Russian shelling hits flats and aircraft plant in Kyiv; China rejects assertion it was asked for help by Russia * Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE started on Monday and communication between the two sides was hard but ongoing, the Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator MYKHAILO PODOLYAK tweeted. TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED and three injured when a SHELL HIT A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN NORTH-WEST KYIV on Monday morning, said Ukraine’s emergency services. The nine-storey RESIDENTIAL BUILDING REPORTEDLY CAUGHT FIRE due to Russian shelling after 5am. The Antonov AIRCRAFT PLANT IN KYIV HAS BEEN SHELLED BY RUSSIAN FORCES, the Kyiv city administration said in an update on its Telegram account on Monday morning. The site, also known as Hostomel, which is about 7 miles (11km) north-west of the centre of Kyiv, is the country’s most important international cargo airport and a key military airbase. A CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON HAS DESCRIBED ASSERTIONS BY US OFFICIALS THAT MOSCOW ASKED BEIJING FOR MILITARY EQUIPMENT FOR ITS UKRAINE CAMPAIGN AS “DISINFORMATION”. The comments came during a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing in Beijing, Reuters reported. NINETY CHILDREN HAVE BEEN KILLED AND MORE THAN 100 WOUNDED in Ukraine since Russia invaded on 24 February, according to the Ukrainian general prosecutor’s office. A PREGNANT WOMAN AND HER BABY DIED AFTER RUSSIA BOMBED THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL WHERE SHE WAS DUE TO GIVE BIRTH, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS REPORTED. Images of the woman being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomising the horror of the attack. GERMANY WILL REPORTEDLY BUY UP TO 35 LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35 FIGHTER JETS, a government source has told Reuters. The US WILL TRY TO PERSUADE CHINA NOT TO SUPPLY ARMS TO RUSSIA at a high-level meeting in Rome. The UK DEFENCE MINISTRY said Russian naval forces were “effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade”, in its latest defence intelligence update on the conflict. RAMZAN KADYROV, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, IS REPORTEDLY IN UKRAINE among Russian forces, according to footage shared by Chechen television channels and posted to Kadyrov’s Telegram account. VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL BE “HELD RESPONSIBLE” FOR WAR CRIMES IN UKRAINE AT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT IN THE HAGUE, the UK health secretary, Sajid Javid, has pledged, saying the government would help gather the necessary evidence. The chief executive of the FACIAL RECOGNITION COMPANY CLEARVIEW AI said the UKRAINE DEFENCE MINISTRY HAD STARTED TO USE ITS SERVICES, according to Reuters. RUSSIA’S DEFENCE MINISTRY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR A ROCKET ATTACK on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, a military base in Ukraine NEAR THE POLISH BORDER, on Sunday. THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, URGED NATO TO IMPOSE A NO-FLY ZONE after the attack on the military base close to the Polish border. “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on Nato territory,” he said. THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, told ZELENSKIY on Monday that the full implementation of sanctions by EU countries would put pressure on Russia to stop attacks. THE GERMAN MULTINATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY BAYER HAS SUSPENDED ADVERTISING AND INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIA, it announced today. Continue reading...