Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, has expressed little hope that the negotiations scheduled for Monday will bring an end to the conflict.

This is as a three-mile-long convoy of Russian military vehicles presses down on Ukraine’s capital.

“I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting,” Zelenskyy said.

The New York Times says Zelenskyy would not attend Monday’s talks in Belarus, although he would send a delegate.

Zelenskyy said it was important that “no citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as a president, have not tried to stop the war”.

Despite being outgunned and outmanned, Ukrainian soldiers have been able to protect Kyiv and other important cities. This is because it is receiving the type of foreign military aid that its president has sought since before last week’s invasion.

Each day that the troops hold out and do damage to the Russian forces, support grows both at home and around the world. Ukrainian officials took some comfort from Russia’s call for talks, which came when its forces encountered far more resistance than expected.

“The enemy expected an easy walk, but got real hell,” said Prime Minister Denys Shmygal of Ukraine.

However, as world leaders sought to isolate Moscow and impose severe economic costs for the invasion, Russia demonstrated little interest in de-escalation. They said Ukraine’s troops were spread out and had little ammunition. Thousands of better-equipped Russian soldiers have also stayed away from the fight.

Since the assault started on Thursday, nearly 350 people have been killed.