Ukraine says pact reached with Russia to create safe corridors backed by cease-fires for evacuations, aid: Live updates

Ukraine said it has agreed with Russia to create safe corridors backed by cease-fires to evacuate civilians and deliver aid as a second round of negotiations began Thursday amid Russia's ferocious assault on its neighbor.

Officials from both nations are meeting in Belarus as the war entered its second week. Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine accept “demilitarization," declare itself neutral and drop its bid to join NATO. 

Earlier Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Putin for 90 minutes and now believes “the worst is yet to come," a Macron aide told France24. Putin reportedly vowed to conduct an “uncompromising fight" in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s major cities have come under heavy bombardment, a senior Defense Department official said Thursday. About 90% of the 150,000 combat forces Putin deployed to Ukraine’s borders are now inside the country, said the official, who described military movements on condition of anonymity.

Southern cities are taking the brunt of Russian power. Farther north, a 40-mile Russian convoy headed for Kyiv has lingered about 15 miles outside the capital city for two or three days, the official said. Russian forces have drawn nearer to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, hitting residential areas. It was not clear that they have targeted civilians, the officials said.

The sky over Ukraine remains contested, the official said, and the majority of the country’s air and missile defenses are still viable. The Ukrainian military continues to fly its warplanes, the official said.