A third round of talks between Moscow and Kyiv has ended with Ukrainian negotiators noting small positive developments in terms of agreeing on humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.
Establishing a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to flee several cities that have come under heavy shelling has been a point of contention between the two sides, with earlier attempts failing to create safe passageways, leaving thousands trapped inside cities as they’re bombarded with Russian shelling and artillery.
“A third round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Belarus has ended,” the Russian embassy in Minsk wrote on its Telegram channel after the talks, which lasted around three hours.
Neither side gave any immediate details.
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Russia had announced a limited cease-fire and the establishment of safe corridors to allow civilians to flee some besieged Ukrainian cities on March 7. But the evacuation routes led to Russia and its ally, Belarus, drawing withering criticism from Ukraine and others, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Saying that “we are going to protect people by bringing them to Russia” is “hypocritical,” he said. “This is cynicism” that is “unbearable,” he said.
A spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian citizens should be allowed to leave their homes through Ukrainian territory, calling the Russian offer “completely immoral” while accusing Moscow of trying to “use people’s suffering to create a television picture.”
“These are citizens of Ukraine. They should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,” the spokesman said, accusing Russia of deliberately hampering previous evacuation attempts.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia was trying to manipulate Macron and other Western leaders by demanding that any humanitarian corridors in Ukraine exit through Russia or Belarus.
She added that Ukraine is calling on Russia to agree to a cease-fire from March 7 to allow Ukrainians to evacuate towards the western Ukrainian city of Lviv instead.
In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, would meet on March 10 in the resort city of Antalya and that he would also attend the meeting.
WATCH: A Ukrainian artillery unit fired at Russian forces north and northwest of the capital, Kyiv, on March 6. Speaking with RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir, one Ukrainian soldier voiced his determination to repel Russia’s invasion, saying: “We are defending our children.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed Lavrov’s attendance, adding that the agreement for the three-way meeting was reached during a telephone conversation between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “on the initiative of the Turkish leader.”
The meeting, which has not yet been confirmed by Kuleba, would mark the first contact between the top Russian and Ukrainian diplomats since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry said on March 7 that part of the Black Sea port of Olvia, which is under concession to Qatari sea port operator QTerminals, had been hit by a military “strike.”
Nobody was wounded, the ministry said without providing further details.
Russian forces continued their offensive on March 7, opening fire on the city of Mykolayiv, 480 kilometers south of Kyiv. Rescuers said they were putting out fires in residential areas caused by rocket attacks.
Shelling also continued in the suburbs of Kyiv, including Irpin, which has been cut off from electricity, water, and heating for three days. Residents tried to flee Irpin, and Bucha, another Kyiv suburb, as they were pounded by air strikes.
Police said on March 7 that some 2,000 civilians have so far been evacuated from Irpin, just outside Kyiv, where those fleeing were caught in Russian shelling the previous day and forced to dive for cover, while some were killed.
“Russia continues to carry out rocket, bomb, and artillery strikes on the cities and settlements of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian General Staff said. “The invaders continue to use the airfield network of Belarus to carry out air strikes on Ukraine.”
The United Nations said that more than 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled the conflict, most of them to neighboring Poland.
Polish border police said on March 7 that more than 1 million refugees have crossed into Poland since the beginning of the Russia invasion, with more than 142,000 on March 6 alone — the highest number for a single day since the start of the war.
Germany said it has received some 50,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the conflict. Tens of thousands of refugees continue to pour into neighboring countries such as Moldova and Romania.
WATCH: Shells rained down on Ukrainian civilians as they fled from Russian troops advancing on the town of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. Cameraman Andriy Dubchak captured the moment a shell landed on March 6, killing at least three people, including two children. (WARNING: Viewers may find the content of this video disturbing.)
Despite ample, concrete evidence of Russian attacks on civilian areas documented by reporters, including RFE/RL correspondents on the ground, Moscow denies targeting civilian areas, calling its campaign a “special military operation.”
Zelenskiy on March 7 renewed his appeal to Western leaders to give Kyiv military aircraft. He has also pressed his demand for foreign countries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Zelenskiy said in a video address that “the world is strong enough to close our skies.”
NATO has ruled out such a closure over fears that a direct confrontation with Russia could spark a world war.
Kyiv has also appealed to the West to toughen sanctions.
On March 7, oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 amid market supply fears as the United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports.
In Photos: Russian Artillery, Bombs Pound Ukrainian Cities As Civilians Continue To Die
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued unabated over the weekend, with Ukraine saying Russian forces had launched hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks across the country, including dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of the capital, Kyiv.
In the first few minutes of trade, Brent crude reached $139.13 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest since July 2008.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to Eastern Europe, said the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil.
Russia’s ruble, meanwhile, tumbled to a fresh record low in thin offshore trade on March 7, with local markets closed for trading until at least March 9.
The ruble weakened to 133.5 to the dollar after closing at 121.037 on March 4.
