Talks between Ukraine and Russia have started at the Belarussian border, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters via text message on Monday.

Earlier the Ukrainian president’s office said Ukraine’s goal for the talks was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

“I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting,” Mr. Zelensky said, as the Ukrainian army, joined by a growing force of citizens turned soldiers, prepared to repel another assault on the capital.

The British military said on Monday that the bulk of the Russian forces attacking Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, were some 18 miles north of the city and were being slowed by the Ukrainian army’s fierce defense of the Hostomel airfield, a key Russian objective. In an early-morning statement released on Twitter, the British Defense Intelligence agency reported that fierce fighting continued around the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv, but both remained under Ukrainian control.

The Ukrainian armed forces said that as of 6 a.m. Monday they had succeeded in making the advancing Russian forces slow the pace of their offensive.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine accused the Russian forces of continuing to target civilian airfields and other critical infrastructure in violation of international humanitarian law.

“At the same time, all attempts by the Russian invaders to achieve the goal of the military operation failed,” the military said in a statement. “It is possible to successfully repel the attacks of battalion tactical groups on the approaches, forcing the enemy to abandon the offensive.”

Source: Al Arabiya News, The New York Times

BDST: 1725 HRS, FEB 28, 2022
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