Ukrainian Presidency calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’, Russian troops withdrawal as talks with Moscow begin in Belarus

*Talks between two nations have started, Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukrainian counterpart confirm

*China calls for de-escalation as Ukraine talks begin

*Ukraine says world’s largest plane damaged

*Russia says its troops take two towns in southeast Ukraine

War-torn Ukraine has demanded an immediate Russian ceasefire and troop withdrawal as a Kyiv delegation arrived for talks with Russian negotiators on the fifth day of the Kremlin’s offensive against the country.

“The key issue of the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Presidency said in a statement.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said talks between Ukraine and Russia had begun, shortly after the Ukrainian side said the same.

Russia wants to reach agreement with Ukraine to put an end to their conflict, a Kremlin negotiator has said.

“We definitely have an interest in reaching some agreements as soon as possible,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky who travelled to Belarus for the talks, said in televised remarks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the European Union to grant his country immediate membership.

“We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure,” the 44-year-old leader said in a new 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.”

In another report, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Moscow, said Ukraine and Russia “seem very, very far apart on what they want out of the talks”.

“(Russian President) Vladimir Putin has called on the Ukrainian forces to overthrow the government of Volodymyr Zellensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he does not recognise the current Ukrainian government as democratic, even though Zellensky was elected with 73 percent of the vote in 2019,” he added.

Smith said, “And it seems Russia is continuing fighting, even while these talks are taking place … so both sides are very far apart and it is hard to see how they can come to an agreement on a ceasefire.”

More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion, Filippo Grandi, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, says.

The number of people seeking refuge in other states has risen rapidly since Moscow launched its onslaught and is expected to continue to climb quickly.

In the meantime, Beijing has called for de-escalation and “restraint” over the Ukraine crisis as Russia and Ukraine prepared to meet for their first talks since Moscow’s invasion of its western neighbour.

China has trod a cautious diplomatic tightrope on the crisis as it tries to balance its core foreign policy line – that a country’s sovereignty is sacrosanct and others should not interfere – with its support for close ally Moscow.

Instead, it has called for Russia’s “reasonable” security demands to be heard, repeatedly refusing to condemn Putin’s actions or use the term “invasion”.

Ukraine’s defence industry conglomerate has said the world’s largest plane that was in regular operation was heavily damaged in fighting with Russian troops at the airport outside Kiev where it was parked.

The Ukroboronprom company said in a statement that the Antonov-225 was “destroyed” but would be repaired.

The An-225, which is operated by Ukroboronprom’s subsidiary Antonov Airlines, is used to move exceptionally large cargos and has a 84-metre (290-foot) wingspan.

Russian forces have taken over the towns of Berdyansk and Enerhodar in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying.

The area around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was also taken over, while the plant’s operations continued normally, Interfax reported Russia saying.

Ukraine, however, denies reports that Russia has taken over the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant.