Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams arrived at the Belarus border around noon, Monday, where they are slated to embark on ceasefire talks, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak confirmed. Ukraine's delegation includes Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, he said.
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Kyiv was reluctant to send a delegation to Belarus, which has aligned itself with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was skeptical about the possibility of a breakthrough, and urged the West to increase the pressure on Russia, which is facing crippling financial sanctions over the invasion.
The talks were launched amid reports that the Kremlin has tasked hundreds of Russian mercenaries with eliminating Zelenskyy, as well as 22 other elected officials, in hopes of seizing control of the Ukrainian government.
Another alleged target of the assassination plot was Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
According to reports in UK and US media, at least 400 mercenaries from the Wagner Group, are operating in Kyiv, having infiltrated Ukraine weeks ago – long before most European countries grounded Russian airlines over Moscow's aggression.
The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organization, often described in western media as the "private army" of the Russian Defense Ministry. It has close ties to Russia's Federal Security Service – the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, and the GRU military intelligence agency – and its contractors have reportedly taken part in various conflicts, protecting Russian interests where deniability is called for.
Western security sources cited in the report said that Russia could also use the mercenaries to sow discord among the Ukrainian people "through targeted assassinations and the use of specialized weapons."
"It is likely that Russian mercenaries, under the direction of the Russian state, will be involved in any hostilities in Ukraine, potentially including a pretext for an invasion," one Western security source told Reuters.
Ukrainian intelligence received information on the assassination plot on Saturday, prompting a 36-hour curfew on Kyiv, as security forces combed the city for Russian agents, he said.
Zelenskyy on Monday urged the European Union to grant his country immediate membership, as Russia's assault against the pro-Western country enters its fifth day.
"We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure," he said in a video address. "Our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be on an equal footing. I'm sure it's fair. I'm sure it's possible."
The appeal followed a claim by the Russian Defense Ministry that it has established "total air superiority" over Ukraine – something Kyiv and Western experts denied.
Russia's Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Moscow's air force has destroyed eight Buk M-1 air defense system vehicles, an S-300 missile system, three radars and five aircraft in the past 24 hours.
"Since the beginning of the operation, Russian forces have hit 1,114 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities, including 31 command posts and communications centers, destroyed 314 tanks and other armored vehicles, 57 multiple launch rocket systems, 121 field artillery pieces and mortars," he said.
Ukraine's military estimated some Russian forces have so far lost 5,300 personnel. "The enemy is demoralized and bears heavy losses," Ukraine's military said in a statement.
Monday saw Western nations continue to send weapons to Ukraine to shore up its resistance.
Israeli media reported that Germany and the Netherlands planned to supply Ukraine with anti-tank rocket launchers manufactured at a factory in Germany owned by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
The Germans and Dutch did not need Israeli approval for the weapons transfer because Germany financed the development of the Panzerfaust 3 bazooka before the acquisition of the plant by Rafael.
The weapons are manufactured by the Dynamit Noble AG plant, located in the city of Burbach, north of Frankfurt. The plant was sold to Rafael in 2004.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz approved the transfer of 1,000 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank rocket launchers by the German Army.
The Dutch are supplying Ukraine with 200 Stinger air defense rockets and 50 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons with 400 rockets. The Dutch government received German approval for the transfer.
Germany has reversed its long-standing policy of banning weapons exports to conflict zones in order to assist Ukraine in fighting back against Russian forces.
"The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. It is our duty to do our best to support Ukraine in defending itself against Putin's invading army," Scholz said on Saturday.
These efforts join ongoing weapons shipments from the US, UK, France, and other nations supporting Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has turned to the International Court of Justice and has accused Russia of "planning acts of genocide in Ukraine," the Hague-based court said Sunday.
Kyiv also accused Russia of "intentionally killing and inflicting serious injury on members of the Ukrainian nationality," the ICJ said in a statement.
Ahead of the Feb. 24 invasion, Putin justified the attack by saying Ukraine was "committing genocide" against the country's Russian-speaking population. He used this unfounded claim as a pretext to recognize the separatist eastern republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent, as well.
The Russian leader also repeatedly said neo-Nazis and fascists make up Kyiv's leadership.
The ICJ statement said Ukraine "emphatically denies" committing genocide against its Russian-speaking population and that Russia was acting with "no lawful basis."
Kyiv requested the court to indicate provisional measures "to prevent irreparable prejudice to the rights of Ukraine and its people and to avoid aggravating or extending the dispute between the parties under the Genocide Convention."
The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Founded after World War II, it rules in disputes between countries, mainly based on treaties. Its decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
In an attempt to push Russia back, the United Nations Security Council called for a rare emergency session of the General Assembly to discuss Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced Monday that Israel will back the UNGA resolution condemning Moscow.
In a briefing at the Foreign Ministry, Lapid says Israel has a moral responsibility to both condemn Russia and give humanitarian assistance.
The General Assembly is set to give all 193 members of the global body the opportunity to express their views on the invasion.
Russia used its veto power in the Security Council on Saturday to scrap a resolution condemning the Ukraine invasion, but no nation has the power to veto a General Assembly resolution.
In other war-related news, Sunday saw Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirm that Russian troops battling on an airfield near Kyiv have destroyed the AN-225 'Mriya' – the largest cargo aircraft in the world.
"We will rebuild the plane. We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine," he tweeted, using the state's official account.
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