KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian and Ukrainian delegations met Monday for talks amid high hopes but low expectations of any diplomatic breakthrough after Moscow unleashed the largest floor war in Europe since World War II and met strangely strong resistance.
As defeated but determined Ukrainian forces slowed the Russian advance and sanctions crippled the Russian economy, the military demonstrated that its nuclear forces were on high alert, according to President Vladimir Putin’s order. While this raises the specter of a nuclear conflict, it is unclear what practical effect it has had.
There is a tense calm in Kiev on Monday, where other people took cover to buy food and water after two nights trapped internally by the curfew. Explosions and gunfire were heard in besieged cities in eastern Ukraine, and terrified families piled up overnight in shelters, basements or corridors.
“I descend and pray that those negotiations will conclude effectively, that they will reach an agreement to end the massacre and that there will be no more war,” Alexandra Mikhailova said, crying as she hugged her cat in a makeshift shelter. in the strategic southeast. Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Around him, parents sought to comfort the young and keep them warm.
The exact death toll is unclear, but the U. N. human rights leader said 102 civilians were killed and many wounded in five days of fighting (warning that this figure is likely a major underestimate) and the Ukrainian president said at least 16 young people were among the dead. dead. More than 500,000 people have fled the country since the invasion, another U. N. official said Monday, among millions who have left their homes.
Still, a small glimmer of hope emerged when the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the war began began on Monday. Delegations gathered around a long table with the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine on one side and the russian tricolor flag on the other.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would call for a rapid ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
But while Ukraine sent its defense minister and other senior officials, the Russian delegation led through Putin’s culture adviser, an unlikely envoy to end the war and a sign of Moscow’s opinion on the talks.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Central Bank rushed to consolidate the source ruble, and the United States and European countries increased their arms deliveries to Ukraine. While they hope to curb Putin’s aggression, the measures also risk pushing an increasingly cornered Putin. and causing suffering to the Russians.
In Moscow, others covered up to withdraw cash as sanctions threatened their livelihoods and savings.
It was not without delay transparent what Putin was looking for in the talks or in the war itself, although Western officials need to overthrow the Ukrainian government and update it with their own regime, reviving Moscow’s influence during the Cold War era.
The erratic Russian leader made transparent a link between the tightening of sanctions and his resolution on Sunday to elevate Russia’s nutransparent stance. He also pointed to NATO’s “aggressive statements,” a reference to its long-standing position that the U. S. -led alliance is an existential risk. to Russia.
On Monday, the Defense Ministry said more personnel had been deployed in Russia’s nuclear forces and that high-alert prestige was implemented in all its components: the forces overseeing land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles and the fleet. of nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
It was not transparent without delay whether the Kremlin’s announcement meant that a transparent plane could already be in the air around Ukraine. But the movement is a transparent escalation.
While Russia and the United States have combat-ready ground and submarine nuclear forces at all times, bombers and other nuclear-capable aircraft are not.
U. S. and British officials have downplayed Putin’s nuclear risk as a stance. But for many, they have sparked memories of the Cuban missile crisis and considerations that the West may be drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia.
Putin also stepped up his rhetoric on Monday, denouncing the United States and its allies as an “empire of lies. “He described Western allies as “American satellites who humbly flatter him, prostrate themselves before him, copy his conduct and fortunately conform to the rules. “
In another imaginable escalation, neighboring Belarus could send troops to help Russia on Monday, according to a senior U. S. intelligence official. U. S. with direct knowledge of U. S. intelligence assessments. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not legal to speak. in public.
US officials say the invasion was more complicated and slower than the Kremlin imagined, though that would likely replace it as Moscow adjusts. Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that the bulk of Putin’s forces were about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Kiev, as his advance was slowed by Ukrainian forces.
Battles also broke out in Ukraine’s largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the south of the country were attacked by Russian forces. Oil depot allegedly bombed in the eastern city of Soumy. Ukrainian protesters demonstrated against the invasion of Russian troops in the port of Berdiansk.
In a war waged both on the floor and online, cyberattacks have hit Ukraine’s embassies in the global and Russian media.
Western countries have escalated the tension by freezing Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, threatening to bring the Russian economy to its knees. The Russians withdrew their savings and tried to get rid of the rubles for dollars and euros, while Russian corporations fought over their finances.
The United States, the European Union and Britain also agreed to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT system, which facilitates the movement of cash between thousands of banks and money establishments around the world.
In addition to the sanctions, the United States and Germany announced they would send Stinger missiles to Ukraine, among other military supplies. The European Union, founded to ensure peace on the continent after World War II, offers lethal aid for the early days, adding anti-tank weapons and ammunition. At least one Western country is a request from Ukraine for fighter jets, a European official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss data that is not yet public.
EU defence ministers were due to meet on Monday to discuss how to deliver the promised weapons to Ukraine. On Sunday came an exercise loaded with Czech aircraft and another was on its way on Monday, blocking those shipments is obviously a key priority for Russia. .
It remains to be seen to what extent Ukraine’s weaponry will fend off Russia’s much larger arsenal.
In New York, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Monday scheduled an emergency consultation on the Russian invasion.
With the Ukrainian capital under siege, the Russian military has come forward to allow citizens to leave Kiev through a corridor. The mayor of the city of nearly 3 million people had in the past expressed doubts about the evacuation of civilians.
The Ukrainian government distributed weapons to those seeking to protect the city. Ukraine is also freeing prisoners with the army party they want to fight and educating others to make firebombs.
In Beirut, where Ukrainians were seeking to repel an attack, a medical team at a city hospital desperately tried to resuscitate a 6-year-old girl dressed in unicorn pajamas who was mortally wounded in a Russian bombing.
During the rescue attempt, a doctor in a blue medical gown, pumping oxygen to the girl, looked at the Associated Press video camera that captured the scene.
“Show that to Putin,” he said angrily. This kid’s eyes and the doctors crying. “
Her resuscitation efforts failed and the woman lay dead on a stretcher, covered in her blood-splattered jacket.
Nearly 900 kilometers (560 miles), Faina Bystritska threatened in the city of Chernihiv.
“I wish I had lived to see this,” said Bystritska, an 87-year-old Jewish survivor of World War II.
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This story has been corrected to show that the EU will not supply fighter jets to Ukraine. An EU official was wrong. At least one Western country is a request from Ukraine for fighter jets; No EU cash will be used.
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Isachenkov and Litvinova reported from Moscow. Ellen Knickmeyer, Eric Tucker, Robert Burns and Hope Yen in Washington; James LaPorta in Miami; Francesca Ebel, Josef Federman and Andrew Drake in Kiev; Mstyslav Chernov and Nic Dumitrache in Mariupol, Ukraine; Lorne Cook in Brussels; and AP journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
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