Ukraine and Russia resume talks via video link amid escalating offensive

The two sides are outlining their specific positions, Kyiv's lead negotiator says

A residential building heavily damaged by a Russian rocket in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv, on Sunday. AFP

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A fourth round of talks between Moscow and Kyiv got under way on Monday, a senior Ukrainian negotiator said, amid mutual claims of shelling and civilian deaths earlier in the day.

Kyiv's lead negotiator and presidential aide Mikhailo Podolyak posted a picture on Twitter of videoconference talks.

He described the negotiations as “hard”, saying that the two sides were outlining their “specific positions”, AFP reported.

Three rounds of talks between the two sides in Belarus, most recently last Monday, focused mainly on humanitarian issues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the countries' delegations have been speaking daily by video and a clear aim of his negotiators was to “do everything” to arrange for him to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Amid the diplomatic efforts, fighting has continued to rage.

The Antonov aircraft plant in Kyiv has been shelled by Russian forces, the Kyiv city administration said on Monday.

Two people were killed in the strike and a nearby residential building was also targeted by Russian shelling, city officials said.

A barrage of Russian missiles hit an Ukrainian base just 25 kilometres from the Polish border that has previously hosted Nato military instructors, killing 35 people and wounding 134, a Ukrainian official said on Sunday.

Foreign mercenaries

Russia's defence ministry said as many as 180 “foreign mercenaries” and a large number of foreign weapons were destroyed.

Russia has asked China for military equipment, sparking concern in the White House that Beijing may undermine Western efforts to help Ukrainian defenders, US officials said earlier.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is set to meet China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday, warned Beijing it would “absolutely” face consequences if it helped Moscow evade sanctions, Reuters reported.

But when asked about Russia's request for military aid, Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, said, “I've never heard of that.”

China found the current situation in Ukraine “disconcerting”, he said, adding, “We support and encourage all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.”

Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded before dawn in many cities and regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk and Cherkasy.

In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and three were wounded when a shell hit a residential building, state television said.

Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP

Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters

A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP

A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images

Paramedics find low ground after an air-raid siren sounds on the outskirts of Novoiavorivsk. Getty Images

A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A tram damaged by shelling sits at a depot, in Kharkiv. AP

An abandoned doll next to a car riddled with bullets in Irpin, north of Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP

Residents try to strengthen the wall of a house damaged by recent shelling, on the outskirts Kyiv. AFP

Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

A convoy of pro-Russian troops outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke from shelling rises behind a wreath at a cemetery in Vasylkiv, south-west of Kyiv. AP

A woman stands outside a local hospital, damaged during fighting in Volnovakha. Reuters

People gather in the basement of a local hospital, which was damaged during clashes in Volnovakha. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP

A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters

A Russian KA-52 gunship strikes a Ukrainian military object. AFP

Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters

A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP

Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo

A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo

A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol. AP Photo

A Russian army tank moves through a street on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP

An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP

The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA

A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP

Authorities said they were stockpiling two weeks' worth of food for the two million people who have not yet fled from Russian forces attempting to encircle the capital.

A US journalist was shot and killed by Russian forces in the town of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv, and another was wounded, the regional police chief said.

Britain's defence ministry said Russian naval forces had established a distant blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea coast, isolating the country from international maritime trade.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops were trying to surround Ukrainian forces, as they advanced from the port of Mariupol in the south and the second city Kharkiv in the north, it added.

The city council in Mariupol said 2,187 residents had been killed since the start of the invasion.

Moscow denies aiming at civilians and blames Ukraine for failed attempts to relocate civilians from encircled cities.

Ukraine and its Western allies have strongly rejected the accusations.

Slow progress

Meanwhile, one of Mr Putin's closest allies said Russia's military operation in Ukraine had not all gone as quickly as the Kremlin had wanted, Reuters reported.

National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov, speaking at a church service led by Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Sunday, blamed the slower-than-expected progress on what he said were far-right Ukrainian forces hiding behind civilians, an accusation repeatedly made by officials in Russia.

His comments appeared at odds with an assessment on Friday by Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who told Putin that “everything is going according to plan".

“I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like,” Mr Zolotov, once in charge of Putin's personal security, said in comments posted on the National Guard's website.