Russia-Ukraine talks underway in Belarus amid fierce fighting on Day 5

Talks between Russia and Ukraine are underway in Belarus, news agency ANI quoted Russia Today channel.

The delegations from both the countries are holding talks aimed at ending hostilities. Earlier, Kyiv demanded an immediate ‘ceasefire’ as well as the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory.

This is the first meeting between the two countries ever since Putin’s forces launched a major offensive in Ukraine last week.

Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had appealed to the European Union to grant his country an immediate membership under a special procedure. He even asked the Russian soldiers to ‘save their lives and leave’.

This comes amid the European power bloc’s assurance to send fighter jets to Kyiv to support its defence against the Russian invasion.

“We’re going to provide even fighting jets. We’re not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief told a press conference.

Ferocious fighting between the two countries entered the fifth day. In the latest development, Russia has claimed to have seized Berdyansk and Enerhodar in Ukraine’s south eastern Zaporizhzhya region and around the nuclear power plant, Reuters reported. However, Kyiv has denied reports of its nuclear plant coming under Russian control.