Ukraine demands for ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops during talks with Russia

Ukrainian and Russian delegates sat down on Monday for the first direct negotiations between the two countries since Russia launched its invasion five days earlier, the CBS News reported.

While the talks brought tentative hope for an end to the war, Ukraine’s president made it clear before the discussion began that he wasn’t expecting any major breakthrough, and even as the meeting took place there were reports of intensified Russian shelling in eastern Ukrainian cities.

Russia would not clarify its aims for the talks, but CBS News’ Haley Ott reported that Ukraine’s key demands were an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv was still on edge Monday morning, but residents were allowed out of their houses and shelters for the first time since Saturday night, when the local government — bracing for an escalation of Russia’s siege on the city — said anyone out on the streets would be treated as an enemy.

Hours before the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations began at a location near the border with Belarus, Ukrainian officials said Russia had yet again shelled major cities overnight.

Defence officials said Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, was coming under intense artillery fire after Ukrainian forces recaptured it from Russian forces the previous day.

Pressure was mounting on Russian leader Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, with the entire United Nations General Assembly set to hold an extraordinary emergency meeting to discuss the crisis a day after Putin said he was putting his nuclear forces on alert in response to what he claimed were “aggressive statements” by NATO and punishing sanctions from the world’s wealthiest nations.