Russian bombardment of Sievierodonetsk ‘pushes Ukrainian troops back to city’s outskirts’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

With neither side prevailing on the battlefield, there seems little prospect of negotiations.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he simply cannot see the preconditions for ending the war" in an interview with the Financial Times.

China has always played a constructive role in the assistance to peaceful talks.

It is necessary under the present-day situation to be aware of third parties' attempts to drag countries of the region into the conflict of world powers and to avoid their threats to take a certain side.