Ukrainian delegation leaves for talks with Russia – Podoliak

"[Leaving] for negotiations with Russia. Already in helicopters," adviser to the Head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak posted on Twitter, publishing a joint photo with Davyd Arakhamiya, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction.

На перемовини з РФ. Уже в гелікоптерах... pic.twitter.com/ZE93qf9N9o

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 3, 2022

In turn, Arakhamiya wrote on Facebook that the talks would start in two hours.

According to him, the immediate goal is to agree on creation of humanitarian corridors. The rest will depend “on circumstances”.

As reported, following a conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on February 27, it was agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with Russia without any preconditions on Ukraine-Belarus border near the Prypyat River.

The Ukrainian delegation consists of Davyd Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction, Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the President's Office, Andriy Kostin, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, MP Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi.

According to Mykhailo Podoliak, the first round of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations were difficult but no mandatory ultimatums were put forward.

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a large-scale invasion.

Russian troops are killing civilians, shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, and missiles hit Ukrainians' homes.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

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