Russia, Ukraine meet for talks; Russia shells Ukraine’s second-largest city: LIVE UPDATES

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the West an “empire of lies” at an economic summit Monday.

Putin held a meeting with economic advisers on Monday regarding the global sanctions being imposed on Russia due to the war on Ukraine.

“Mikhail Vladimirovich [the Prime Minister] and I previously discussed this topic, bearing in mind, of course, the sanctions that the so-called Western community – as I called it in my speech, the ’empire of lies’ – is now trying to implement against our country,” Putin said.

Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, came under intense rocket fire Monday.

“Kharkiv has just been massively shelled with Grad multiple rocket launchers. Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded! This horror must be seen by the whole world! Death to the occupiers!”  Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

Ukrainian forces have pulled off an extraordinary feat in holding off Russian forces for days, but President Vladimir Putin’s superior manpower and weaponry will likely triumph at a substantial cost to the autocratic leader and his people, experts told Fox News Digital.

“It is nothing short of remarkable what the Ukrainian military has accomplished,” said U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane, who serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War.

Click here to read more

The U.S. said it is blocking financial transactions of Russian central bank assets, effectively freezing any of those assets held by Americans.

The freeze is effective immediately, a senior administration official said in a briefing for reporters on Monday.

Click here to read more

The U.S. State Department announced Monday it is suspending its operations at the U.S. embassy in Belarus’ capital city of Minsk.

The State Department “authorized the voluntary departure (“authorized departure”) of non-emergency employees and family members at our Embassy in Moscow, Russia. We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” according to a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The announcement comes as Ukrainian and Russian officials meet at the Belarus-Ukraine border Monday for peace talks.

Russian forces have massively shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv with rocket launchers.

The Russian army shelled Kharkiv with Grad multiple rocket launchers, resulting in dozens of people killed and hundreds more wounded, according to Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

“Kharkiv has just been massively shelled with Grad multiple rocket launchers. Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded! This horror must be seen by the whole world! Death to the occupiers!” Gerashchenko wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

Peace talks are slated to begin Monday near the Ukraine-Belarus border between Russian and Ukraine officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine, as world leaders and corporations slash ties to the Kremlin left and right.

In the days following the announcement that he had authorized invading the neighbor country, entities ranging from world leaders to small business owners are attempting to squeeze Russia out of the global economy.

Click here to read more

The announcement comes as Ukrainian officials arrive for peace talks in Belarus.

The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, is unshaken despite the fact that Russian forces are attempting to besiege the city, he said in an interview.

“We show our character, our knowledge, our values,” the mayor said. “To be honest, we don’t have 100% control. We built this territorial defense (system) in a short amount of time — but these are patriotic people.”

Read more by clicking here.

The Russian central bank on Monday raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% to counter risks of rouble depreciation and higher inflation.

Russia has also ordered companies to sell 80% of their foreign currency revenues, the central bank and the finance ministry said.

Click here to read more.

“Heroism is contagious,” said Amb. Nikki Haley.

“The heroism of Ukraine’s people and leadership is inspiring the free world to support their cause,” she added. “Spontaneous pro-Ukraine demonstrations have sprung up all across the world. European governments that didn’t want to be involved are now sending weapons to Ukraine.”   

Click here to read more.

Russians are taking to the streets to protest the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

They are taking to the streets, but they get pushed back or arrested nearly as quickly as they come out. Protests are illegal. Police are out in numbers looking for rule breakers. According to reports, 1,500 had been arrested across Russia by sundown on Sunday.

Click here to read more.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the next 24 hours will be crucial in his country’s fight against the Russian invasion.

Johnson told Zelenskyy that the UK and NATO allies were going to do everything they could to get military aid into Ukraine, a UK spokesperson told Reuters.

A senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week, according to the Associated Press.Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort, but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.