Ukraine Crisis | Kyiv seeks to join EU as round of talks with Russia ends

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its bond with the West on Monday by applying to join the European Union, while the first round of Ukraine-Russia talks aimed at ending the fighting concluded with no deal but an agreement to keep talking.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted photos of himself signing the EU application, a largely symbolic move for now that could take years to become reality and is unlikely to sit well with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long accused the West of trying to pull Ukraine into its orbit.

Russian and Ukrainian officials held their meeting on day five of the war under the shadow of Putin's nuclear threats, and with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine running into unexpectedly fierce resistance and Western sanctions beginning to wreak havoc on the economy at home.

A top Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said the talks, held near the Ukraine-Belarus border, were focused on a possible cease-fire and that a second round could take place “in the near future.”

A top Putin aide and head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that the discussions lasted nearly five hours and that the envoys “found certain points on which common positions could be foreseen.” He said they agreed to continue the talks in the coming days.

As the discussions wrapped up, several blasts could be heard in Kyiv, though no details were immediately known.

Russian troops, who are attacking Ukraine on multiple fronts, were advancing slowly on the capital city of three nearly million people and were about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the city centre, according to a senior US defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments.

Messages aimed at the advancing Russian soldiers popped up on billboards, bus stops and electronic traffic signs across Kyiv. Some used profanity to encourage Russians to leave. Others appealed to their humanity.

“Russian soldier — Stop! Remember your family. Go home with a clean conscience,” one read.

Meanwhile, social media video from Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, showed residential areas being shelled, with apartment buildings shaken by repeated, powerful blasts. Authorities in Kharkiv said at least seven people had been killed and dozens injured. They warned that casualties could be far higher.

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