Al Mayadeen’s correspondent to Crimea reported that "the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the government in Ukraine has lost its legitimacy." 

Meanwhile, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent to Kiev quoted the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Berdyansk as announcing that "all official buildings in the city fell into the hands of the Russian forces."

Furthermore, Russian forces are moving north from Crimea in order to encircle the city of Kharkov from all sides according to our correspondent to Crimea.

The continued advancement of troops and the massive shelling by Russia prompted the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces to declare Sunday as a difficult time for the military.

Our correspondent quoted the Russian border guards as saying that "16 Ukrainian border guards voluntarily surrendered." For his part, the Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Andrey Klimov, announced that his country "will carry out strikes against individuals transporting Western weapons to Ukraine."

Alarms sounded throughout the Ukrainian capital, our correspondent to Kiev reported, adding that “the curfew continues in the Ukrainian capital, and ends at 8 am on Monday.”

He announced that "clashes took place in the vicinity of Kiev", and that "shelling targeted the Zhytomyr region of Kiev", but pointed out that "the Russian forces have not yet entered the capital.”

EU to provide over $500 million to buy arms for Ukraine

European Union members states agreed Sunday to allocate more than $500 million for members to buy arms for Ukraine, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

NATO also went along with the decision of arming Kiev, pledging to escalate its military deliveries to Ukraine despite Kiev not being part of the alliance. The deliveries will include anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems and ammunition to Ukraine, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday.

Earlier, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had begun arriving in Belarus for negotiations, as Kiev agreed this morning to hold negotiations in the Belarusian city of Gomel.

Our correspondent revealed that Russia’s conditions in the Gomel negotiations will be strict and not subject to concessions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the negotiations by saying he believes that the talks between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia have "albeit small, but still a chance" for de-escalation.

The Ukrainian president pointed out that he does not really "believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try."

Prior to that, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his defense ministry to put the country's deterrence forces on high alert in light of the rising tensions in Ukraine following the special military operation in Donbass.

"I order the minister of defense and the chief of the general staff to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat duty," Putin said at a meeting with the officials responsible for the defense bodies.

Putin, during a meeting with his defense minister Sergei Shoigu and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov, accused NATO of stepping up its aggressive rhetoric against Moscow, going beyond what he called the "illegitimate" economic sanctions.