The Latest on the War in Ukraine - Day 20

As Russian forces escalated the siege of Ukraine’s cities, talks continued between Russia and Ukraine over terms for a possible cease fire.

• The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia on Tuesday traveled to Kyiv in a stunning show of support even as Russian forces escalated their bombardment of the city.
• US President Joe Biden is set to announce that the US will provide $800 million in new military aid to Ukraine in addition to humanitarian assistance—a move Putin is likely to view as a provocation.
• Biden will travel to Brussels next week to join an extraordinary summit of NATO leaders designed to project a message of unity. NATO leaders are likely to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank.
• Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine continued on Tuesday. The two sides released contradictory assessments of the talks, with Kyiv sounding more optimistic about a possible ceasefire.
• Sanctions continue to ravage the Russian economy. The country may now be facing the first sovereign default on its foreign currency debt since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918.
• The total number of people who have fled the war in Ukraine has now surpassed three-million, according to the UN. Some 1.5 million are children, many struggling with severe trauma.