Talks between Ukraine and Russia have started at the Belarussian border, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said. The Ukrainian president’s office said their goal for the talks was a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian forces.
Before the talks started, the Kremlin said it would not declare its official position as Moscow’s assault against Ukraine went into a fifth day. “I suggest we wait for the talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “I would not declare any negotiating positions.”
Ukraine agreed to the talks around the same time as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered defence chiefs to put nuclear “deterrence forces on high alert.
The talks are being held at Ukraine’s border with Belarus — near the Chernobyl exclusion zone — after a call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko. Ukraine had earlier refused to talk in Belarus, where Russian troops were stationed before the invasion.
The United Nations Security Council will hold a rare emergency special session of the General Assembly today to discuss Russia’s attack on Ukraine. India abstained from the procedural vote, but welcomed the talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
The UN has said 102 civilians, including seven children, have been killed in Ukraine. The UN refugee agency has said tens of thousands are fleeing the fighting, with most crossing into Poland as the total count reaches 400,000. Others are seeking shelter in Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia. Pope Francis has called for corridors for civilians to escape the fighting.
