(Kiev) Russian and Ukrainian delegations began talks on Monday to try to end the war in Ukraine, on the fifth day of a Russian invasion which has already driven more than 500,000 Ukrainians to flee their country.
Posted at 6:13 a.m.
Updated at 6:54 am
These first negotiations come as Vladimir Putin’s forces encounter strong resistance from the Ukrainian army, and the sanctions of an unprecedented scale adopted by the West are shaking the Russian economy.
According to the Ukrainian presidency, Kiev will ask during the discussions – organized in a residence of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border – “an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of (Russian) troops from Ukrainian territory”.
President Zelensky, who is not taking part in the negotiations and whose delegation is led by Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov, has called on Russian soldiers from Kiev to “lay down their arms”.
He also asked the EU for the “immediate” integration of Ukraine. “I’m sure that’s right. I’m sure it’s possible,” he said.
The process of integrating a new country into the EU usually takes years. European Council President Charles Michel stressed that there are “different opinions” on this subject which requires unanimity.
The head of the Russian delegation, the Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinski, told him that he wanted to “find an agreement” with Kiev which would be “in the interests of both parties”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to state Russian demands, stressing that the negotiations should be done “in silence”.
The Belarusian agency Belta broadcast images of the negotiation room, with a long table covered with a white tablecloth, a dozen chairs on each side, and the flags of the three countries in the background.
“You can feel totally safe, it’s our sacred responsibility”, declared to the delegations welcoming them the head of Belarusian diplomacy, Vladimir Makeï.
No major victory
On the ground, Kiev said Monday that the Russian army had tried overnight to storm the capital – where a curfew was in place for much of the weekend – but that the attacks had been repelled.
As soon as the curfew was lifted on Monday morning, residents lined up calmly in front of the few food stores still open.
The city now bristles with makeshift barricades, tires, furniture, old Lada across the road, guarded by armed volunteers, yellow bands on their arms.
The Russian army assured that civilians could leave Kiev “freely” and accused the Ukrainian authorities of using them as a “human shield”, raising the specter of a large-scale assault.
The Ukrainian army indicated that the Russian forces had suffered heavy losses in the northwest of Ukraine, and had been stopped, southeast of Kiev, in the locality of Slobojanski.
But they continued their offensive on Mariupol, an important port in the south-east, according to Kiev.
If Russia recognized for the first time Sunday human losses, without quantifying them, it also affirmed Monday to have established its “air supremacy” on all Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has taken a new step in the threat of widening the conflict, saying on Sunday that he had put his nuclear forces on “special state of alert”, in the face of “bellicose declarations by NATO” and the “illegitimate” sanctions imposed. to Russia.
The United States denounced an “unacceptable” escalation, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg castigating an “irresponsible” attitude from Moscow.
Economic sanctions
Over the weekend, the Europeans tightened their economic sanctions against Russia, excluding several Russian banks from the Swift international interbank system and any transactions with the Russian central bank, and closing their airspace to Russian planes – a measure also taken by the Canada.
The effects were beginning to be felt: the European Central Bank noted the “bankruptcy or probable bankruptcy” of the European subsidiary of the Russian bank Sberbank, the first in the country.
To defend the economy and the national currency, which broke historic records of weakness against the euro and the dollar on Monday, the Central Bank of Russia announced to raise its key rate by 10.5 points to 20%.
Putin was focusing Monday morning on those economic issues, according to his spokesman. “The sanctions are heavy, they are problematic […] but Russia has all the necessary capabilities to compensate for the damage,” said Dmitry Peskov.
All of the world’s markets plunged back into the red on Monday, fearing a surge in energy prices that could reinforce current inflation.
Unprecedented European military support
If the European countries are for the most part members of the Atlantic Alliance – which announced that it would not send troops to Ukraine – they announced on Sunday unprecedented measures of military support in Kiev: release of 450 million euros to finance arms deliveries and the dispatch of fighter planes to Kiev.
They also banned Russian state media RT and Sputnik. Moscow did not immediately announce any reprisals targeting Western media.
The White House has announced that President Joe Biden will meet again with his allies at 4:15 p.m. GMT on Monday to “coordinate” a “united response” to the Russian attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron, President-in-Office of the EU, was to participate in this videoconference and then dine with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
More and more refugees
The flow of refugees fleeing Ukraine continues to grow.
Since Thursday, more than 500,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday. The EU said it expected more than seven million displaced people.
A majority go to Poland, where a large Ukrainian community was already settled before the conflict. But Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary – countries all members of NATO – are also concerned.
Known for his anti-migrant stances, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban eased restrictions on asylum applications, and Hungarians flocked to the border with Ukraine to offer bowls of goulash, offers of accommodation and comfort.
At the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Katarzyna Jasinska, 25, handed a warm child’s jacket to a Ukrainian man. “Some came with nothing or just a handbag. While fleeing, they did not have time to take anything with them,” said this veterinary technician, moved to tears.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine marched across Europe over the weekend to denounce the Russian invasion, and Ukrainian flags flew across Europeans’ social media accounts.
The outcome of the conflict so far remains uncertain. Ukraine reported on Monday 352 people killed, including 16 children, since Thursday and more than 2,000 people injured.
The UN said on Monday it had recorded 102 civilians killed, including 7 children, and 304 injured, but warned that the actual figures “are considerably” higher.
The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly were to meet on Monday in an “emergency extraordinary session” to decide on the conflict.
France was to submit a resolution on humanitarian aid to Ukraine to the Security Council. Russia has a right of veto there which excludes any formal condemnation of the offensive.