Ukraine President agrees to start peace talks with Russia to end the crisis

Ukraine government sources said the talks would be held without preconditions. Meanwhile, reports said President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on high alert amid tensions with the West.

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly placed nuclear deterrence forces on high alert even as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to start peace talks with Russia. Meanwhile, the mayor of Kyiv said on Sunday that there were no Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital.

The breakthrough to kickstart peace talks came following a phone call between the Ukrainian president and Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

"We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River," Zelensky said in a statement.

Ukraine government sources said the talks would be held without preconditions. The discussions would be the first to take place since Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Reports said President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on high alert amid tensions with the West.

The chief of the military's General Staff has been asked to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a "special regime of combat duty". His order raised the threat of the Nuke weapons being used perhaps for the first time.

The Ukrainian forces are putting up strong resistance. The Russian attempt to seize Kharkiv has been stalled. This came after fierce fighting was reported from Ukraine's second-largest city.

The European Union's chief executive says the 27-nation bloc will close its airspace to Russian airlines, funds weapons supplies to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that "for the first time ever", the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack.