MOSCOW: A Russian delegation has arrived in Belarus for talks in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesperson was quoted by the Ifax news agency as saying on Sunday, the first negotiation since Russia started its invasion on February 24.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation included officials from the foerign and defence ministries and President Putin’s office, and was awaiting the arrival of their Ukraine counterparts in the Belarusian city of Gomel.
Moscow ordered its troops to advance in Ukraine “from all directions” while the West responded late Saturday with sanctions that sought to cripple Russia’s banking sector.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy says invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas
Ukrainian officials said 198 civilians, including three children, had been killed since Russia invaded on Thursday, and warned Russia saboteurs were active in Kyiv where explosions forced residents to flee underground.
Earlier, Moscow said that it fired cruise missiles at military targets, continuing the offensive after accusing Ukraine of having “rejected” talks.
But on day three on Russia invasion, defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his country would never give in to the Kremlin as Washington said the invading force had a “lack of momentum”.
Russia opens door for diplomatic resolution of Ukraine standoff
Ukraine’s army said it held back an assault on the capital, but was fighting Russian “sabotage groups” that had infilterated the city.
“We will fight until we have liberated our country,” the Ukrainian President stated in a video message.
He earlier said Ukraine had “derailed” Moscow’s plan to overthrow him and urged Russians to pressure President Vladimir Putin into stopping the conflict.
In retaliation to the invasion, the West said it would remove some Russian banks from the SWIFT bank messaging system, and froze central bank assets, essentially crippling Russia’s trade with most of the world.
A US official has, however, said that there has been a “lack of momentum over the last 24 hours”, and the Russian military had still not gained air superiority over the country.
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