As Ukraine’s second largest city reeled under a barrage of Russian rockets that left dozens of people dead, officials said, a Ukrainian delegation met counterparts from Russia on Monday in Belarus for talks that held little hope for an immediate end to the fighting that has sparked a nationwide resistance in Ukraine and left Russia’s economy increasingly isolated from the world.
Among Monday’s major developments:
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The leader of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, hosted the first face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the Russian invasion began, but President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said before the meeting that he was not hopeful that it would end the hostilities.
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The Treasury Department announced that it would freeze assets of the Russian Central Bank that are held in the United States and impose sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The value of the ruble plunged by more than 25 percent as the effects of Western sanctions shook Russia’s economy.
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Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of launching a barrage of rockets on a residential neighborhood in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, killing dozens of civilians.
Source : Nytimes
