The latest as of 9.35 a.m. ET Sunday: After weeks of tensions, officials from Ukraine and Russia will hold talks, Ukrainian president’s office has confirmed, as Moscow’s invasion that has rocked several parts of the country and killed hundreds of civilians entered a fourth day.
The talks, the first since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, would be held without preconditions at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said in a statement on Sunday. “We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River,” the statement said. Read more: Ukraine’s capital Kyiv under siege as west goes after Russia’s finances The announcement came as Russian forces rolled into Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
A fierce battle was underway Sunday in Kharkiv, where Russian troops blew up a natural gas pipeline before daybreak, according to the Ukrainian state agency. “The Russian enemy’s light vehicles have broken into Kharkiv, including the city centre,” regional Governor Oleh Sinegubov said, urging civillians to remain inside.
Heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces erupted in Kharkiv following intensive overnight exchanges of rocket artillery, U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said in an update on Twitter.