1st round of peace talks between Russia-Ukraine concludes

Ukraine announced that the first round of talks with Russia to end the war has ended, and that more talks could take place soon. As Russia’s invasion of its neighbour entered its fifth day, sources reported that talks between Ukraine and Russia began near the Belarussian border, according to a Ukrainian presidential advisor.

Ukraine has vowed not to surrender ground in talks with Russia, stating that the talks’ goal is an immediate ceasefire and the Russian military’s withdrawal from Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled west as a result of the war, which even the EU estimates might eventually displace up to seven million people.

As Russian armies battle on the streets of Ukraine’s towns, Russia has become an international pariah, facing plenty of sanctions, including a ban on Western airspace and vital banking networks.

The talks are taking place near Belarus’s border with Russia, where a referendum on Sunday approved a new constitution that repealed the country’s non-nuclear status, at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a staging ground for Russian troops trying to invade Ukraine.

Ukraine has asked that all Russian military leave the country. A second round of negotiations between the two countries is already being planned.

Russia-Ukraine war update:

At least 11 civilians were killed and dozens more were injured in Russian shelling on Ukraine’s second-most-populated city, Kharkiv, on Monday, as per the regional governor.

Four days into invading Ukraine, the biggest invasion on a European state since World War 2, Russia’s diplomatic and economic isolation grows.

Russian military have taken control of two small towns in southern Ukraine, as well as the territory surrounding a nuclear power facility.

Blasts were heard early Monday in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and Kharkiv, a significant eastern city, according to Ukrainian authorities. They said that Russian ground forces’ attempts to take major cities had been rebuffed.

The towns of Berdyansk and Enerhodar in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, as well as the territory around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station, were taken over by Russian soldiers, according to sources. The plant’s operations were unaffected, according to the statement.

Ukraine denied that the nuclear power facility had been taken over by Russians. Since Thursday, at least 102 civilians have been murdered in Ukraine, with another 304 injured, but the true number is likely to be much higher. More than 500,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Since Thursday, Russia has fired over 350 missiles into Ukrainian sites, with some of them striking civilian infrastructures.