emphasis here is that this is hub," she said.

Kyung noted that the expo center has various different areas for refugees to get their papers sorted out, get a bus ticket to travel to other parts of Europe, places to receive consistent meals and even healthcare assistance.

The center is privately owned but run jointly with the city.

Earlier Monday, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told journalists children make up half of the 3.8 million refugees from Ukraine that have arrived in the European Union since Russia's invasion.

Watch CNN's full report from the ground here:

In an interview Sunday with Russian journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at length about an important point in potential peace negotiations: the possibility of neutrality for Ukraine. 

“We are ready to accept this,” Zelensky said. “This is the most important point.”  

Zelensky and Ukrainian officials have long said they are willing to talk about neutrality for Ukraine if NATO is not ready to accept the country as a member of the alliance. 

That, in theory, would meet one of the demands of Russian President Vladimir Putin: that Ukraine gives up its NATO aspirations. 

But it’s not as simple as that. Zelensky has also made it clear that Ukraine would reject “neutrality” without legally binding security guarantees. And with Ukraine under invasion by Russia, the Ukrainian leader has said he isn’t interested in empty promises. 

“I'm interested in making sure it's not just another piece of paper a la the Budapest Memorandum,” he said. 

Zelensky was referring to a little-remembered moment in post-Cold War history. With the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine – on paper at least – came into possession of the world’s third-largest nuclear stockpile.

Russia did maintain operational control of those weapons, but Ukraine signed an agreement in 1994 to give up the nuclear weapons stationed on its territory in exchange for security guarantees, including the protection of the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine. That’s something Russia, a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, decisively trampled on with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in February. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, has said that security guarantees must, in essence, include a commitment from guarantors to assist Ukraine in the event of aggression.  

And it’s important to add that neutrality – of a sort that Putin might find palatable – is not something Zelensky can simply offer up. Aspiration to NATO membership is enshrined in Ukraine’s constitution. 

That’s where Zelensky gave Russian interviewers a bit of a lesson in Ukraine’s democratic processes. Security guarantees, he explained, would have to be followed by a referendum in Ukraine.  

“Why? Because we have a law about referendums,” Zelensky said. “We have passed it. Changes of this or that status... And security guarantees presuppose constitutional changes. You understand, don't you? Constitutional changes.” 

And therein lies the difference. Russia has a political system built around one man — Putin — and Zelensky is the head of a democratic state. Even if neutrality is on the negotiating table, the Ukrainian people will have to have their say.  

US President Joe Biden said he doesn't care what Vladimir Putin thinks of his comment that he shouldn't be in power in Russia.

"I don’t care what he thinks. He’s going to do what he’s going to do," Biden said when asked by a reporter whether he was concerned Putin would see the remark as escalatory. 

Biden said he was skeptical Putin could be swayed by any outside event, his remark included.

 Watch Reporters and Biden go back and forth over Putin remarks:

US President Joe Biden said that he was talking to the Russian people when he made the off-the-cuff remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” during a speech over the weekend.

“I was talking to the Russian people,” Biden said, when asked on Monday by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins why he ad-libbed the line.

Moments before, Biden likened the meaning of his comment to a person saying objectively, “bad people shouldn't continue to do bad things,” and not announcing a change in policy.

US President Joe Biden says he isn't walking back his remarks that President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power.

"I'm not walking anything back," President Biden said Monday at the White House, emphasizing he wasn't voicing a policy change but that he was expressing an opinion based on his emotions from the day. "I was expressing the moral outrage I felt toward the way Putin is dealing and the actions of this man.”

"I'd just come from being with those families," he said, referring to Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw. 

"I wasn’t then or wasn’t now expressing a policy change," Biden said.

Biden continued, “I was expressing just what I said — I was expressing the moral outrage I felt towards this man. I wasn't articulating a policy change. And I think that you know, if he continues on this course, he is going to become a pariah worldwide, and who knows what it can become at home in terms of support.”

The US President dismissed the suggestion that his remarks might escalate the conflict in Ukraine, telling reporters, “No, I'm not.”

Biden said the suggestion that other leaders may take issue with Biden’s unscripted remarks during his address in Poland has not borne, nor has it weakened NATO.

“NATO has never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever been as strong as it is today,” Biden said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday as part of their "ongoing dialogue," and told him that the UK will "strengthen economic pressure" on Russia, a Downing Street spokesperson said. 

The prime minister "reiterated the UK would maintain and strengthen economic pressure on Putin’s regime," the spokesperson continued. 

In a tweet Monday, Zelensky also said that the two countries "discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia." 

The UK has imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia, targeting individuals and companies. 

Zelensky also gave Johnson an update on the "appalling humanitarian situation" in the besieged city of Mariupol "where heavy fighting continues," the spokesperson said. 

“The Prime Minister offered his full support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s continued aggression, including with humanitarian support and more defensive equipment," they added.

Finally, as the latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to kick off in Istanbul on Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader also briefed his British counterpart on the talks, according to Downing Street.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday thanked Turkey for hosting the next round of talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The Russia-Ukraine talks are set to resume in-person in Istanbul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday during a news conference.  

During a call with journalists, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the negotiations between the two sides are likely to resume Tuesday.

The Pentagon is deploying six US Navy electronic warfare jets and more than 200 accompany troops to Germany as the US bolsters its forces in eastern Europe amid Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters today that six Navy E/A-18G Growler jets were deploying from Naval Air Station Whidbey in Washington state to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, and the jets were expected to arrive today.

In addition, they would be accompanied by about 240 Navy air crew, pilots and maintenance staff, he said.

The Navy Growler jets are primarily used for flying electronic warfare missions, including radar jamming to help suppress air defenses. 

Kirby said that the Growlers were not being sent to be used against Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, and the deployment was not being made in response to any incident. 

The Navy deployment adds to the thousands of US troops that have deployed to NATO countries in eastern Europe over the past five weeks since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.  

Brendan Stickles, a former commander of an E/A-18G squadron, told CNN that he wasn't surprised that an expeditionary Navy Growler squadron was deployed in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

"The six Growlers provide a unique electronic warfare capability to NATO that can help defend our partners and allies from any future aggression. Just as importantly, tactical deployments of non-kinetic forces — like the Growler — can expand our preparedness while avoiding any unintentional escalation," Stickles said.

CNN's Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this post.