‘Another option would be World War III,’ Biden warns if sanctions on Russia don’t work

Negotiations for a ceasefire began on Friday, shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Putin in a call for talks with Ukraine. But success always seemed unlikely given Russia’s insistence on the surrender of Ukraine’s armed forces and the removal of the elected government, while carrying out a full-scale invasion of its neighbor. There was also no sign that the Russian offensive had ever stopped, as Kremlin spokesman Peskov maintained.

Russian troops have attacked Ukrainian military infrastructure, including cruise missiles. In Kiev, several buildings have been demolished by the Russian bombing.

As men, women and children seek shelter indoors and underground, the government maintains a 39-hour curfew to keep people off the streets. More than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled to Poland, Moldova and other neighboring countries, and the United Nations has warned the number could rise to 4 million if fighting intensifies.

Loud explosions lit up the predawn sky south of Kiev early on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said one of the blasts occurred near Zhuliany airport, and the mayor of Vasylkiv, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the capital, said an oil depot was hit in that city. .