On Monday, Russian armed forces shelled the second-largest city of Ukraine. The forces closed in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in a forty-four-mile convoy of big numbers of tanks and other equipped vehicles. In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, said that the escalated shelling was intended at forcing him into compromises.

Russian forces shelled Kharkiv, the second-largest city of Ukraine, and approached Kyiv, in a forty-four-mile fleet of hundreds of tanks and other equipped vehicles. While, talks between the Russian and Ukrainian intended to prevent the war yielded only a deal to keep dialogs. pic.twitter.com/Swv2nqzDKF

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Late Monday, Zelenskyy said in a video speech that he believes Moscow is trying to pressurize Ukraine with this simple method. He didn’t share details of the hours-long dialogs that took place earlier. However, the Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv was not ready to make concessions when one side was hitting each other with rocket armaments.

Due to the ever-mounting condemnation globally, Moscow became progressively isolated 5 days into its attack on Ukraine. Likewise, it is facing suddenly intense resistance at the Ukrainian land and economic havoc at home. Moscow raised the threat of nuclear war for the second consecutive day and announced to put nuclear-capable submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and far-off bombers on high alert, following the orders of the Russian president over the weekend.

International Nuclear Supplies in 2022

A battered Ukraine moved to harden its ties to the Western countries by applying to join the EU. On the other hand, Putin long blamed the United States for pulling Kyiv out of Russian orbit. Vladimir Medinsky, a top Russian president aide and head of the Russian delegation, said that the first round of dialogs held between both countries since the attack lasted approximately five hours and that the diplomats found some points on which mutual positions could be forecasted. According to him, both sides agreed to continue talks in the coming days.

After the wrapping up of dialogs along the Belarusian border, many blasts were heard in Kyiv, and Russian forces invaded the city of almost three million. According to satellite imagery from Maxar technologies, the huge fleet of equipped vehicles, artillery, tanks, and reinforcement vehicles was twenty-five kilometers (seventeen miles) from the city center and stretched for around forty miles. Maxar images also revealed ground attack helicopter units and deployment of ground troops in southern Belarus.

Latest Reports of Kyiv and its Residents

After the end of a weekend curfew, residents in Kyiv lined up for daily needs, including groceries. The Ukrainian president said that the capital remained a significant goal for the Russian leader. Further, Zelenskyy added that Putin wants to break the nationhood of the country; that’s the reason Kyiv is continuously under severe threat. Messages intended at the advancing Russian forces propped up at bus stops, electronic traffic signals, and billboards all over the capital.

Some appealed to their humanity, and others used swearwords to encourage Russian forces to leave. Video from Kharkiv showed shelled residential areas, with apartment buildings shaken by powerful blasts from Russia. One can also see gray plumes and flashes on fire. According to the Kharkiv officials, at least seven people died, including several injured. On the other hand, Russian forces denied targeting residential places despite rich evidence of hospitals, schools, and home shelling.

Despite its massive military strength, Moscow still could not take control of Ukrainian airspace. Russian announcement of putting nuclear forces on high alert stirred concerns that the Western countries may draw into a direct fight with Moscow. However, a senior American defense official said that the U.S. still has to see any significant change in the nuclear stance of Putin.

European nations banned the Russian airliners from their airspace and some restricted Russian media. Some European countries sanctioned to export of high-tech products to Russia. Likewise, all international soccer leagues suspended Russian teams on Monday. The U.S. announced to expel twelve members of the Russian United Nations mission after accusing them of spying.

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