While Western countries unite against Russia, its neighbour China is less condemnatory.
In a phone call today, China’s President Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that China supports Russia in efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis via dialogue, Chinese state television CCTV reports.
Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry declined to call the Russian offensive an “invasion”
In Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Russian troops have reached the northern parts of the city, Ukraine says
Video posted on social media shows Russian armoured vehicles in the capital
The city came under a sustained barrage of airstrikes this morning, which blew the windows out of some apartment blocks and left craters in the city streets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, official Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports.
But he said this would have to be about Ukraine declaring a “neutral status” – which would include “demilitarisation”. Russia has all along wanted Ukraine to rule out ever joining Nato. Ukrainian presidential advisor says that Ukraine wants peace and is ready for talks with Russia, including on neutral status regarding NATO.
