Timeline: Development of Russia-Ukraine conflict

KIEV, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Thursday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution.

Here is a timeline of some major events related to the current crisis:

March 23, 2022

-- Negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are difficult, since the Ukrainian side "is continuously altering its position," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying.

"Their American colleagues" intend to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine to keep Russia "in a state of hostilities as long as possible," Lavrov added.

-- Russia said that it is expelling U.S. diplomats in response to Washington's recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United Nations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned a senior diplomat of the U.S. embassy in Moscow on Wednesday and declared a list of American diplomats "persona non grata."

March 22, 2022

-- In the northern direction in Ukraine, the Russian armed forces continued to restore offensive capabilities by "introducing additional units on the territory of Ukraine," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook.

In the northeastern direction, the Russian armed forces continued to "partially" blocked the city of Sumy and carried out artillery shelling of the city of Kharkiv, the statement said.

In Donetsk and Lugansk, the Russian armed forces continued to try to advance and gain a foothold, but did not succeed, it added.

The Ukrainian armed forces recaptured the town of Makariv near Kiev, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported.

-- Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin is not making public details of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations for fear of impairing the negotiating process, TASS reported.

March 21, 2022

-- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization does not grant membership to his country, noting that the Ukrainian side needs to calm down and seek "other security guarantees," the Ukrinform news agency reported.

Security issues will concern constitutional amendments and changes in current Ukrainian legislation, which can be historic and need a referendum, he said, adding that "the people will have to say and give an answer to certain formats of compromise."

March 18, 2022

-- Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia may last at least "several weeks," given the number of mutually exclusive positions, Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

March 15, 2022

-- Zelensky met with the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic who arrived in Kiev, according to the presidential press service.

Zelensky said after the meeting that the talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine, strengthening sanctions against Russia and the prospects of Ukraine's membership in the EU, according to the presidential press service.

March 14, 2022

-- Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are being held daily, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation, said.

"The negotiations with Ukraine are being held every day, seven days a week, in a format of video conferences," Medinsky posted on his Telegram account. Medinsky said video meetings save time and are more efficient.

March 10, 2022

-- Lavrov met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey's southern province of Antalya, in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Kuleba noted the failure to make progress in declaring a ceasefire. Lavrov said that Russia wants to continue talks with Ukraine.

March 7, 2022

-- Russian and Ukrainian negotiators failed to achieve significant results during their third round of peace talks in Belarus.

"There was some positive progress when it comes to improving the logistics of humanitarian corridors," Podoliak tweeted after the third round of peace talks.

"Today there were no results that would significantly improve the situation. Nevertheless, I emphasize once again that the consultations will continue," Podoliak said in a video message posted on Twitter.

-- After the meeting at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the Belarus-Poland border, Medinsky said "to be honest, our expectations from the talks were not met. But we hope that next time we will be able to take a more significant step forward.".

Russian negotiators brought a large set of documents, including specific agreements, but the Ukrainian side could not sign them on the spot and took all these documents back home for study, Medinsky told reporters.

March 3, 2022

-- Russia and Ukraine agreed to organize humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians in the second round of talks in Belarus, Podoliak confirmed on Twitter.

Podoliak told a media briefing that the third round of peace negotiations may take place soon, according to Ukrainian media.

Feb. 28, 2022

-- Russia and Ukraine concluded their first round of negotiations in Belarus with no clear breakthrough.

"We have found some issues on which we can predict there would be common positions," Medinsky said, adding that all negotiation positions were discussed in detail during the talks.

The two sides "identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions were outlined," said Podoliak, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Feb. 27, 2022

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's deterrence forces to be placed on "a special mode of combat duty" in a meeting with top defense officials.

Feb. 24, 2022

-- Zelensky said that Kiev decided to sever diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia launched military operations in Donbass, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

-- The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, or parliament, approved a decree signed by Zelensky on the imposition of martial law in Ukraine. "300 people's deputies of Ukraine voted for this decision," according to a press release from the parliament.

-- Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass.