President Zelensky to carry peace talks with Russian delegation at Belarus border

President Zelensky says a delegation from Kyiv and Russia will meet on the Belarus border to debate the scenario in Ukraine after Putin positioned his nuclear deterrent forces on ‘alert,’ enraged by ‘aggressive NATO,’ and was kicked out of the Swift monetary group.

In an tackle to honor the competition of remembrance, Putin expressed ‘grattitude’ to servicemen who had participated in a’particular operation.’
As a whole lot of Russian forces marched into Ukraine’s second metropolis of Kharkiv right this moment, intense preventing erupted within the streets.

It got here as Ukrainian forces annihilated a Chechen particular forces column consisting of 56 tanks simply exterior the Ukrainian capital.

Amongst these useless had been Chechen normal Magomed Tushaev, who was one of many regime’s most extremely embellished warriors and one of many victims.

Putin had granted his approval for his or her deployment, and every fighter was given a deck of playing cards depicting individuals from the ‘demise record.’

Nonetheless, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky remains to be alive – and is rapidly changing into a world hero because of his defiance of the authorities.

He demanded right this moment that Russia be disadvantaged of its place on the United Nations Safety Council in retaliation for its invasion of his nation.

Locals in Koryukivka, Ukraine, have blocked Russian tanks for the third time in a row, in response to a video launched this morning.

Kyiv and Moscow will maintain peace talks on the border with Belarus, Volodymyr Zelensky right this moment confirmed – as Vladimir Putin ordered the forces working Russia’s nuclear deterrent to be on alert amid simmering tensions with the West. 

The Ukrainian President’s workplace mentioned the 2 delegations will meet ‘with out preconditions’ close to the Pripyat River, to the north of Chernobyl, in a deal brokered in a telephone name with Belarusian chief Alexander Lukashenko.

‘Alexander Lukashenko has taken duty for making certain that each one planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory stay on the bottom through the Ukrainian delegation’s journey, talks and return,’ the assertion mentioned. 

In a televised tackle, Ukrainian Overseas Minister Dmytro Kuleba mentioned the talks had been referred to as after Belarus ready its forces to hitch the Russian invasion.

‘At present, we had been as shut as ever to the entry of Belarus armed forces into the struggle. That is why Presiden Zelensky and President Lukashenko spoke right this moment,’ he mentioned in his tackle.

‘Now we have to defend our northern flank and we’ve to minimise the threats coming from there. So we agreed to ship a delegation to the situation on the Ukranian-Belarus border and we go to there to hearken to what Russia has to say.

‘We’re going there with out preliminary settlement on what the result of those talks may be. We’re going there to say what we consider this struggle and Russia’s actions.’

Mr Kuleba mentioned Belarus had assured Ukraine that no Belarusian navy drive will likely be use in opposition to Kyiv whereas the talks happen, however he insisted Ukraine’s navy navy would proceed to ‘fiercely defend’ the nation in opposition to Russia assaults within the meantime.

‘I feel the very fact Russia needs to speak with none pre-conditions or any ultimatums, with none calls for addressed to Ukraine, is already a victory for Ukraine,’ he added.

It got here as Putin declared, in his personal televised tackle, that he had ordered troops working the nuclear deterrent onto a ‘particular regime of responsibility’ in gentle of ‘aggressive statements’ from NATO leaders and ‘unfriendly financial actions’. 

In the meantime, Ukraine filed a lawsuit in opposition to Russia on the Hague, with Mr Zelensky requesting that the UN Worldwide Courtroom of Justice orders Russia to cease its assault in opposition to Ukraine and begins trials quickly. 

Earlier right this moment, in a speech to mark Russia’s particular forces day, Putin thanked troopers for ‘heroically fulfilling their navy responsibility’ in Ukraine, earlier than parroting his propaganda line that his armies are offering help to the ‘individuals’s republics of Donbas’ – referring to 2 rebel-held areas in jap Ukraine that Russia recognised as unbiased states forward of its invasion. 

‘I wish to thank the command, the personnel of the particular operations forces, veterans of the particular forces models for his or her loyalty to the oath, for his or her impeccable service within the identify of the individuals of Russia and our nice motherland,’ he mentioned.

Russian forces stormed Ukraine’s second largest metropolis of Kharkiv right this moment after failing of their in a single day efforts to grab management of the capital metropolis of Kyiv. 

Nonetheless stories in Ukraine counsel troops have managed to efficiently repel the Russian advance on Kharkiv, which is near the Russian border, with one British reporter on the bottom confirming that the town stays underneath Ukrainian management regardless of this morning’s assault.

Oleh Sinehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, right this moment mentioned Ukrainian troops had managed to reclaim the town. In a publish on Telegram, he mentioned: ‘Management over Kharkiv is totally ours!

‘The armed forces, the nationwide police, and the defence forces are working and the town is being fully cleansed of the enemy.’

Kharkiv’s defence got here as Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence right this moment claimed Ukrainian troops had killed or injured greater than 4,300 Russian troopers within the first three days of preventing. Russia has not launched an updates on its navy losses. 

The Kremlin has to this point not declared any fatalities from the preventing, though the top of the Dagestan regional authorities just lately supplied his condolences to the household of a slain paratrooper, in what might have been a case of veering off the official script.  

UK Armed Forces minister James Heappey has insisted Putin’s ‘days are numbered’ if he fails in Ukraine, together with his marketing campaign falling ‘properly behind’ its deliberate timeline.

Mr Heappey, a former main within the Rifles, mentioned Putin’s forces had been unable to seize key cities within the first few days of preventing as meant and had left pockets of ‘well-armed’ Ukrainians to the rear of their entrance line. 

An image is rising of a haphazard and disorganised invasion effort, with armoured columns working out of gasoline or getting misplaced, and a few having to advance with out air cowl. 

Mr Heappey wrote in the Telegraph: ‘After three days of intense preventing, spurred by dogged Ukrainian resistance, Russia is properly behind its deliberate timeline.

‘Progress to Kyiv has been a lot slower than they’d anticipated, they had been unable to take key cities early and now should attempt to bypass them.

‘This leaves pockets of well-armed and well-trained Ukrainians to the rear of the Russian entrance line, exposing a susceptible logistics tail – an omen for what awaits Putin.’

On the identical time, Ukrainians are volunteering of their droves, with ‘lengthy queues’ at recruitment centres, the minister wrote. 

In the meantime, footage from the city of Koryukivka, close to the Russian border, confirmed a whole lot of locals massing on a street to dam the advance of a Russian tank column. 

Mr Heappey believes that if Putin fails and abnormal Russians realise ‘how little he cares for them … [his] days as president will certainly be numbered and so too will these of the kleptocratic elite that encompass him,’ he wrote. 

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‘He’ll lose energy and he will not get to decide on his successor.’

There have been contemporary questions raised about Putin’s psychological state, together with whether or not Covid-19 has fueled his paranoia after claims emerged the remoted president frolicked ‘stewing in his personal fears’ after ‘withdrawing into himself’ through the pandemic.

Russia has seen anti-war protests in latest days, with an illustration exterior the Kremlin right this moment close to the positioning the place opposition chief Boris Nemtsov was gunned down. 

This morning, footage shared on social media confirmed Putin’s military vans rolling by way of Kharkiv – a metropolis of 1.41 million individuals – which sits in Jap Ukraine near the border with Russia.

Troopers had been additionally seen marching on foot, with a really dramatic clip exhibiting Russians slowly advancing alongside a street earlier than working and firing their weapons as Ukrainians opened hearth on them.

One other clip shared on-line reveals a military automobile mentioned to belong to the Russians ablaze, with locals saying it had been torched by Ukrainians in search of to defend their metropolis.  

In the meantime, the UK’s Ministry of Defence launched its newest intelligence replace, saying there had been an ‘intensive’ change of rocket artillery within the metropolis, adopted by ‘heavy preventing’ between Ukrainian and Russian forces. It mentioned preventing within the capital Kyiv had been ‘much less intense’ than earlier nights. 

The breach of Ukraine’s defences got here hours after Russia was dealt a big blow when a column of Chechen particular forces despatched to assassinate Ukrainian President Zelensky had been blown up by locals simply two days into their mission. 

Among the many Chechens mentioned to have been worn out was normal Magomed Tushaev. He was commander of the 141th motorized nationwide guard brigade – Chechen head of state Ramzan Kadyrov’s elite drive.

Tushaev had additionally been pictured with Kadyrov, in a measure of his significance to the Chechen regime, which shot to notoriety within the west for searching down, torturing and killing homosexual males.    

It got here as Ramzan Kadyrov, the warlord chief of the Chechen Republic, complained Russia’s ways had been ‘too sluggish’ as he appeared to pave the best way for an additional escalation of violence in opposition to Ukraine. 

He mentioned the Ukrainians had been ‘armed to the enamel with new weaponry and ammunition, and new era heavy artillery’ and that he’s ‘hoping they may come to their senses’ and give up. 

He then requested Putin to ‘give all particular forces the order to complete off the Nazis and terrorists’ within the nation. The concept that Russia is ‘de-Nazifying’ Ukraine is a standard propaganda line spouted by Kremlin allies. 

The armed group – famed for his or her barbaric violence and human rights abuses – are mentioned to have been obliterated after their convoy of 56 tanks was blown to smithereens close to Hostomel, simply northeast of Kyiv, by Ukrainian missile hearth on the second day of the Chechens’ deployment. It’s unclear what number of died – however the quantity is more likely to run into the a whole lot. 

Their deaths had been reported by The Kyiv Unbiased information outlet as officers in Kyiv revealed that they’d managed to take care of management of Ukraine’s capital metropolis all through fight on Saturday evening and into Sunday morning.

First Deputy Chairman of Kyiv Metropolis State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk mentioned: ‘The scenario in Kyiv is calm, the capital is absolutely managed by the Ukrainian military and the phobia defence. At evening there have been a number of clashes with sabotage group.’ 

However Russian forces had been seen coming into Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis of Kharkiv on Sunday morning. Footage shared on social media confirmed Russian tanks and vans rolling by way of the town, which sits in jap Ukraine, near the Russian border, with gunshots additionally heard ringing out.

Different movies shared on-line confirmed Russian troops strolling in to the town of 1.419 million individuals on foot, in addition to a military truck mentioned to be Russian consumed by flames. 

Ukraine’s international ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, in the meantime, mentioned their airforce had shot down a missile aimed on the capital Kyiv, by a airplane that flew in from Russian ally Belarus.

However whereas preventing raged within the north, Russian forces mentioned that they had efficiently blocked Kherson and Berdyansk within the south, successfully opening up a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean peninsula – which it annexed in 2014.

The reported killings of the Chechen assassination squad are a crushing psychological blow for Putin’s stalled efforts to beat Ukraine. The Russian premiere had dispatched the group to seize or kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, figuring out full properly that the fighters’ brutal repute would strike additional concern into the hearts of besieged Ukrainians. 

Every fighter had been given a deck of playing cards full with images of Ukrainian officers they’d been instructed to focus on. 

However Zelensky stays standing, and has change into a world hero for his courageous dispatches from the entrance line – whereas his would-be assassins’ reported killings have introduced large shame and widespread grief to Chechnya. 

Putin is claimed to be rising more and more indignant by his stalled efforts to beat Ukraine. His hearth and manpower vastly outnumbers that of Ukraine, and it’s extensively believed that Russia will finally conquer its neighbor.  

Yesterday, the top of Britain’s MI6 Secret Intelligence Service mentioned he believes Russia’s struggle in Ukraine will show ‘unwinnable’ as a result of Putin won’t ever attain political victory over the nation’s individuals.