10 things you need to know today: March 31, 2022

Russia says Ukraine talks not "particularly promising," Collins becomes 1st Republican to say she'll vote to confirm Jackson, and more

Mourners at the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier in Lviv
Mourners at the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier in Lviv
(Image credit: Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

1. Russia dismisses talk of progress in Ukraine negotiations

Russia on Wednesday downplayed reports of progress at this week's peace talks with Ukraine as Russian forces intensified their offensive in eastern Ukraine. "No one said that the sides have made headway," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "We can't point to anything particularly promising." On Tuesday, Moscow negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss peace once a draft deal was ready. Russia promised to reduce operations around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to "increase mutual trust," but renewed shelling in those areas made Ukrainian and Western leaders skeptical. With Russia, Zelensky said, "you can trust only concrete results."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.