Talks begin as Russia pounds second-largest city in Ukraine

A school destroyed in Kharkiv, on Monday. Pic/AFP

Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-most populated city Kharkiv on Monday, even as Kyiv and Moscow delegations held talks at the border with Russian ally Belarus. At least 11 civilians have been killed and dozens more injured, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov wrote on the Telegram app.

Russian forces seized two small cities in southeastern Ukraine and the area around a nuclear power plant, the Interfax news agency said on Monday, but ran into stiff resistance elsewhere. The goal was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, the Ukrainian president's office said earlier. It wasn't immediately clear what Putin is seeking in the talks. While Ukraine sent its defence minister and other top officials, the Russian delegation is led by President Vladimir Putin's adviser on culture - an unlikely envoy for ending the war and a sign of how Moscow views the talks. It was not clear whether any progress could be achieved after President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched the biggest assault on a European state since World War II.

A pediatrics hospital move their beds to the basement which is being used as a bomb shelter, in Kyiv on Monday. Pic/AP

Resistance in small cities

Invading Russian forces met with determined resistance from Ukrainian troops and civilians on a fifth day of conflict. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had taken over the towns of Berdyansk and Enerhodar in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhya region as well as the area around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Interfax reported. The plant's operations continued normally, it said. Ukraine denied that the nuclear plant had fallen into Russian hands. A senior US defence official said Russia had fired more than 350 missiles at Ukrainian targets since Thursday, some hitting civilian infrastructure.

NATO allies send weapons

Partners in the US-led NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) defence alliance were providing Ukraine with air-defence missiles and anti-tank weapons, Chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a tweet on Monday.

The Kremlin accused the European Union of hostile behaviour, saying weapons supplies to Ukraine were destabilising and proved that Russia was right in its efforts to demilitarise its neighbour. It declined to comment on whether there was a risk of confrontation between Russia and NATO. Russia has demanded that NATO never admit Ukraine.

Children struggling with cancer hold signs that read ‘Stop War', in the bomb shelter of an oncology centre in Kyiv, on Monday. Pic/AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday said he had signed an official request for Ukraine to join the European Union. He has asked the EU to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately, as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces.

Russian media sites hacked

The websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked on Monday, an anti-war message and calls to stop Putin's invasion of Ukraine were posted.

Google disables live traffic data in Ukraine

Google said it has temporarily disabled for Ukraine some Google Maps tools that provide live information about traffic conditions and how busy different places are. The company said it had taken the action of globally disabling the Google Maps traffic layer and live information on how busy places like stores and restaurants are in Ukraine for the safety of local communities in the country, after consulting with sources, including regional authorities.

16
No. of children killed in Ukraine so far

363
Total no. of civilians killed in Ukraine so far

5 Lakh
No. of Ukrainians who have left the country

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