Moscow, Feb 25 (AP) The Kremlin says prospects for possible peace talks between Russia and Ukraine look uncertain due to apparent differences over a venue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to send a delegation for talks with Ukrainian officials in Minsk, Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko runs a pro-Russian government.

Also Read | China Could Invade Taiwan After Seeing West's Response to Ukraine Invasion: Oxford University Professor Timothy Garton Ash.

That agreement came in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer earlier in the day to discuss non-aligned status for Ukraine.

Peskov told reporters that after the parties discussed Minsk as a possible venue, Ukrainian officials changed course and said they were unwilling to travel to Minsk and would prefer to meet in NATO member Poland. They then halted further communication, Peskov said.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: US Congress Wants To Kick Out Russia From UN Security Council.

Putin has claimed that the western refusal to heed Russia's demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO prompted him to order an invasion of the neighbouring country.

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Prague: The Czech Republic's transport minister says his country has banned all Russian airlines from Czech airports, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Martin Kupka said Friday the ban covers all regular flights between Prague and Moscow and Prague and St. Petersburg, as well as charter flights.

Russian planes will also be banned from landing at the western Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary, a popular destination for Russian tourists. The measure becomes affective at midnight.

Additionally, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his country will stop issuing visas for Russian citizens and will urge other European Union countries to do the same.

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Vilnius: Major retail chains in Lithuania started to remove Russian and Belarusian products from shelves, a move joined by online shops and widely applauded by the public as a protest against Moscow's decision to invade Ukraine.

Maxima LT, the largest chain in the Baltic nations, said Friday the Russian goods it sells are mainly alcohol, dried products and candy, amounting to millions of euros (dollars) in sales.

Other retailers like drug stores and home suppliers made similar announcements. The Lithuanian postal service said it will not be distributing any more Russian periodicals.

International companies such as IKEA are facing pressure to remove Russian-made goods from sale in the small Baltic country, which fears Russian aggression.

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Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed his troops for their courage as they press their offensive across Ukraine and bear down on Kyiv.

Speaking during Friday's meeting of his Security Council, Putin claimed that most Ukrainian military units are reluctant to engage Russian forces.

He said the units offering resistance are mostly volunteer battalions made up of right-wing Ukrainian nationalists.

He offered no evidence for his claims, which could not be independently verified.

Echoing an earlier Russian military statement, Putin accused Ukrainian forces of deploying heavy weapons in urban areas in several big cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, to use civilians as shields.

The Russian president urged the Ukrainian military to end their resistance and turn on their leaders.

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Warsaw: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Warsaw for urgent talks with NATO's nine eastern flank members on how to enhance the region's security, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The participants were also due to remotely join a NATO summit in Brussels.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda, hosting the talks between the so-called NATO Bucharest Nine, in his opening speech said that “demons of a great war, unseen since 1945” have returned to Europe.

NATO's eastern flank members fear Moscow could also target them.

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Fort Stewart: The US Army says 3,800 soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia, are among additional forces deploying to Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Troops from the Army post southwest of Savannah, Georgia, “will deploy to reassure NATO allies, deter further aggression against NATO member states and train with host-nation forces,” Fort Stewart commanders said in a statement late Thursday.

Fort Stewart is home to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which saw multiple combat deployments during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the 3rd Infantry soldiers heading to Europe are assigned to the division's 1st Armoured Brigade Combat Team.

“The Raider Brigade is trained and equipped to deter aggression and to reassure and defend our allies,” Col. Pete Moon, the 1st Brigade's commander, said in prepared statement.

The Georgia-based soldiers appear to be among 7,000 additional US forces deploying to Germany to bolster NATO following the invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden ordered the deployments Thursday.

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Moscow: The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Chinese President Xi Jinping he's ready to send a delegation for talks with Ukrainian officials.

The Kremlin said in its readout of Friday's call that Xi underlined that he “views the Russian leadership's action in the crisis situation with respect.”

In a reference to new Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion in Ukraine, the Kremlin noted that Putin and Xi agreed “it's inadmissible to use illegitimate sanctions for achieving selfish goals of certain countries.”

Chinese state TV reported that Xi emphasised that China “supports Russia and Ukraine resolving the problem through negotiations.”

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Brussels: Germany's foreign minister said Friday that the European Union will take in all people fleeing Ukraine due to the current conflict.

“We need to do everything to immediately take in the people who are now fleeing bombs, fleeing tanks, that's also what we've been preparing for in recent weeks,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Brussels.

“We tried everything so this day wouldn't come,” she said. “And it came because the Russian president chose it, opted for war and against human lives.”

“That's why we will take in all of the people who are fleeing now,” Baerbock said. “We will bring the people from Ukraine to safety.”

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Bucharest: Moldova's national naval agency says a ship in “neutral waters” of the Black Sea has been hit by a missile, leaving two crew members seriously injured.

The Naval Agency said in a statement that the source of the missile that hit the Moldova-flagged Millennial Spirit on Friday is unknown.

“A fire broke out onboard the ship; the equipment and lifeboats were destroyed,” the agency said in a statement. “The ship's crew left the ship equipped only with life jackets.”

The agency said that the company that operates the tanker is a Ukrainian legal entity and the crew members are Russian citizens.

Rescue operations were carried out by Ukrainian authorities, the Moldovan agency said. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)