BREAKING: Russia, Ukraine to negotiate ceasefire, date announced

Ukraine and Russia will engage in talks aimed at negotiating a cease-fire and safe passage for civilian evacuations on Monday, a Ukraine official said, after the evacuation of the southeastern city of Mariupol was halted.

The Ukrainian president’s office said Saturday that Russia continued shelling the area in violation of a cease-fire.

The decision to halt the evacuations roughly two hours after the cease-fire began came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a rousing speech on the video to crowds of demonstrators Friday night in major European cities and Russian forces remain largely stalled in their advance on the capital city of Kyiv.

According to Yahoo News, Davyd Arakhamia, head of Zelenskyy’s political party and a member of the Ukraine delegation for the talks between the nations, said Monday would be the third round of talks.

Zelenskyy urged listeners Friday to rally behind Ukraine in its resistance against Russian invaders, warning them, “if we fall, you fall.”

On Saturday, the Ukrainian president made a pitch for aid to nearly 300 U.S. lawmakers as he talked to them on an hour-long zoom call.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning that the crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better. And Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West that imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine – as Zelenskyy is demanding – would be treated as an act of war.

The refugee crisis: More than 1.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. Here is where they’re going.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights is reporting that 32 children were killed and 70 injured since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

Yahoo News reports that, In the U.S., former Vice President Mike Pence told Republicans “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” during an event with the party’s top donors. His comments directly contradict statements made by former President Donald Trump days ago. Trump described Putin as “smart” and “savvy” on the day Russia launched its war against Ukraine.