The delegates greet each other prior to the Russian-Ukrainian talks in the Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park, close to the Polish-Belarusian border, northward from Brest, Belarus
Highlights
- Russia and Ukraine held a second round of peace talks amid growing tensions.
- The countries have agreed on humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.
- The talks took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus's Brest region close to border with Poland.
During the second round of delegation-level talks in Belarus on the ongoing crisis, Ukraine and Russia have agreed on humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, reported news agency AFP.
Presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak, after the second round of talks, said that Ukraine was also set to demand an immediate ceasefire. Neither side suggested it was expecting breakthroughs after a first round of talks held in Belarus on Monday made no progress.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Russian military has offered safe corridors to civilians to allow them to leave areas of fighting in Ukraine. Putin, speaking in a video call with members of his Security Council, has charged that Ukrainian nationalist groups are preventing civilians from leaving.
The Russian leader said the groups were also using civilians as shields, taking up firing positions to provoke the Russian retaliatory fire. Putin's claim couldn't be independently verified.
The Russian military says it has only struck military facilities and hasn't targeted residential areas, a claim that has been contradicted by the abundant evidence of massive casualties and damage to residential areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and other cities in Ukraine documented by The Associated Press.
Putin reaffirmed his claim that the Russian military was fighting “neo-Nazis,” adding that some Ukrainians were also “fooled by nationalist propaganda.” He hailed the Russian military as heroes and ordered additional payments to families of the soldiers who were killed and servicemen who were wounded in action.
The talks took place in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus's Brest region close to the border with Poland. The talks came as the Russian military made significant gains in the south of Ukraine as part of an effort to sever the country’s connection to the Black and Azov seas.
A first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place earlier this week on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, but brought no results. Ukraine demands an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.
(with AP inputs)
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