Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday called for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as Russian troops advanced toward Kyiv on the second day of their invasion.
"Let's sit down at the negotiating table to stop people from dying," Zelenskyy said in a video message. The invasion has seen more than 100 of his compatriots killed, over 300 people injured and around a hundred thousand displaced.
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In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia would be ready for negotiations if the Ukrainian armed forces lay down their arms and stop resisting.
Putin held phone talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, voicing willingness to have high-level negotiations with Ukraine, China's state-run media reported.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations are planning to hold emergency telephone talks on Sunday, diplomatic sources said.
"The enemy has marked me as target No. 1 and my family as target No. 2," Zelenskyy said, as his country is under attack by Russian forces on multiple fronts. He warned, "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state."
The United States believes Russia aims to topple the current Ukrainian leadership under the democratically elected Zelenskyy, a move that would likely lead to the installation of a pro-Russia government.
Explosions were heard, missiles fired and heavy fighting continued in the northern suburbs of Kyiv. Russian tanks on Friday reached the town of Hostomel in the Kyiv region, whose strategically important airport has reportedly been captured.
As Russian forces approached the capital with a population of around 3 million, the Ukrainian military attempted to slow their advance by blowing up three bridges, according to Ukrainian military authorities.
At least 160 short-range, medium-range and cruise missiles have been launched by Russia into Ukraine from land, sea and air, the U.S. Defense Department quoted a senior defense official as saying. The missiles targeted military bases and airfields around Kyiv and Kharkiv in Ukraine's east.
With Russian forces resuming their missile attacks, a Ukrainian official has said Friday would be the "hardest day."
Russian forces have also taken control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which suffered a catastrophic accident and core meltdown in 1986 during the Soviet Union days, as well as its vicinity.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said in a briefing that there are "credible reports" the Russian troops have taken staff hostage at the nuclear complex, and called for their release.
Despite weeks of diplomatic wrangling with the United States and its European allies, Russia launched what Ukraine called a "full-scale invasion" on the neighboring country after following a massive buildup of troops along its borders.
The military aggression has triggered international condemnation and coordinated sanctions among the United States, the European Union, Japan and other nations.
Washington has announced sweeping export restrictions, following an agreement reached by the G-7 countries to impose a "severe" punishment on Moscow.
The move came after Moscow had said it would carry out a "special military operation" in eastern Ukraine, known as Donbas, where two pro-Russia separatist regions are located.
The "special military operation" was to protect the people in Donbas who were being subjected to "abuse" and "genocide" by the Kyiv regime, and that the operation was for self-defense, according to Putin.
Russia has been asserting that its security has been under threat with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastward expansion.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that more than 100,000 people have already moved out of their homes in Ukraine, and that a few thousand have crossed over into neighboring countries.
