Soldiers of Russia invaded Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on the fourth day of the invasion when severe combat was reported. Later, the mayor of Kharkiv announced that Ukrainian soldiers had thwarted Russia’s attempt to capture the city.
Ukraine and Russia agreed to meet on the Belarus border on Sunday, only hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his defense commanders to put the country’s nuclear “deterrence forces” on high alert in response to mounting Western pressure.
Amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, claiming it will defend people in the country’s east.
“I command the Russian Defence Minister and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to place the Russian army’s deterrent forces in a special mode of combat duty,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, accusing the West of taking “unfriendly” moves against his nation.
On Thursday, Russian forces started their much-anticipated onslaught on Ukraine, ignoring international censure and sanctions while threatening other nations that any effort to intervene would result in “consequences you have never seen.”
From Ukrainian’s Perspective
According to his administration, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided to begin peace negotiations with Russia. Following a phone contact with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Zelenskyy’s office said that he had agreed to send a delegation to a meeting near the Pripyat River on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. The discussions would be the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The conversations, according to his administration, would take place without any preconditions. “We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet without preconditions with the Russian delegation near the Pripyat River on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
After a phone discussion between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Ukraine stated it was ready to start talks with Russia near the Chernobyl exclusion zone on its border with Belarus. The discussions, according to the Kremlin, have begun.
Forthcomings
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian television that Ukraine would show in a fair court that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “major war criminal” of the twenty-first century. Ukraine has already announced that it had filed an application with the International Court of Justice against Russia.
Meanwhile, the Russian state prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday that anybody offering financial or other help to a foreign state or international organization that is working against Russia’s security might be charged with treason and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Stay with StanfordArts Review for more updates.
