Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said he held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on cooperation and ways of finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, liberating the Ukrainian territories and saving people’s lives. At least 260 civilians have been killed in the fights for the city of Kharkiv in the north-east of the country since the Russian troops commenced their onslaught on Ukraine almost a month ago. The city has constantly been under mortar fire and several residential buildings have been hit. The port-city of Mariupol has been destroyed almost 98%, the local authorities have announced accusing Russia of having transferred thousands of locals to isolated areas in Russia by force. Many Western countries had moved their diplomats from Kiev to Lviv even before the Russian invasion on February 24th. On Saturday, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi called for the immediate cessation of violence in Ukraine. The USA has confirmed the use by Russia of the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in its attacks against Ukraine. At least 900 civilians have been killed and 1399 wounded in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, says the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights. Pope Francis on Sunday described the war in Ukraine as a senseless massacre and called on world leaders to stop ‘this repugnant war’. The next round of talks between Ukraine and Russia could take place on Monday and according to papers in Kiev, the talks are going to unfold online. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says the sides are close to reaching an agreement on several critical issues and some issues have already been agreed upon.
