Ukrainian and Russian delegations are meeting at the Belarusian border for their first direct talks since Russia’s invasion began on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said it would demand an immediate cease-fire.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on increased alert on Sunday in a major escalation of tensions with the West. On Monday, Russia noted personnel have been added to nuclear command posts. Russia’s conventional military assault on Ukraine entered its fourth day with fighting in the streets of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and troops moving closer to the capital Kyiv.
The explosions and gunfire around Kyiv, besieged by the Russian forces, appeared to subside overnight. The Russian military offered to allow residents to leave via a safe corridor while it has beefed up for an onslaught on the capital.
Zelenskyy said in a video message Monday that “every crime, every shelling by the occupiers bring our partners and us even closer.”
In Moscow, Russia’s Central Bank sharply raised its key borrowing rate from 9.5% to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.
The Central Bank also ordered a slew of measures to help the banks cope with the crisis by infusing more cash into the system and easing restrictions for banking operations.
At the same time, it temporarily barred non-residents from selling the government obligations to help ease the pressure on ruble from panicky foreign investors eager to cash out.
news.yahoo.com
