After Ukraine refused to hold talks in Belarus, Russia said it has given orders to its army to broaden its offensive against its neighbour from all directions. In a statement, Russian defence ministry said, after the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, all units were given orders to advance from all directions.
On Friday, Russia had said that President Putin is ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine, but the Kyiv leadership wanted talks in Warsaw instead.
The announcement came on the same day US President Joe Biden signed a memorandum to provide up to 600 million dollars in “immediate military assistance” to Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced that their force thwarted the Kremlin’s advancement to capture Kyiv.
But the Russian troops continued to march on with their coordinated attacks. They launched missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv.
They also reportedly took over the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant north of the capital.
According to the United Kingdom’s defence ministry, the bulk of Russian forces involved in the advance on Kyiv were now 30 kilometres from the city centre.