Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says 'certain positive movements' in negotiations

A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without any resolution.

Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

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Two Men at War

A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.

Mar 07, 2022, 12:23 PM EST

Zelenskyy tells David Muir path to peace 'more difficult' than acknowledging Putin's ultimatums

In an exclusive interview Monday with ABC News anchor David Muir, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the path to peace is "more difficult than simply acknowledging" another ultimatum from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy spoke with Muir from the Presidential Office in Kyiv and said he will stay in his country for the duration of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

"When the Kremlin says these three conditions to end the war … that you must give up on joining NATO, recognize Crimea as part of Russia and recognize the independence of those two separatist regions in the east … you say it’s a nonstarter, not willing to [accept] those three conditions right now?" Muir asked.

Zelenskyy responded, "It is more difficult than simply acknowledging them ... this is another ultimatum and we are not prepared for ultimatums."

He went on, "But we have the possible solution resolution for these three items, key items, what needs to be done is for President Putin to start talking. Start the dialogue instead of living in the information bubble without oxygen. I think that’s where he is. He is in this bubble. He’s getting this information and you don’t know how realistic that information is that he’s getting."

Mar 07, 2022, 11:04 AM EST

Biden to speak with UK, French and German counterparts about Ukraine

President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a secure video teleconference Monday morning with leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia and Ukraine, according to the White House.

Biden is expected to be in the White House Situation Room when he participates in a teleconference with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the White House.

The teleconference will be closed to the press and will occur after Biden received his daily intelligence briefing, the White House said.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Mar 07, 2022, 9:57 AM EST

Putin falsely claims his forces are 'taking measures to save lives'

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with European Council President Charles Michel on Monday and according to a Kremlin readout of the conversation, falsely claimed Russian forces are “taking all possible measures to save the lives of civilians" in Ukraine.

Putin also repeated the Russian military’s claim that Ukrainian "nationalists" are preventing humanitarian corridors from being opened to allow the evacuation of civilians. But Ukrainian authorities have claimed efforts to evacuate its citizens out of the country have been disrupted by Russian forces shelling the humanitarian corridors Moscow agreed to in a cease-fire.

A woman takes a rest after crossing a destroyed bridge as she evacuates from the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 7, 2022.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

"The main threat comes from nationalist formations, which essentially use the tactics of terrorists, hiding behind the civilian population," Putin told Michel, according to the report.

The Russian president "called on the European Union to make a real contribution to saving people's lives, to put pressure on the Kyiv authorities and force them to respect humanitarian law," the Kremlin said in a statement.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 07, 2022, 7:42 AM EST

Ukrainian foreign minister again calls for NATO no-fly zone

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba on Monday called for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying Russian planes were targeting civilians.

"The Russian Air Force dominates in the skies and continues bombing our cities and killing many civilians," Kuleba told George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America."

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba appears on "Good Morning America," March 7, 2022.
ABC News

U.S. and NATO officials have rejected calls from Ukrainian officials to impose a no-fly zone, saying doing so could provoke Russia, perhaps pulling other European countries and NATO members into the conflict. The U.S. and NATO have offered other military aid, including a possible deal to send aircraft to Ukraine.

"We believe that the rejection of the idea of the no-fly zone is based in the lack of confidence in the strength of NATO as an alliance," Kuleba said. "Because the military might of NATO is incomparably bigger compared to Russia. So why would Russia dare to shoot down a NATO plane, knowing it is doomed, eventually doomed, if a war with NATO begins."

Kuleba over the weekend had urged the international community to help in the struggle against “Russian barbarians.” He posted a photo on Twitter on Sunday of an unexploded bomb, which he said landed on a residential building in Chernihiv.

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