Russia shells Kyiv as officials prepare for new round of peace talks

Russian forces shelled residential neighbourhoods within the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday evening, killing at the least two individuals, as negotiators from the 2 nations ready for a brand new spherical of talks on a ceasefire.

Ukrainian emergency providers mentioned Russian artillery hit a 16-storey house constructing within the Svyatoshinsky neighbourhood of Kyiv, near the suburb of Irpin that has seen a number of the heaviest preventing of the battle.

Firefighters tackling a blaze attributable to the shelling rescued 35 individuals however discovered two lifeless on the scene.

Authorities within the western metropolis of Rivne mentioned a Russian air strike had broken a TV tower. Ukrainian media mentioned 19 individuals have been killed within the assault.

In the meantime, a convoy carrying pressing provides for Mariupol was stranded outdoors the besieged port metropolis for a 3rd day. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned {that a} column with 100 tonnes of assist for residents, who’ve endured extreme shortages of meals, water and medication after coming beneath intense Russian shelling, was caught in Berdyansk, about 80km west of its vacation spot.

The Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross warned on Sunday that the town had suffered “a weeks-long life-and-death nightmare” and was going through a “worst-case situation”.

Native officers mentioned the help convoy was caught as a result of Russian forces failed to stick to a ceasefire to permit the cargo into the besieged metropolis. Russian and Ukrainian navy claims can’t be instantly independently verified.

The Ukrainian chief mentioned that peace talks with Russia, which ended on Monday and not using a breakthrough, would proceed on Tuesday. Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelensky adviser, mentioned on Monday that negotiators have been having a “technical pause” for “extra work within the working subgroups and clarification of particular person definitions”.

An replace by the Ukrainian basic workers mentioned Russia “continues to launch missile and bomb strikes on important infrastructure” in a number of cities throughout Ukraine and specifically was nonetheless attempting to seize Mariupol, which is totally encircled by Russian forces.

In his Fb deal with, Zelensky expressed gratitude to Russian civilians who had taken a stance in opposition to the battle, which has pressured 2.8m individuals to flee Ukraine and left 1000’s lifeless.

The Ukrainian president supplied his private because of an worker of a state-owned information channel in Moscow who interrupted a reside broadcast on Monday evening to declare her opposition to the Kremlin’s invasion.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One, shouted “Cease the battle. No to battle” and held an indication that learn: “Don’t imagine the propaganda. They’re mendacity to you right here.”

Information media in Russia are prohibited from depicting the battle in neighbouring Ukraine as something apart from a “particular navy operation” — the time period utilized by the Kremlin to explain the invasion.

Attorneys for Ovsyannikova informed Russian media they might not discover her. Pavel Chikov, head of the human rights group Agora, mentioned she would seemingly be charged with a misdemeanour and face a high-quality of as much as Rbs60,000 ($497).

A former senior Kremlin official, Arkady Dvorkovich, additionally joined the condemnations. The top of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), who served as Russia’s deputy prime minister from 2012-18, Dvorkovich informed the US journal Mom Jones: “My ideas are with Ukrainian civilians.”

He added: “Wars don’t simply kill priceless lives. Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and connections.”

The Russian protests got here amid heightened tensions between the US and China over Beijing’s stance on the battle, which has upended the postwar order in Europe and sparked the largest disaster between Russia and the west for the reason that chilly battle.

Washington informed allies that China had signalled its willingness to offer navy help to Moscow, together with surface-to-air missiles, in response to officers aware of American diplomatic cables on the trade.

But, in an indication of Beijing’s discomfort at being caught in the course of the escalating dispute between Russia and the west, China’s overseas minister on Monday informed his Spanish counterpart that his nation “shouldn’t be a celebration to the disaster, nor does it need sanctions to have an effect on China”.

Beijing and Moscow have denied the declare that Russia had requested navy assist from China. A senior Biden administration official mentioned the listing of kit that the FT reported was requested by Russia was inaccurate with out offering any additional element.

A collection of strict sanctions rolled out by the US and its allies have hit fairness markets world wide and despatched the price of some commodities, equivalent to oil and wheat, hovering.

Chinese language equities have been hit notably exhausting. Hong Kong-listed Chinese language shares on Monday fell by essentially the most since 2008 on the specter of elevated tensions between Beijing and the west, in addition to the anticipated unfavourable influence of a Covid outbreak on China’s financial system.