Meeting between UN chief and Russia was ‘very useful,’ secretary-general says

A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss measures to end the raging war in Ukraine was “very useful,” according to a top U.N. official who met with the Kremlin earlier this week.

The two leaders walked away with an agreement “in principle” to evacuate Ukrainian civilians from a steel plant in Mariupol while also explicitly stating the Russian invasion is a violation of the U.N. charter, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. It’s unclear whether any immediate changes will be made by the Russian government in response to the meeting, but Guterres said it would help bring an end to the monthslong war.