Independent Online

A quarter of Ukraine's people have fled their homes in the 35 days since The War began. And despite High Hopes , Peace Talks in Istanbul have reportedly failed to provide even a respite in the fighting, let alone a breakthrough.

Both sides are in Turkey for The Talks , with high expectations set on Tuesday. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has since said that while the Ukraine side had set out proposals on paper, there was nothing promising in terms of signs of a breakthrough.

Ukraine said it could become a neutral State - with security guarantees - to assuage Russia's fears it might join the Western military alliance, Nato.

But Russia dismissed Ukraine's proposal for talks about Crimea, which Russia annexed by military means in 2014.

And as The Talks went on, officials in Ukraine said on the northern city of Chernihiv, despite a Russian pledge to reduce military activity there.

The Governor of the Chernihiv region, Viacheslav Chaus, told The Bbc that The City had experienced a " tense night" while residents said shelling had continued into Wednesday.

More Than four million people have now fled Ukraine to escape Russia's invasion and More Than six million are displaced inside the country, according to the latest United Nations figures.

That means at least a quarter of the population have had to abandon their homes because of The War .

It's the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two - Poland alone has received 2. 3 million Ukrainian refugees.

The Bbc 's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says there can be no quick fix to such a major humanitarian crisis. Europe's unity and generosity will be needed not for weeks, but possibly years, she adds.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that shelling of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender.

Mr Putin made the comments during an hour-long phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday night, the Kremlin said in a statement.

But French officials said The Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from The City .

It Comes as new satellite photos showed the destruction caused by the shelling.

The images, released by The Earth observation company Maxar,

The Situation in Russia's media is unprecedented. Restrictions on reporting are increasingly severe, and access to almost all independent outlets is blocked or limited - or they censor themselves.

For most Russians, television remains the Main Source of The News . It is firmly controlled by the Kremlin and pumps out relentless pro-war propaganda. Ukrainians are said to shell their own cities, and Russian troops are presented as liberators.

There is more variety of opinion in The Print press, but it still largely sticks to the Kremlin line. The Independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta suspended operations on 28 March after receiving warnings from Russia's media watchdog Roskomnadzor.

But while many Independent Online outlets are blocked, restrictions are relatively easy to get around for internet-savvy Russians familiar with tools like virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Meduza and Mediazona websites operate from outside Russia and staff have told authorities in Moscow that they " will not silence us".

Russia says it has signed up some 16,000 recruits from the Middle East to fight with its forces in Ukraine and Social Media In Syria has been flooded with requests for people to join Russian troops In Return for up to $7,000 (£5,330).

One former Syrian regime soldier, who has been offered thousands of dollars to fight in The War , told Bbc News Arabic that his country's broken economy means hundreds of Syrians are putting themselves forward.

Source of news: bbc.com