KYIV/MOSCOW - The Ukrainian and Russian delegations arrived at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border for talks on Monday.

Key issues of the talks would be an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the Ukrainian President's Office said Monday on its Telegram page.

The Ukrainian delegation includes David Arakhamia, head of the Party of Servant of the People; Oleksiy Reznikov, minister of defense and Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Head of the President's Office, the office said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that a delegation including representatives of the foreign ministry, the defense ministry and other government agencies has arrived in Belarus.

After a seesaw struggle between the two sides, a ray of hope emerged as Russia and Ukraine agreed to meet for talks.

Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine on Feb 24.

The next 24 hours will be crucial for Ukraine's fight with Russia, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday during a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the National News Agency of Ukraine (Ukrinform) reported.

Johnson said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from Britain and other allies reached Ukraine.

Meanwhile, according to the regional government, the city Berdyansk in southern Ukraine had been seized by Russian troops Monday morning.

The Ukrainian army said on Monday that the situation in Kyiv was still under its control.

According to the latest development, a Ukrainian delegation arrived at the place for talks with the Russian side in the Gomel region in Belarus on Monday, Sputnik reported.

MOSCOW - A Ukrainian delegation has arrived at the place for talks with the Russian side in the Gomel region in Belarus, Sputnik reported.

Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to start at 0900 GMT (5 pm Beijing time) on Monday, head of Russian delegation was quoted by Sputnik as saying.

KYIV - The Ukrainian army said on Monday that the situation in Kyiv was still under its control.

As the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian army posted on Facebook, Ukrainian forces still had Kyiv in control as it defeated the repeated attempts by Russian troops to storm into the outskirts of Kyiv at night.

Meanwhile, the Russian troops had failed to control any big regional cities and Ukrainian forces had repelled the Russians on all fronts last night, the local National News Agency of Ukraine cited Fedir Venislavsky, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, as saying.

Although Russian troops have launched air raids on several cities including Kharkiv, Kyiv and Chernihiv, Ukrainian air defense systems withstood the attacks, said the report.

The news above has yet to be confirmed from the Russian side.

According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov on Sunday, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 975 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects since the start of operations.

MOSCOW - The Ukrainian delegation for talks with Russia is now in Belarus, Sputnik reported on Monday.

The talks are expected to start on Monday morning, it added.

Ukraine agreed to hold talks with Russia at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border near the Pripyat River, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday via social media.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is capable of taking measures to mitigate economic damage to his country amid the latest rounds of sanctions announced by the United States and Europe and Western countries stepped up military help to Ukraine.

In addition to the sanctions on Russia's financial sector, agreed on by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom on Saturday, Britain's foreign minister, Liz Truss, said on Sunday that she would press for further measures against Russia, particularly by cutting off its oil and gas supplies, at a meeting with her counterparts in the G7 group of rich nations.

"Immediate measures are certainly being taken in order to mitigate the damage from sanctions and ensure the unhindered operation of all economic sectors and systems," TASS news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Russia "has every possibility and potential to do that", he said.

"It was created in advance for such situations. Analysis will be required to determine the retaliatory measures that would best serve our interests."

The Kremlin response came as some Western countries stepped up military help to Ukraine.

On Friday US President Joe Biden instructed the State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of arms from US stockpiles to Ukraine.

He directed that $350 million allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be designated for Ukraine's defense, according to his memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

On Saturday Blinken described the third authorization for weapons shipments to Ukraine as unprecedented.

"This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne and other threats it is now facing."

On Saturday the German government reversed a policy in place since World War II of not sending arms to conflict zones.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Germany also lifted its ban on other countries to export German-origin weapons, including authorizing the Netherlands to send 400 rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Ukraine and allowing Estonia to send old German howitzers to Ukraine.

Before the latest decision, Germany had committed to sending 5,000 helmets and a field hospital to Ukraine.

For weeks Germany had said its "historical responsibility" prevented it from sending arms to conflict zones and had earlier blocked other NATO allies from sending German-origin weapons to Ukraine.

The about-face came weeks after criticism from other NATO and European Union member states.

It was now Germany's duty to help Ukraine, Scholz said. "That's why we're supplying 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine."

A German government representative said the weapons will be delivered "as soon as possible".

The German policy reversal could mean more European military aid to Ukraine because many arms in EU member states are made at least in part in Germany.

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Saturday that his government will support the Ukrainian military with 2,000 machine guns and 3,800 metric tons of fuel.

Belgium will also deploy 300 troops in Romania as part of the NATO efforts to beef up its eastern flank, De Croo said.

"Belgium assumes its responsibility within NATO Rapid Response of which elements were activated yesterday. In the current phase, 3,000 Belgian soldiers will be deployed in Romania."

The Dutch government told the parliament on Saturday that it will supply air defense rockets and antitank systems to Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday that the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states were meeting virtually on Sunday evening to coordinate their assistance to Ukraine.

On Saturday Poland's President Andrzej Duda called for Ukraine to be granted an accelerated path to join the EU, following an appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the morning in which he said it was "a crucial moment to close the long-standing discussion once and for all and decide on Ukraine's membership".

Replying to Zelensky on his EU membership appeal, European Council President Charles Michel said: "Further concrete support is on its way."

Agencies contributed to this story.

More than 360,000 Ukrainians flee to borders amid escalating situation

MEDYKA, Poland－Dragging suitcases and carrying children, tens of thousands of Ukrainians rushed to borders on Saturday as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalate.

At least 368,000 people have fled Ukraine into Poland and other neighboring countries, said the United Nations' refugee agency on Sunday.

Some walked many kilometers through the night, while others fled by train, car, or bus, forming lines kilometers long at border crossings. They were greeted by waiting relatives and friends, or headed on their own to reception centers organized by neighboring governments.

"The numbers and the situation are changing minute by minute," said Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The update from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Sunday more than doubles its estimate a day ago, when it said at least 150,000 have fled Ukraine.

Shabia Mantoo, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the numbers may go up. "It's very fluid and changing by the hour," she said.

The agency expects up to 4 million Ukrainians could flee if the situation deteriorates further.

Those arriving were mostly women, children and the elderly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky banned men aged from 18 to 60 from leaving.

Volunteers even came from elsewhere in Europe to pick up refugees. Among them, a German couple from Hamburg who held up a sign at the Polish border town of Medyka saying they could take three people home with them.

"We felt we needed to do something," said Tanja Schwarz, 51.

Despite the goodwill, the crush of people became a very real ordeal.

Jeremy Myers, who is from England, was on vacation in Ukraine with his Ukrainian girlfriend when the war started.

Real ordeal

"We saw several people get injured. There were no toilets, there was no medical assistance," he said. "You had to stand where you were because if you didn't, you lost your place in line."

One family from Chernivtsi in western Ukraine waited 20 hours before being able to cross the border into Siret in northern Romania. Natalia Murinik, 14, cried as she described saying goodbye to grandparents who could not leave the country. "It really hurt, I want to go home," she said.

A woman from Lviv named Lena described seeing toys and heavy bags along the way that people had abandoned. She was bringing her four children to safety in Poland and planned to return to join her husband.

Among those arriving at that point were a Ukrainian-British family with their dogs. "We can't leave our dogs," said Vlasta Terasova, arriving from Uzhhorod.

The border post in Siret was crowded with Ukrainians on Saturday, and humanitarian groups set up tents a few miles in and offered food and drink to those arriving.

Despite the welcome, Murinik's family did not know where they were going next. "We don't have a clue. We're waiting for our friends, and then we'll think," she said.

On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres promised to provide more humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians.

"The secretary-general conveyed to the president the determination of the United Nations to enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine," according to a readout about the secretary-general's call with Zelensky.

The UN chief informed Zelensky that the world body "would launch on Tuesday an appeal to fund UN's humanitarian operations in Ukraine".

In an email, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, told reporters that because of the escalating situation in Ukraine, Guterres will not travel to Geneva as planned. Instead, "he will send a video message to Monday's meeting of the Human Rights Council", he added.

Agencies - Xinhua

The Chinese embassy in Kyiv will help evacuate Chinese citizens in Ukraine once the situation allows, says China's Ambassador to the country, Fan Xianrong.

"I am in Kyiv together with our people," Fan said, countering suggestions that he had left the capital.

"We will never put our own safety first and leave our compatriots alone, and will embrace the current special and difficult period together with our numerous compatriots," Fan said in a message on the embassy's official WeChat account on Sunday.

He reassured Chinese nationals stranded in the country, and said the embassy would make appropriate arrangements for evacuation whenever it was safe to do so.

"We will do it wherever conditions are available and whichever way is the safest."

China is gearing up to bring back its nationals by chartered flights, and the embassy is preparing charter flights and has asked all Chinese nationals to voluntarily register, according to an embassy statement on Friday.

Fan said China has always cared about the safety of its citizens in Ukraine.

"I thus ask everyone to rest assured that the Chinese embassy will never put your safety at risk."

Ukraine has closed its airspace to civilian flights, citing the dangers after Russia's President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in the Donbass region on Thursday.

In a televised speech to the nation earlier that day, Putin said: "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force."

Russia's move was in response to "fundamental threats" by NATO, which has expanded to Eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders, he said.

As fighting continues, it is hard to forecast what may happen, Fan said, and Chinese citizens in Ukraine should put their own safety first.

"Over the past few days, like everyone else, we have constantly heard sirens, explosions and gunshots, and have taken refuge in the basement. It's the sort of thing you see in movies."

He urged Chinese citizens to "stay away from all military-related people and facilities" and "strictly abide by local safety reminders and relevant regulations".

Xinhua contributed to this story.

The United Nations General Assembly will meet in an emergency special session on Monday to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

The 15-member Security Council voted in favor on the emergency session on Sunday. It will be the 11th council emergency session since 1956.

The vote by the council was procedural, so Russia could not veto it. The resolution convening the session was adopted with 11 yes votes. Russia voted no. China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, reiterated China's position on the Ukraine crisis and cautioned that any action taken by the UN should help calm the situation and facilitate diplomatic solutions.

"At present, we are witnessing dramatic changes in the Ukraine situation. China has on many occasions made clear its position on the Ukraine issue, and that position remains unchanged," Zhang said after the voting.

"We believe the top priority now is for all parties to exercise the necessary restraint to prevent the situation in Ukraine from getting worse. China supports and encourages all diplomatic efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and welcomes the earliest possible direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

At the same time, said Zhang, "China also supports the European side and Russia in conducting equal-footed dialogue on European security issues and upholding the principle of indivisible security, so as to eventually form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism."

Zhang stressed that China believes that the Security Council should "give priority to regional peace and stability and the universal security of all countries and play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue".

"Actions taken by the UN should help cool the situation and facilitate diplomatic solutions and restrain from aggravating tensions," he said.

Monday's special session is set to give all 193 members of the global body the opportunity to express their views on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

The last emergency session was in 1997, when Israel built a housing settlement in East Jerusalem.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is hitting US citizens at the gasoline pump and could drive inflation higher and intensify chain supplies, economists, and energy experts say.

Russia is the world's second-largest oil producer behind the US, putting out about 10 million barrels a day, the equivalent of 10 percent of global demand, the US Energy Information Administration says. Any loss of that could cause already surging prices to go higher. The US is a net importer, meaning it imports more oil than it exports.

On Thursday, the national average gas price in the US was $3.54 a gallon, 88 cents more than a year ago, the American Automobile Association, or AAA, said.

US oil prices were above $100 a barrel for the first time in about eight years in midday trading before closing up just $1.10, or 1 percent, at $93.20. One barrel usually contains about 19-20 gallons of motor gasoline.

"I know this is hard, and Americans are already hurting," President Joe Biden said last week. "I will do everything in my power to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump."

Biden said he was coordinating with oil producers to secure stability in global energy supplies.

"This will blunt gas prices. I want to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me."

But Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said there is little Biden can do about rising oil prices. "We have to get rid of this notion (that) the president has some sort of magic wand."

De Haan said that the $100 a barrel price suggested that a $3.75-a-gallon national average retail price may be coming soon.

The rising price of oil will push inflation higher and intensify supply chain snarls, USA Today quoted Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, as saying.

The conflict in Ukraine is also pushing up prices of other commodities such as wheat and aluminum that are exported from the region. Higher energy prices will affect food prices because the cost of fuel affects transportation.

Higher oil and commodity prices are likely to stoke US inflation, which was 7.5 percent in January, the highest in 40 years. The effects could add as much as a percentage point to consumer price rises, Daco said.

Key interest rate

And that, he said, could prompt the US Federal Reserve, which has been expected to raise its key interest rate at least three times this year, to make sharper rises, raising borrowing costs for households and businesses.

Lynda Lambert, a spokeswoman for the AAA East Central region, said that with the rising prices of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, which she said accounts for more than half of the cost of gasoline, gas prices have consistently been rising this year.

The country's refineries are starting the multi-month transition to summer gasoline, further adding to the rise at the pump, energy experts say. In addition, cold weather in Texas recently caused some power outages at major refineries, further weighing on markets, said De Haan.

Mark Kelly, a Democratic senator from Arizona, and other lawmakers have suggested suspending the federal fuel tax for the rest of this year to help consumers. But some groups oppose this, saying the loss of government revenue would affect spending on federal highways.

"The federal government would be out $20 billion this year alone, and much more if the (tax) holiday were extended," said Maya Mac-Guineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The expulsion of Russia from a major global financial system will cast a shadow over the world economy, which has already been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union said in a joint statement on Saturday that "selected Russian banks" will be removed from the SWIFT messaging system, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

These affected Russian banks, about which additional details were not disclosed, will be "disconnected from the international financial system", according to the statement.

Belgium-based SWIFT, founded in 1973, is a secure messaging system used to facilitate cross-border money transfers, instead of taking part in payments directly. It connects more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions in more than 200 countries. It processed 42 million financial messages each day in 2021, up 11.4 percent year-on-year.

A comment piece in May last year from the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank described expulsion from SWIFT as a "nuclear option" that would hit Russia particularly hard, primarily because of the country's reliance on energy exports denominated in US dollars.

"The cutoff would terminate all international transactions, trigger currency volatility, and cause massive capital outflows," according to the article's author, Maria Shagina.

Yang Xiyu, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, said that excluding Russia from SWIFT will bring harm to all related parties, including in the US and Europe. Such a stalemate, if it lasts longer, would seriously impair the world economy, Yang said.

Tan Yaling, head of the China Forex Investment Research Institute, also agreed that the US and Europe will undergo much pressure by cutting off Russia from SWIFT, as Russia is a major food and energy exporter in the world. The expulsion might be short-term, as trade suspension would result in two-way negative impact in the globalized market.

The EU is the world's largest natural gas importer, with 41 percent of the annual imported volume coming from Russia, according to the energy department of the European Commission.

The stress on "selected banks", instead of the entire Russian banking system, leaves room for the EU so that it can continue US dollar-denominated natural gas imports from Russia, said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance.

More than 95 percent of the world's cross-border US dollar-denominated transactions are processed by combining the services from SWIFT and the New York-based Clearing House Interbank Payment System, according to experts at Guotai Jun'an Securities.

Hong Hao, managing director of BOCOM International, said that Russia and most of the European economies will have to avoid US dollar payments if they wish to continue natural gas trade after such an expulsion takes effect, which eventually would rattle the US dollar's dominating position in the world.

SWIFT cut its connection with Iran in 2012 and 2018, and a similar step was taken against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 2017.

Tan from the China Forex Investment Research Institute emphasized that the steps taken against Iran and the DPRK were completely different from the expulsion of Russia, given the latter's economic size and global influence. In addition, the world economy was different in the earlier cases, since the measures were taken before the impact of the pandemic, Tan said.

Zhou Lanxu in Beijing contributed to this story.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China disapproves of using sanctions as a means to solve problems and rejects unilateral sanctions that are not based on international law.

Experience has shown that sanctions do not solve problems, but create new ones. They not only result in "lose-lose" or "all-lose" economic situations but also interfere with the process of a political settlement, Wang said on Saturday in a phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Wang also explained why China prevented the invoking of references to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter－which authorizes the use of force and sanctions－in a draft resolution on Ukraine, and vowed China would continue to play a constructive role in seeking and realizing peace.

China abstained from a vote on a draft resolution on Ukraine, proposed by the United States and other countries at the UN Security Council on Friday.

If the Security Council takes action, it should contribute to a political settlement of the current crisis rather than incite new confrontations, Wang said, adding that China supports all efforts that are conducive to de-escalation and a political settlement of the Ukraine issue.

He said China, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has always fulfilled its responsibilities of safeguarding international peace and security.

On the issue of European security, the legitimate concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, Wang said, adding that following five consecutive rounds of NATO's eastward expansion, Russia's legitimate security concerns should be solved in a proper way.

Given that the Cold War has been over for a long time, Wang said it is necessary for NATO to reconsider its position and responsibilities. China believes the Cold War mentality based on bloc confrontation should be completely abandoned.

China supports NATO, the European Union and Russia resuming dialogue and seeking to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism so as to achieve lasting peace and stability on the continent, he said.

The phone call over the weekend is China's latest move in a series of intensive diplomatic interactions to facilitate peace talks in its own way, and help defuse the Ukraine situation.

On Friday, President Xi Jinping spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. Wang also held phone talks on the same day with senior diplomats from the United Kingdom, the EU and France, expounding China's basic position on the Ukraine issue.

Ukraine agreed to have talks with Russia on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday via social media, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The office said that the talks would be held without preconditions and are the result of a phone call between Zelensky and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko earlier on Sunday.

The announcement came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to what he called "aggressive statements" by leading NATO powers.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that Russian troops fired cruise missiles at Ukrainian military targets.

There are reports of fighting in the streets of Kharkiv, as Russian troops moved into the city in the morning, local officials said.

Social media footage appears to show some Russian units in Kharkiv. There are photos appearing to show at least two Russian "Tiger"-small, all-terrain, infantry-mobility-vehicles on fire.

On Sunday morning, Kharkiv officials warned locals to stay in shelters and off the streets.

In the west of the center of Kyiv, the capital, a blast was heard in the morning after an air raid siren went off.

Video from a local television channel aired footage of heavy fighting that had broken out in northwestern Kyiv. A Ukrainian soldier with handheld, light antitank NLAW missiles walked between burning armored vehicles and met with a fellow soldier, the video showed.

According to the Ukrainian National Nuclear Energy Supervision Bureau, a nuclear waste burial site in Kyiv was hit by Russian shells, leaving the automated nuclear radiation monitoring system damaged. The nature and severity of damage can only be determined when the gunfire ceases, the bureau said.

Russian forces from Crimea have been making large advances on cities in the south, including Mykolaiv, which is located between Odesa and Kherson. Mykolaiv Mayor Alexander Senkevich announced on Sunday morning that the city remains under Ukraine's control.

However, there had been fighting overnight. One video being shared on the Ukraine Telegram social media network showed damaged buildings and streets in Mykolaiv's center.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region, said Chechen fighters have been deployed in Ukraine, and he urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.

In a video posted online on Saturday, Kadyrov said Chechen units had so far suffered no losses and Russian forces could easily take large Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, but their task was to avoid loss of life.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said they had found plans of Russian forces and were able to dominate them in the past 72 hours. The ministry didn't give details about Russia's plans, but confirmed the destruction of a convoy of Chechen special forces in Kyiv and the killing of a Chechen commander.

The Russian Defense Ministry hasn't responded to that statement, but did say that the 302 Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the Ukrainian forces voluntarily surrendered their weapons and 471 Ukrainian servicemen have been detained.

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's deterrence forces to be placed on "a special mode of combat duty" in a Sunday meeting with top defense officials.

Senior officials of leading NATO members issued "aggressive statements" against Russia, Putin said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.

Putin said Western countries are imposing "illegitimate sanctions" against Russia's economy.

The decision to put the deterrence forces on combat duty was made as Russia has been conducting "a special military operation" in Ukraine since early Thursday.

Russian forces had destroyed 975 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday morning.

Russia has blockaded several cities in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The time-tested truths of history have taught generation and generation of Chinese to maintain a proper sense of right and wrong, and stand on the right side of history.

As the United States, the European Union, as well as allies and partners elsewhere, escalate sanctions against Russia, pledging to cripple the Russian economy, China has remained an impartial third party and has appealed for dialogue.

On Friday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China's position in his respective telephone talks with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, and French Diplomatic Advisor to the President Emmanuel Bonne, in which he exchanged views on the situation with them.

He boiled China's stance down to five clear points: that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, Russia's concerns about NATO's expansion should be heeded, all parties should practice restraint, a negotiated solution should be pursued and the UN Security Council should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue.

This makes China's views on the situation very clear. It adheres to a policy of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties. The US, which still views the world through the prism of the Cold War, thinks only in terms of friends or enemies and forms exclusive alliances and "small circles". China is not interested in such a practice and seeks communication and coordination with all countries.

Since both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have expressed willingness to negotiate, China hopes that they will make it happen as soon as possible since dialogue is the formula for ending the conflict as quickly as hoped.

The longer the war lasts, the greater the suffering the Ukrainian people face. Zelensky needs to negotiate to prevent avoidable harm to his country and people and Putin needs to do it to limit far broader consequences for his country's future.

The US and its allies may be overconfident about the expected impacts of their sanctions. Russia may have a tougher skin today than they think. But escalated confrontation over Ukraine would still be costly and debilitating.

China, on its part, supports all efforts that are conducive to de-escalating the situation and achieving a political settlement, as Wang Yi said in a telephone talk with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Saturday.

If the UN Security Council is to take action, it should facilitate a political settlement of the current crisis rather than instigate new rivalries and confrontations.

To this end, it should support NATO, the EU and Russia engaging in dialogue to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism so as to achieve lasting peace and stability on the European continent.

MOSCOW - Russia has closed its airspace for planes from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, including transit flights, the country's Federal Agency for Air Transport announced Sunday.

"Due to the unfriendly decisions of the aviation authorities of Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Estonia, restrictions are being introduced on air carriers of these states and/or those registered there to operate flights to destinations on the territory of Russia, including transit flights through the airspace of Russia," it said.

The four countries earlier introduced restrictions on Russian air carriers. Russia says its response is in line with international law, the agency said in a statement.

Some European countries, including Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland, have also decided to close their airspace to Russia.

KYIV - Kyiv is still under the control of Ukrainian forces as of Sunday morning, the Kyiv City State Administration said in a statement.

"The situation in Kyiv is calm, the capital is completely controlled by the Ukrainian army and defense. There were several clashes with sabotage groups at night," said Mykola Povoroznyk, first deputy head of the administration.

According to Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency, a curfew is implemented here until 8 am (0600 GMT) Monday, and the movement of private vehicles without special passes is prohibited during the period.

KYIV/MOSCOW - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia's offer to hold negotiations in Belarus, suggesting alternative cities including Budapest and Warsaw for talks.

Zelensky made the remarks in a video address posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday shortly after the Kremlin announced that a Russian delegation has arrived in Belarus and will be ready to negotiate with Ukraine in the city of Gomel.

The president said Ukraine is ready for talks with Russia, but Belarus is not an option because Russia has been carrying out some of its attacks from Belarus. "We're saying no to Minsk. Other cities can be a place to meet," he said.

"We want peace, we want to meet, we want the end of the war ... Any other city would suit us, any country, from whose territory missiles are not launched at us," Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine has proposed meeting in other countries such as Poland, Hungary, Turkey and Azerbaijan, but Russia has so far refused.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a delegation including representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and other government agencies has arrived in Belarus.

Peskov said Russia warned Ukraine that it would not suspend military operations during any potential talks.

MOSCOW - The Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 975 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects since the start of operations, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday.

Russia continued its strike against Ukraine's military infrastructure on Saturday using air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, Konashenkov told a regular briefing, reiterating that the Russian military takes all measures to ensure the safety of civilians.

The Russian armed forces have completely blockaded the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk in southern Ukraine, he said.

He added that a total of 471 Ukrainian service members have been detained and will be sent to their families after paperwork.

QUITO -- Ecuador will carry out on Monday its first humanitarian flight from Poland for citizens who have fled Ukraine amid escalating tensions with Russia, Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin said on Saturday.

The diplomat said the flight will be operated by either Spanish or Polish airlines with a capacity for 350 people, a quota that is expected to be filled.

He said that more than 150 Ecuadorans have crossed the Ukrainian border.

According to Holguin, hundreds of Ecuadorans reside in Ukraine, most of whom are students. There are also a number of undocumented Ecuadorans living in the country, and the ministry has issued many of them emergency passports.

"We estimate that with two flights, we will be able to bring all the Ecuadorans. The Air Force has helped us coordinate the operation," Holguin said.