Vladimir Putin negotiates with Ukraine while raging on its civilian population

• Direct War in Ukraine

Russian artillery shelled several residential districts of Kharkov, Ukraine's second largest city, killing dozens of people.

With the Russian advance stalled in Kiev, Kharkov, in northeastern Ukraine, has become a major battlefield.

And there the Russian army displayed the brutality that it had been maintaining in what it calls its "military operation."

"Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded. This horror should be seen by the whole world. Kharkov has just been massively bombed with grad," said adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko.

'Grad', which means 'hail' in Russian, refers to a model of short to medium range multiple rocket launchers used by the armies of the former Soviet Union.

Kharkov Governor Oleg Sinegubov called Russia's shelling of civilians

.

Russia is targeting a city where Russian is the mother tongue and preferred language of about 80% of the inhabitants.

Kharkov, with a population of 1.4 million, is the main city in northeastern Ukraine and is located near the border with Russia and the territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists (Donetsk and Lugansk).

The attacks took place as Russian and Ukrainian officials were meeting at the border with Belarus to discuss a ceasefire.

The Ukrainian army continues to resist and the country's president seems willing to do anything to keep that from changing.

On the one hand, Volodimir Zelensky has announced that he will release prisoners with military experience who want to join the fight against the Russian army.

On the other, his defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, appealed directly to

and monetary compensation if they voluntarily laid down their arms.

FIRST ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS

After days of Ukrainian reluctance, delegations from Russia and Ukraine held negotiations on the Belarusian border.

The Ukrainian delegation included the defense minister and deputy foreign minister, while the Russian delegation was led by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to President Putin

," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said on Twitter after attending talks near the border with Belarus.

The only good news is that there will be a second round of negotiations.

Putin made a commitment to French President Emmanuel Macron to prevent attacks on the Ukrainian population, homes and civilian infrastructure.

Putin demanded the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the demilitarization of Ukraine.

MODEST ADVANCES

The Russian invasion, the largest assault on a European state since World War II, is so far yielding modest results for Moscow, but slow progress continues.

Reached the fifth day of fighting,

.

The head of the Kharkov regional administration, Oleg Sinegubov, denounced that the Russian artillery had hit residential districts despite the fact that there were no Ukrainian army positions or strategic infrastructure there.

A video released by the army showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from apartment blocks and flashes of flame in a northeastern district of the city.

The rockets consecutively blew up the walls of several apartment buildings.

The brutal attack happened in the same area that the Russians tried to take over the day before.

," Sinegubov cried.

Russian forces positioned around Kharkov's perimeter have been shelling its outlying areas for days.

On Sunday there was a Russian "advance" with light armor that entered the city, which caused street clashes and even the taking of several Russian soldiers as prisoners, who were later exposed on social networks.

The invaders met strong resistance from the Ukrainians on the fifth day of the conflict.

"Kharkov resists. This morning another attack was repulsed. Kharkov has always been a special city, the second capital of Ukraine, and I believe that the enemy will not pass through there," said Aleksey Arestovich, adviser to the president's chief of staff.

As night fell, fighting continued in the Dergachi area.

The Ukrainian army maintains the defense in Volchansk and Prikolotny.

: "You are not welcome here. They hate you here. Ukraine will be free."

Many people found refuge in the subway.

From time to time food is brought to the stations: cookies or nuts, milk and fruit.

Also diapers and other essential items.

At night, the entrance to the subway is completely blocked, the door opens with the end of the curfew, the local press reports.

Huge queues persist daily in supermarkets and pharmacies, but with the fear that death will come from heaven again.

In Kiev, alarms sounded throughout the day and explosions were sometimes heard from other neighborhoods of the city.

, according to satellite images, although some Russian units have been advancing for days in the north, west and east.

In the morning the authorities lifted the curfew that had lasted all weekend and the

.

There was also fighting around the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol throughout the night.

And the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had taken the cities of Berdyansk and Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhya region of southeastern Ukraine.

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• Ukraine

• Russia

• Belarus

• Emmanuel Macron

• Vladimir Putin

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