Russian, Ukrainian delegations talk as battles continue

Talks between Ukraine and Russia began on Monday noon local time and were still ongoing as of press time in the Gomel region of Belarus near the border with Ukraine.

All Moscow's security concerns must be taken into account to achieve a settlement in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Putin said that Russia's security concerns included "Russia's sovereignty over Crimea", as well as the country's commitment to solving the tasks of Ukraine's demilitarization and de-Nazification, and the issue of Ukraine's neutrality, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office had said it would seek an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine at the talks.

At the start of the talks, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei assured the delegation members that they would "feel completely secure" during the talks.

The Russian delegation included officials from the foreign and defense ministries and Putin's office, while the Ukrainian side has sent six senior officials, including the Ukrainian defense minister.

Earlier, Zelensky said he was skeptical about the talks.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency and the Federal Tourism Agency revealed late on Sunday that they were working with the Russian Foreign Ministry to evacuate Russian citizens from European nations as they continue to impose sanctions on Russia, cutting off Russian aircraft from their airspaces.

Satellite images released on Sunday evening showed a large convoy of Russian ground forces in Ivankiv, which is about 64 kilometers from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

The convoy extends for over 5 km and was moving in the direction of Kyiv. There are hundreds of military vehicles in the convoy, including tanks and self-propelled artillery.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Monday that Russian forces had established "total air superiority" over Ukraine.

He said they had destroyed eight Buk M-1 air defense system vehicles, an S-300 missile system, three radars and five aircraft in the past 24 hours.

"Since the beginning of the operation, Russian forces have hit 1,114 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities, ... destroyed 314 tanks and other armored vehicles, 57 multiple rocket launch systems, 121 field artillery pieces and mortars," he said.

Ukraine's military estimated some 5,300 Russian personnel losses, without saying how many of them were killed or captured.

Satellite images also reveal damage at Antonov airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, which is about 4.4 km from Kyiv.

Black smoke was still billowing into the sky when the images were captured. The damage was caused by recent airstrikes and heavy fighting in and near the airport.

Ukrainian forces said on Sunday they had defeated a Russian incursion into Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, 500 km from east of Kyiv.

Oleg Sinegubov, a regional official, said Kharkiv had been brought under Ukrainian control.

Moscow has made better progress in the south, however, and said it was besieging the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk.

In Kyiv, many residents spent another night in shelters or cellars as Ukrainian forces said they were fighting off Russian "sabotage groups".

But Sunday was relatively calm compared to the first days of fighting and the city was under a blanket curfew until Monday morning.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.