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Russia-Ukraine war: Russia's attack on Ukraine entered fourth day on Sunday when Kyiv agreed to hold peace talks with Moscow near Belarus border after bravely resisting Russian forces on its soil.
Ukraine-Russia crisis LIVE: Ukraine confirms peace talks with Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear forces to be on alert in response to what he called “aggressive statements" by leading NATO.
This comes in the wake of a series of massive financial sanctions imposed by West including the US, UK, and the EU.
The Associated Press said the order means Putin wants Russia’s nuclear weapons prepared for increased readiness to launch and raises the threat.
Key developments
Ukraine ready for talks with Russia on border with Belarus
Ukraine will hold talks with Russian counterparts on the nation’s border with Belarus. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv would hold talks with no preconditions at a location along the Pripyat river, a tributary of the Dnieper that flows through Ukraine and Belarus.
Zelenskiy spoke earlier with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. “Lukashenko ensured that during the departure, negotiations and return of the Ukrainian delegation, all planes, helicopters and missiles placed on Belarusian territory will remain on the ground," according to a statement on Zelenskiy’s website.
Putin orders nuclear forces be on alert
- In televised comments, Putin on Sunday said the Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against Russia in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding his country.
- Russia has experienced “failures" in some of its missile launches in Ukraine, US officials said as per Reuters.
Western allies must 'stand together' against Russia: NATO
NATO said the US and Europe must really stand together in response to Russia's military aggression and "threatening rhetoric". "NATO does not want war with Russia, we don't seek confrontation...We are (a) defensive alliance, but we need to make sure that there's no room for misunderstanding, miscalculation about our ability to defend and protect allies," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
'Dangerous rhetoric': NATO calls Putin alert order irresponsible
President Vladimir Putin's move to put Russian forces on high alert is dangerous and irresponsible and adds to the Russian leader's aggressive pattern involving Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
"This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible. And of course when you combine this rhetoric with what they are doing on the ground in Ukraine - waging war against an independent, sovereign nation, conducting full-fledged invasion of Ukraine - this adds to the seriousness of the situation," Stoltenberg said.
Canada closes airspace to all Russian carriers
Canada has closed its airspace to "all Russian aircraft operators" in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Twitter.
Airplane carrying Norway NATO troops lands in Lithuania
A military aircraft carrying Norwegian troop reinforcements landed in Lithuania on Sunday, Reuters reported. Some 44 Norwegian soldiers from a mechanised infantry batalion will join the alliance's enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Lithuania, deployed since 2017 in response to Russia's takeover of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
EU ministers to discuss helping Ukraine troops
European Union foreign ministers are holding emergency talks to discuss ways to help Ukraine's armed forces fight back against the Russian invasion, AP reported.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will chair the talks. Borrell says he will urge the ministers to endorse “a package of emergency assistance for the Ukrainian armed forces, to support them in their heroic fight."
The EU has set up a European Peace Facility, a fund with a ceiling of $6.4 billion to bolster its military training and support missions around the world.
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