Russia accuses Ukraine of rejecting peace talks

Russia has accused Ukraine of prolonging the conflict by refusing to negotiate, while it continues to invade the pro-Western nation.

Yesterday afternoon, during a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered that the main Russian forces not advance.

"Since the Ukrainian side refused to negotiate, the advance of the Russian forces resumed this afternoon."

Putin said on Friday that he was ready to dispatch a delegation for talks in Belarus, where Russia has trained thousands of troops. As Moscow's forces drew near Kyiv, the Kremlin said Vladimir Putin intends to send a delegation to Belarus.

Ukrainian officials say that this is one of the places from which they have been attacked.

Soon after, he called on a Ukrainian army coup to remove the country's leaders, whom he referred to as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis."

As a part of a weeks-long diplomatic effort to deter Putin from attacking, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly called on the Russian leader for talks.

'Let's sit down at the negotiating table to stop people dying,' he said, addressing the Russian president once again. Fighting is taking place across the country, he added

According to Russian officials, they had "predicted" the international sanctions and had prepared "seriously."

Peskov said immediate steps are being taken to minimize damage to all sectors of the economy.

Western sanctions have been imposed on Russia since Putin announced his attack on Ukraine on Thursday morning.