New Delhi: Talks between Ukraine and Russia were held on Monday to discuss a possible ceasefire — though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that dialogue may amount to nothing as Vladimir Putin continued his assault on the neighbour.
The Russian side reached early at the secret venue along the Belarus border. The Ukrainian delegation arrived soon after. According to the Ukrainian Presidency, the delegation included the Minister of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was not part of the delegation, the CNN reported.
The Kremlin delegation was led by Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei welcomed the delegations, assuring members that they should feel “completely safe”.
“Dear friends, the President of Belarus asked me to welcome you and to provide everything for your work, as agreed with President Zelensky and President Putin. You may feel completely safe here. This is our sacred duty,” Makei said.
CNN quoted him as saying: “President Lukashenko sincerely hopes that, during today’s talks, it will be possible to find solutions to all the questions of this crisis. All Belarusians are praying for this. Any proposals, in terms of organising today’s meeting, will be considered and absolutely fulfilled,” he added. “We look forward to the results.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had assured Volodymyr Zelensky of all safety guarantees, Ukraine said Sunday.
Zelensky’s office said, according to CNN, that Lukashenko had “taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on the Belarusian territory will remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, meeting and return.”
Before the talks, Ukraine demanded an “immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops” as both countries strove for a possible breakthrough.
As “diplomatic manoeuvring” continued, blasts were heard early morning in capital Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv, Reuters quoted Ukrainian authorities. The report said Russian forces met stiff resistance in Kyiv.
Later in the day, Russian forces fired at residential areas in Kharkiv “killing dozens and wounding hundred”, a Reuters report said.
Russia on Monday pressed on with the attacks. The country’s news agency Interfax reported that forces had seized two small cities in southeastern Ukraine and the surrounding area of a nuclear power plant. Ukraine, however, denied that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant had fallen to Russia.
The Kremlin declined to comment Monday on the progress of Russia’s offensive. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists: “I don’t think this is the time to sum up the results of the [military] operation, we need to wait for completion of the operation.”
The UN’s Michelle Bachelet said Monday that the latest toll for civilian deaths in Ukraine stood at 102, with 304 people injured. She, however, said the true figure could be “considerably higher”. Bachelet said there were seven children among the dead. She added civilians were killed from impactful explosives, and shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems.
According to the UN, 422,000 people have fled Ukraine, while other civilians still in the country are “forced to huddle in different forms of bomb shelters, such as underground stations, to escape explosions”.
The Russian Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country was closing its airspace to the carriers of 36 countries. This was in retaliation to bans imposed by European states on Russian flights.
Russia continued to face a barrage of sanctions from the West, with bans imposed on anything with Russian exposure — from banks to its sportspersons.
Meanwhile, Belarus has emerged a key player in the conflict. The Washington Post recently quoted a US official saying Belarus was preparing to participate directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A Ukrainian government official told CNN that Belarus may “allow Russians to use their territory as well as let them cross the border” into Ukraine.
Belarus on Sunday had ditched its non-nuclear status – a decision backed by a referendum, according to Lukashenko – though the West has denounced this referendum as “neither a viable – nor credible – path forward for Belarus”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told MSNBC Sunday that the US and its allies “reserve the right to further sanction Belarus”.
Also read: India supports initiative to release emergency oil reserves to calm prices amid Ukraine crisis