Russian Major General Andrei Sukhovetskiy gets killed amid war against Ukraine: Report

Ahead of the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks, Russian Major General Andrei Sukhovetskiy was killed in Ukraine on Thursday, reported NEXTA. This comes a day after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Russia has lost around 9,000 of its soldiers. The death of Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky is that of a first high-ranking officer in the Russian ranks. 

The Ukraine's State Emergency Service on Wednesday had said that more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have so far been killed during Russia's ongoing invasion.On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that the peace talks between the two countries does not mean that the military operations in Ukraine are going to stop. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine has banned the payment cards issued by banks of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has banned crediting funds to the accounts of clients-physical persons on transfers initiated with the use of payment cards issued by Russian and Belarusian banks. The NBU also stopped acceptance of payment cards, in Ukraine, issued by banks of Russian and Belarusian origins, including transfers, settlements and cash withdrawals.

"Financial support for the armed aggression against Ukraine must be stopped. The cards of the banks of the aggressor states will not work in Ukraine, and the enemy will no longer be able to send funds to them for terrorists and their supporters. The ban on accepting cards from Russian and Belarusian banks is our next step in Ukraine's financial defence," said Oleksii Shaban, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine second round of talks set to be held today, March 3 

A delegation from Ukraine is on its way to Belarus for the second round of peace talks that is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 PM. While addressing the media, Vladimir Medinsky, the chairman of the Russian delegation indicated that the Ukrainian delegation had already departed from Kyiv and the two parties have decided to hold the talks in Belarus' Brest area, which borders Poland. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister, said on Wednesday that Kyiv is ready for the second round of peace negotiations with Russia. However, he also stressed that Ukraine is not ready to adopt ultimatums.

Image: AP, Representative