As this newsletter is being published, ITV News reports that a Ukrainian official has said that peace talks with Russia began on 27 February.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously offered talks in Belarus, but Ukraine’s president rejected this since he described Belarus as a staging ground for Putin’s invasion. A Russian spokesman then said the Ukrainian side had refused negotiations, and as a consequence the main Russian forces resumed their advance.

But how much one can believe anything the Russians say is highly questionable. Putin has previously said he will not start a war in Ukraine and that his troops in the Russian-controlled areas of southeast Ukraine were performing “peacekeeping duties”.

Putin claims he has sent troops into Ukraine for the “demilitarization and denazification” of the country. But while far-right groups exist with Ukraine, there is no evidence of widespread support for them and a coalition of ultranationalist right-wing parties recently failed to win any seats in the legislature.