The talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials have begun on the Belarusian border
Talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began on the Belarusian border on Monday, with Kyiv urging an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.
It was not clear whether any progress could be achieved after President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched the assault and put Russia’s nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday.
The Russian delegation to the peace talks is led by the Kremlin’s special envoy, Vladimir Medinsky, while the Ukrainian side is led by Davyd Arakhamia, who leads President Zelensky’s Servant of the People party in the Ukrainian parliament.
“Dear friends, the President of Belarus has asked me to welcome you & facilitate your work as much as possible. As it was agreed with the Presidents Zelenskiyy and Putin, you can feel completely secure,” Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said at the start of talks, according to the foreign ministry’s translation on Twitter.
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns English football Premier League club Chelsea, has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, his spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov has canceled a trip to Geneva for disarmament talks because his plane would not be able to pass through airspace that the European Union has closed to Russian aviation as part of sanctions against Moscow, RIA news agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying on Monday.
Moscow says Russia will ‘ride out’ sanctions
“Western sanctions on Russia are hard, but our country has the necessary potential to compensate for the damage,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that President Putin was meeting with key economic advisors on Monday to deal with broad financial penalties implemented by Western governments.
“Russia has been systematically preparing for quite a long time for possible sanctions, including the heaviest sanctions that we are now facing,” Peskov said.
Sanctions against Russian banks, businesses, and leaders has sent the ruble tumbling to historically low values. The country’s central bank has had to more than double its main interest rate to 20% to try and prop up the currency. Moscow’s stock market remained closed on Monday.
Half a million flee Ukraine
More than half a million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale attack on the country, the United Nations said Monday.
According to the UN, more than half fled into Poland.
“More than 500,000 refugees have now fled from Ukraine into neighboring countries,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet.
