Ukraine truce talks hit pause button

Belarus: Delegations from Russia and Ukraine on Monday held their first round of peace talks in Belarus. After talks ended, reports emerged that both sides will return to respective capitals for further consultations before second round of talks. According to reports, next round of peace talks will be held in coming days. The Russian delegation said both sides have identified certain points from which they can predict general positions. The next round of negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine will be held on the Polish-Belarusian border, Sputnik reported quoting Russia's delegation head.

"The delegations are returning to their capitals for consultations and have discussed the possibility of meeting for a second round of negotiations soon," Ukrainian negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak was quoted as saying by AFP.

Earlier talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began on the Belarusian border on Monday, as Russia faced deepening economic isolation four days after attacking Ukraine. Russian forces seized two cities in southeastern Ukraine and the area around a nuclear power plant, the Interfax news agency said on Monday, but ran into stiff resistance elsewhere. President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday in the face of a barrage of Western-led reprisals for his war on Ukraine, which claimed it had repelled Russian ground forces' attempts to capture urban centres.

Russia's defence ministry, however, said its forces had taken over the towns of Berdyansk and Enerhodar in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhya region as well as the area around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Interfax reported. The plant's operations continued normally, it said.

As Western governments mustered more support for sanctions against Moscow, diplomatic manoeuvring continued with the Vatican joining efforts to end the conflict by offering to "facilitate dialogue" between Russia and Ukraine. Blasts were heard before dawn on Monday in the capital of Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian authorities said, while diplomatic manoeuvring continued. US President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday to coordinate a united response, the White House said.

The United States said Putin was escalating the war with "dangerous rhetoric" about Russia's nuclear posture, amid signs Russian forces were preparing to besiege major cities in the democratic country of about 44 million people.

A senior US defence official said Russia had fired more than 350 missiles at Ukrainian targets so far, some hitting civilian infrastructure.