Putin says ready for Ukraine talks if all Russian demands met

Ukraine's FM has warned that if the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant 'blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for a ceasefire at an emergency address.

On Thursday, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held the second round of talks in Belarus which resulted in an agreement to jointly organise humanitarian corridors to ensure evacuation of civilians and deliveries of food and medicines. Also, the sides agreed to continue negotiations as soon as possible.

Here are all the latest updates:

Putin ready for Ukraine dialogue if ‘all Russian demands’ met

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a telephone call that Russia was ready for dialogue over Ukraine if all its demands are met, the Kremlin said.

Putin “confirmed that Russia is open to dialogue with the Ukrainian side, as well as with everyone who wants peace in Ukraine. But under the condition that all Russian demands are met,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

3rd round of Russia-Ukraine talks may be held Sat. or Sun.

Kiev’s chief negotiator at talks with Russia hopes that a third round may follow on Saturday or Sunday, Ukrainian presidential office adviser Mikhail Podolyak said on Friday.

"A third round may be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We keep in touch. We stay online. When it is clear that we are ready, for instance, to discuss ceasefire, that there is an option ready, we will go. We finished just a moment ago. The delegation went to go ahead with its work," Podolyak told a news briefing in Lvov.

Russia State Duma Speaker says Zelensky left Ukraine for Poland

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has left Ukraine and is currently in Poland, Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin asserted, according to Sputnik. 

"Zelensky left Ukraine. Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada said that they could not get to him in Lvov", he wrote on his Telegram channel. "He is now in Poland".

The Ukrainian president has not commented on this assertion.

Reports that Zelensky left the Ukrainian capital emerged earlier last week, with the president refuting them and posting several video messages in which he said he remained in Kyiv.

NATO does not seek war with Russia: Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO does not seek war with Russia. “We must ensure that conflict does not spread,” he said.

He has warned the war in Ukraine will lead to more deaths and destruction over the coming days as he appealed to Putin to withdraw all Russian troops without conditions.

“The days to come are likely to be worse, with more deaths, more suffering and more destruction,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels.

But he ruled out sending NATO troops to Ukraine or setting up a no-fly zone over the country, as has been requested by Kyiv, amid fears such moves would draw the alliance into a direct military confrontation with Russia.

“Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating in Ukrainian air space or NATO troops on Ukraine’s territory,” Stoltenberg said.

Switzerland adopts sanctions against Russia

Restrictive measures include a ban on transactions with Russia's Central Bank, joining the EU's SWIFT move as well as an embargo on a number of exports to Russia.

UN says more than 1.2 million people flee Ukraine

More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its operation on February 24, United Nations figures showed Friday.