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Russian officials arrive in Belarus for talks with Ukraine, Kremlin says



The Kremlin announced on Sunday that a Russian delegation has arrived in Belarusian city Homel for talks with Ukraine.

“The Russian delegation is ready for talks, and we are now waiting for the Ukrainians,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered the fourth day on Sunday.

Mr Peskov said the Russian delegation included officials from the foreign and defence ministries and president Vladimir Putin’s office, according to the Interfax news agency.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky swiftly responded and said his country was ready for peace talks with Russia, but not in Belarus, which was an invasion staging ground.

This is the first time Russia has come forward to initiate peace talks even as its military demolished key structures in Ukraine, sidelining global requests for diplomacy route. Kyiv has maintained its eagerness for peace talks to end the conflict simmering for over a month now.

Russian troops continued to march in parts of Kyiv in heavy military vehicles on Sunday and captured Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv after heavy fighting and destruction to parts of the country.

The troops, rushing to capture Kyiv and topple Mr Zelensky’s regime, destroyed a gas pipeline in Kharkiv.

Heavy street fighting erupted in Kharkiv, as string of attacks by Russian troops targetted airfields and fuel facilities in the next stage of their invasion despite global condemnation of Mr Putin’s actions.

An oil depot in Vasilkov was also damaged in the early hours of Sunday, prompting Ukrainian officials to send their citizens indoors to escape toxic fumes.

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