Russian and Ukrainian diplomats meet in Belarus as Minsk prepares to join invading force

As Russian and Ukrainian diplomats meet at the Belarusian border to begin peace talks, the Kremlin is continuing its military campaign against its neighboring country by dropping bombs on the capital city of Kiev and firing rockets on the nation's second largest city, Kharkiv, causing the death of dozens of civilians, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and Britain's Guarian newspaper. 

“Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads. Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded,” Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko wrote in a Facebook post, referring to Russian BM-21 “Grad” 122 mm rockets, Reuters reported.

On Monday morning, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense tweeted an intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, warning that:  

“The bulk of Putin’s ground forces remain more than 30km to the north of Kyiv their advance having been slowed by Ukrainian forces defending Hostomel airfield, a key Russian objective for day one of the conflict.

“Heavy fighting continues around Chernihiv and Kharkiv however both cities remain under Ukrainian control.

“Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance.

“Despite continued attempts to suppress details of the conflict from the Russian population, the Russian Armed Forces has for the first time been forced to acknowledge suffering casualties.”

The ministry also posted a map illustrating the Russian military’s advancement into Ukraine.

The unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine is continuing. See below for an update from Defence Intelligence.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/jl3zz8MXI4

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 28, 2022

Widespread reports have shown images of a 3.5 mile long Russian military convoy of armored tanks and vehicles headed toward Kyiv in what some believe could be the beginning of Moscow's attempt to level the entire city. 

"It's scary what is now unfolding in Ukraine. Yes, the Ukrainians are fighting back heroically. But the Russians are circling major cities. They're bringing in reinforcements & heavy artillery. They're known for leveling cities in places like Chechnya without regard for civilian life,"  FOX Business news correspondent Charles Gasparino tweeted Sunday. 

Its scary what is now unfolding in Ukraine. Yes the Ukrainians are fighting back heroically. But the Russians are circling major cities. They're bringing in reinforcements & heavy artillery. Theyre known for leveling cities in places like Chechnya without regard for civilian life

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 27, 2022

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was originally scheduled to address the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday, but cancelled his trip as his flight would not be able to pass through European Union airspace as part of a new sanctions package against Moscow.

But as diplomats from both sides meet to commence peace talks along the Ukraine-Belarus border, a Biden administration official told The Washington Post that Minsk is making preparations to deploy troops into Ukraine in support of Russian forces as early as Monday.

"It's very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin," the U.S. official said.

Although Belarus was previously only allowing the Russian military to use its territory and providing medical care and intelligence, the most recent reports have caused analysts to warn that it might soon directly join the Kremlin’s war on the ground.

The peace talks are not expected to bring a resolution to the conflict, however, as analysts expect both sides to make demands which are unlikely to be accepted at the negotiation table.

The Ukrainian delegation, led by Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, will likely demand an immediate cease fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has said it is willing to talk on the condition that Ukraine “demilitarize and denazify,” meaning they expect Zelensky to step down and Ukraine to capitulate.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said in a Sunday interview with ABC News that although her country welcomed talks with Russia as a possible path to end Moscow's invasion, Ukraine is "not ready to surrender." 

Markarova added that her country was always willing to use diplomacy to resolve the conflict, contrary to the false Kremlin reports that Ukraine had been planning an incursion into Russia. 

“Our president, from the beginning, even before the war started, always focused... on the diplomatic solution,” Markarova said. “And even after the war started, he actually called for peace talks all the time, but he always said, we’re ready for peace talks, we’re not ready to surrender."