The talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations started today, 28 February, in the Gomel region on the border between Belarus and Ukraine, TASS news agency reports.

The Russian delegation is headed by Assistant to the President Vladimir Medinsky. It also includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Andrei Rudenko, Alexander Fomin, and Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Relations.

It should be reminded that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine had earlier informed that the Ukrainian delegation had arrived in the territory of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to take part in the talks with the representatives of the Russian Federation.

It was mentioned that the delegation included Head of the “Servant of the People” Faction Davyd Arakhamia, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the TCG Andriy Kostin, MP Rustem Umerov and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi.

It should be reminded that in the early morning of 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a message announcing the decision to launch a special military operation in Donbas.

“Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The Donbas People’s Republics have appealed to Russia. I have decided to launch a special military operation in this regard,” Putin said in a televised address to Russian citizens.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that from 05:00 (07:00 Yerevan time) on Thursday, the Russian Armed Forces carried out intensive attacks on Ukrainian military facilities and airports.

The Verkhovna Rada has declared martial law in Ukraine. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine announced the preliminary number of victims and wounded.