Ukraine-Russia talks start in Belarus amid ‘reduced pace of offensive’

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Belarus have begun on Monday, with Ukraine’s delegation including several high-ranking officials, but not Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky himself.

According to Press TV, the country demanded an “immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops” in the lead-up to the meeting.

The Ukrainian delegation arrived at the border with Belarus for talks with Russian representatives aimed at ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian forces, the Ukrainian presidency said on Monday.

It said the delegation includes Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak among other officials.

Ukraine’s President Volobymyr Zelensky has reportedly asked the European Union for immediate accession under a new special procedure.

Russian troops ‘reduced pace of offensive’: Ukraine

The Ukrainian military claims that Russian forces have slowed the pace of their military operation in the country as the offensive entered its fifth day on Monday.

“The Russian occupiers have reduced the pace of the offensive, but are still trying to develop success in some areas,” the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces was cited as saying by media outlets.

“At the same time, all attempts by the Russian invaders to achieve the goal of the military operation failed,” it added, insisting that “the enemy is demoralized and bears heavy losses.”

The Ukrainian military accused Russia of launching a missile strike on residential buildings in the cities of Zhytomyr and Chernigiv in the country’s northwest and north.

The claims come amid reports of Russian forces advancing towards Kiev and seizing control of a number of towns and cities along the way. Authorities in Moscow have fiercely denied claims made by Ukrainian and Western officials of civilian areas being targeted by the Russian military.

Russian President Putin announced on Thursday a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region to “defend people” subjected to “genocide” by government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”