As the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered ninth day, both sides have agreed to organise safe corridors for civilians to evacuate and for humanitarian supplies to be delivered.
An adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who took part in Thursday's talks in Belarus near the Polish border, said that Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary understanding that cease-fires will be observed in areas where the safe corridors are established.
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As Russia intensified bombings and Vladimir Putin vowed to continue with the bombings, President Zelenskyy called on the West on Thursday to increase military aid to Ukraine, saying Russia would advance on the rest of Europe otherwise.
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"If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes!" Zelensky told a press conference. "If we are no more then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next," he said.
Zelenskyy also called for direct talks with Putin saying it was "the only way to stop this war."
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