Video negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were broken off due to a "technical pause" and are to continue on Tuesday, reported NBC News.
The fourth round of talks came on the heel of continued assaults by the Russian army and air force, with parts of Western Ukraine completely obliterated in the shelling.
Kyiv’s mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion, Vitaly Klitschko, remained defiant in an interview with Al Jazeera, insisting that the Russians would “never ever” enter the city, and that "[Ukraine] will never give up.”
“I feel so bad, as every Ukrainian citizen, because nobody feels safe right now in Ukraine,” Klitschko said during the interview. “The Russians … explain they target only military forces, but today, we have pictures of [civilian] buildings where very peaceful people lived, which have been destroyed," he continued.
The attack Klitschko was referring to occurred in northern Kyiv and led to the destruction of apartments on several floors, damaging both the front and back of the residential building.
“People died, many are injured … Kyiv is not the [only] one,” Klitschko said, noting that many other Ukrainian cities are being bombarded. “We have a lot of experience in the past couple of weeks with Russian aggression,” he added.
Klitschko reiterated President Zelenskyy's call for NATO states to arm Ukraine and enforce a no-fly zone over the country. “We defend the principles, we defend the same values, it’s very important now to help Ukraine … because this war can touch anyone, not just in Europe,” he continued, repeating a plea that has been frequently heard over the past few weeks: “Please, give us modern weapons … and we, by ourselves, will close the skies over our heads.”
In the meantime, the British defense ministry reported that Russia's navy has set up a "distant blockade" of Ukraine from the Black Sea, cutting off parts of the country. According to an NBC News report, however, a group of civilians was able to flee the besieged city of Mariupol in southwestern Ukraine after a number of failed evacuation attempts.