Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues

At least five people were killed in the latest artillery barrage on Kyiv, prompting its city hall to impose a 35-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid further signs that the focus of the Russian campaign has shifted to the destruction of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskiy made his remarks about Nato while addressing leaders from the new Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led initiative bringing together 10 north Atlantic countries to create a capability for responding rapidly to crises.

One strike on Kyiv hit a 16-storey housing block, where fire raged and smoke billowed from the shattered skeleton of the building, as emergency services and stunned locals navigated an obstacle course of glass, metal and other debris littering the road.

A refugee from the 2014 war in eastern Ukraine against Russian proxy forces, she and her husband hugged and cried as they took pictures off the wall - the only objects which somehow survived the attack.

The UNHCR expects the refugee total to reach 4 million. The number of people displaced within Ukraine is estimated at 1.85 million, the UN said last week, warning that number could rise to nearly 7 million in coming months.

While previous talks focused on humanitarian issues, the latest aim to achieve a ceasefire, secure Russian troop withdrawals and establish security guarantees for Ukraine, Kyiv has said. The Russian delegate, Leonid Slutsky, suggested draft agreements may not be far off.