Russian, Ukrainian foreign ministers to meet in Turkey today

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has entered day 15 but with no end in sight. As many as three rounds of talks have taken place between Moscow and Kyiv; however, the two sides have not arrived at a resolution thus far.

Here are some latest updates from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

(1.) In the first high-level contact between the two countries, the respective foreign ministers–Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba–will on Thursday hold face-to-face talks in southern Turkey.

(2.) Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nearly 35,000 civilians were evacuated on Wednesday from cities such as Sumy, Enerhodar, as well areas surrounding the capital, Kyiv.

(3.) Continuing his discussions with world leaders, Zelenskyy spoke with UK PM Boris Johnson. “Discussed increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, further support for Ukraine in fighting the aggressor, including defence assistance. Appreciate the UK’s leadership in countering the crime Russia is committing on Ukrainian land,” he posted on Twitter.

(4.) The United States has warned that Russia is likely to use chemical weapons against Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki made this claim while describing Russia’s allegations against the US of housing biological weapons in the Ukrainian territory as ‘false’ and ‘preposterous.’

(5.) Seeking further sanctions against Moscow, British foreign secretary Liz Truss sought to convince fellow members of the G7–Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States—to ban oil imports from Russia. US President Joe Biden has already announced an immediate ban on oil and energy imports from Russia.

(6.) Discussions took place on Wednesday between US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, over the continued provision of defensive security assistance to Ukraine’s military.