By Maria Tsvetkova

KYIV/MOSCOW – Russia’s economic and political isolation grew on Monday, as it faced stiff resistance in Ukraine’s capital city and in other European cities. This was the largest assault on a European country since World War Two.

In the face of Western-led reprisals, President Vladimir Putin placed Russia’s nuclear defense on alert Sunday. He was responding to a torrent of Western-led attacks on his war against Ukraine. Russia claimed it had defeated Russian ground forces trying to seize urban centers.

On Monday morning, blasts could be heard in Kyiv’s capital, breaking the silence for a few hours.

According to Ukraine, negotiations with Moscow would take place at the border between Belarusian and Ukraine without any preconditions. Russian news agency Tass reported that a source unnamed said the talks would begin on Monday morning.

The White House announced that Joe Biden, President of the United States, will hold a conference call Monday with partners and allies to help coordinate an effective response.

The United States stated that Putin was increasing the conflict with dangerous rhetoric about Russia’s nuclear posture. There were also signs Russia forces were ready to take over major cities in this democratic nation of 44 million.

A U.N. relief agency stated that nearly 400,000 people fled to neighbouring countries as missiles fell.

Senior U.S. Defense Official stated that Russia had launched more than 350 missiles against Ukrainian targets, with some of them hitting civilian infrastructure.

According to the official, who spoke under anonymity, “It looks like they’re adopting a Siege Mentality”, which is something that any student in military tactics or strategy would tell you. It increases the possibility of collateral damage,” he said.

His comments were based on Russian aggression on Chernihiv (north of Kyiv), where Ukrainian authorities stated that a residential building caught on fire by an early-morning missile had set it ablaze.

Ukrainian Ground Forces Command said that missiles were also used to strike Zhytomyr (a northern city), as well.

According to a spokesperson from Downing Street, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President of Ukraine, telephoned Boris Johnson on Sunday and said that Ukraine would need the support of Britain in the coming 24 hours.

The Russian offensive so far has failed to claim major victories. The official stated that Russian forces have not captured any Ukrainian cities and do not possess control of Ukraine’s aviation space. For the second day, its troops were approximately 30 km (19 mi) from Kyiv’s central city.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

UNPRECEDENTED SAINTIONS

The extent and coordination of the Western-led economic, political and strategic sanctions on Ukraine were unimaginable. There were also pledges to provide military assistance for its outgunned armed force.

Following harsh Western sanctions, including the blocking of some banks from SWIFT International Payments System (international payments), the Russian ruble plunged almost 30% to an all time low against the dollar.

The European Central Bank stated that several European Sberbank Russia subsidiary companies, owned majority by Russia’s government, were in trouble or could fail as a result of the reputational costs of war in Ukraine.

Russia’s central banking attempted to deal with the widening impact of sanctions. It announced that it would buy gold again on its domestic market and launch an auction for repurchases.

Japan claimed it was asked to participate in Russia-blocking measures from SWIFT and that they were also looking at imposing sanctions on certain individuals in Belarus. Belarus is a crucial staging ground for the Russian invasion.

On Sunday, Belarus’s referendum approved a revised constitution that removed the country from its non-nuclear status.

Sunday saw the European Union pledge arms to Ukraine for the first-ever time, including fighter jets.

Germany, having already stopped a proposed Russian undersea pipeline, announced it was increasing defense spending. It also discarded decades of hesitation to equal its economic and military power.

Ursula von der Leyen (EU Chief Executive) expressed her support for Ukraine joining the EU in an interview to Euronews. She stated that “they are one among us”.

All Russian aircraft were barred from the EU’s airspace. Canada followed suit, and Aeroflot, a Russian airline, had to cancel any flights to European destinations. France and the United States both urged Russian citizens to immediately leave Russia.

The EU has also outlawed Sputnik, RT, and other Russian media outlets.

Corporate mega-investors also took the initiative, with BP (NYSE – BP), the biggest foreign investor, stating that it will sell off its shares in Rosneft state oil company at a total cost of $25 billion.

New York’s U.N. Security Council held an unusual emergency meeting of all 193 United Nations member states.

Protests against the invasion have taken place all over the globe, with nearly 6,000 detained in Russia since Thursday according to the OVD Info protest monitor.

Tens of thousands marched across Europe in protest, with more than 100,000 taking part in Berlin.