First round of talks with Russia concludes with more possible, Ukraine says

Ukrainian and Russian national flags are placed on the table ahead of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations (Seregi Kholodilin/AP)

The first round of talks aimed at stopping the fighting between Ukraine and Russia ended Monday with no agreement except to keep talking, while an increasingly isolated Moscow ran into unexpectedly fierce resistance on the ground and economic havoc at home.

Five days into Russia’s invasion, the Kremlin again raised the specter of nuclear war, while an embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its ties to the West by applying to join the European Union — a largely symbolic move unlikely to sit well with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long accused the US of trying to pull Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit.